A blast from the past!

What I’ve been up to

Another week has flown past and it will be Halloween and Fireworks night before we know it. I have tried to slow down a little this week as it will start to get crazy busy at work and at home from next month. Along with all the festive events, all our family Birthdays are sandwiched between October and April, pretty much one a month so I need to just chill out a bit for a couple of weeks and start a to-do list of all the things coming up. First on the list is Tilda’s 8th Birthday, she is so excited and is mentioning it every single day!!! I booked the party this week so that’s one job done and invites are written and delivered. Presents and cake still need to be sorted but I’m on track.

Two kids at school I have to admit is a juggle, I know I know, millions of people do this every day too I’m just not quite on top of all the separate letters, texts, emails and events happening every day at both schools. There are school payment logins to set up for all the clubs, trips and letters to sign for flu shots, PTA letters for fetes and fundraising. Reading logs and times tables apps that Tilda has to do daily, plus homework.

Thankfully Ivy’s is quite simple so far. We had to send her in with a family photo this week so that she can stand up and tell the class a few things about us. This I’m sure is a very entertaining lesson and probably more for the teacher’s amusement than anything else! We went down to have a picnic dinner on the beach last weekend so this was our opportunity to take a nice picture of the four of us. A nice man saw us struggling to get us all in trying to do it as a selfie and took the picture for us. Ivy is prepared for her turn in class too, apparently Daddy likes to cycle, Mummy sells clothes on TV, Tilda likes to do gymnastics and we have two pet fish. Job done!

You may have spotted I am wearing my Ruth Langsford Faux Leather Biker Jacket. I featured it a while back in the Cappuccino which I wore for one of the shows but I have the black one myself in a size 12 and it’s become my go-to everyday jacket. It rocks up any casual look.

Blast from the past

I was staying at my parents earlier this week in between days at work and it came up in conversation that my mum had been over in the states to visit QVC US just before the launch of QVC UK 26 years ago, my mum back in the 90s was a columnist at the Daily Express. I did know about the trip before but had never seen the article that she wrote. Because of the recent move my parents made to their new apartment they had found all the scrap books of her old articles.

Big brownie points to my dad for staying on top of these for all those years. I thought it might be slim that it would be in there but there it was, filed into September 1992, just before QVC launched at the beginning of October!

So funny to read about this whole new concept that was about to hit the UK, complete with picture of the original line-up of presenters including Julia Roberts. How funny to think that my mum of course had no idea that her 12 year-old daughter would grow up to be one of those presenters too and share a dressing room with Julia. It mentions some of the big stars QVC kicked things off with including Joan Rivers and Zandra Rhodes, how I wish I could see the Zandra collection!!

In the same scrap book from 1992 we also found my first photo shoot spread in the Daily Express. I had recently been spotted on the streets of London by a modelling scout from Select Models. My mum then spoke to the fashion editor at the Express to find out if Select was a legitimate agency and she not only said yes but suggested to do a shoot with me for the paper. This in itself was great fun but we did decide I was too young to be doing this sort of thing regularly. The thing about the article that I found even more interesting though was that I looked at the byline of who did the shoot and make-up and saw a familiar name. The make-up artist was none other than Ariane Poole, whose make-up range we stock at QVC and I have done shows with her on the channel but had no idea I had met/worked with her before!! Two very serendipitous articles don’t you think?

5 Minutes with…..Beth Goodrhum

I finally got around to doing another ‘5 Minutes with’ interview on my Instagram IGTV. I had a lovely show on Monday with Beth Goodrhum who was representing the Erica Davies range so I grabbed some time with her after the show to find out a bit more about her life as a stylist. Find out how she got into it, what it is about fashion that gets her so excited and also the unusual job she went from doing before she in her own words ‘threw it all up in the air’ and changed careers. Click through to watch.

What’s new to QVC – personalised jewellery

We have a really lovely new range that has just arrived at QVC, beautiful personalised jewellery. What a perfect way to show someone how much you love them by having something made for them with something meaningful engraved on it. I think these are going to be really popular, I am already thinking about all the big birthdays coming up for friends of mine that would love this. I have a gorgeous bracelet already with Tilda and Ivy’s names on it, as you can see in the picture, it’s immediately become one of my most special pieces of jewellery.

We have a fab choice of rings, bracelets, earrings and pendants for both men and women in sterling silver with gold or rhodium plating. There is even a photo pendant to wear a special picture of someone that you love. Once ordered you will get an email to add what you would like your personalisation to be. I would love to know what you think of this range and if you will be treating yourself or anyone to one of these.

Phase Eight

On Sunday I have a special two-hour show of Phase Eight at 3pm with myself and Jenny Blackhurst. We have some really great pieces for you particularly some of the ones that you can’t get anywhere else and are exclusive to QVC. I’ve picked a few to tell you about that I think will be very popular. If I could name them I would call it The Weekend Collection as they are all the perfect tops to look and feel great in when you are at your most relaxed. The kind of outfit you wear for days out with the family, coffee with friends and Sunday pub lunches.

My absolute favourite is the Ripple Stitch Contrast Jumper, it’s 82% viscose and incredibly soft. It’s a loose quite boxy fit with 3/4 length sleeves and has that lovely slouchy laid back feel to it. We have it in Pink and Taupe. The jeans I am wearing are the Aida skinny jean and have 4% elastane so still great for chasing the kids around!

Next it’s the Augusta V Neck Double Layer Top which we have in Teal, Rust, Pale Pink and Cobalt. This can be dressed up a little bit more, it’s the perfect piece to go with skinny jeans or even wide leg trousers. Because of the block colour it would look fantastic with a big bold necklace. Because of the layer it’s very forgiving for lumps and bumps and bra bulge etc which is always a bonus! This one is 96% viscose so again soft and breathable.

For those who like a bit of pattern then we have the Floral Scoop Neck Top. It’s a jersey material and a really good everyday piece. I would also use this as a top layer to go to yoga classes in. I will be chilling in this at home with leggings too and movie evenings with Fred and the Kids. It’s also perfect for those frantic school run mornings in our house when I don’t have time to think about myself, yet I will still look like I’ve made an effort!

That’s just a few of the styles coming your way but of course in a two-hour show there will be loads more to see. I hope you will tune in!

That’s it for another week, I’m off to start my to-do list to try and start staying on top of things for the next few months!

Hope you are having a fab week,

Love Katy xx

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