Over 15 years ago I developed a made-in-Italy line of jewellery that would last forever. My past experience in North America helped me solidify my knowledge of trends and tastes, but I went back to Italy to develop the Stefano Oro Collection with all the energy and uniqueness that you find in works of art.

I enjoy working with gold for the love of art and beauty and continually strive for perfection and balance.  Gold is one of the most ancient metals ever manipulated by mankind. It still holds a mysterious power, not only because of its preciousness but also because the attraction seems endless despite the many changes in fashion. My belief is that gold jewellery can “dress” a body and not only be an ornament.

I draw my inspiration from my love for visual arts such as painting, photography and graphic design. Born in Florence, Italy, one of the most beautiful cities in the world, I became interested in art and design many years ago. I was surrounded by the artistic heritage of the city: paintings, sculptures, art and crafts.

In Florence, this is a part of the everyday scenery and I hope you make it part of your everyday as well.

Stefano Virginio
Stefano Oro Jewellery Collection

Do you love listening to music? Is it part of your life every day? It is for me and that is why I have grown to love the USB Internet Radio Jukebox from Aluratek.

Now you can have free music for life. All you have to do is take the USB stick out of the package and insert it in a USB port on any computer that has internet access. A window pops up after a few seconds which will allow you search for genres of music from all over the world. In fact, you have instant access to 13,000 plus internet radio stations in over 150 countries.

When you search, just know that you can access things like: classic, pop, talk, news, sports, etc. The best part is that there are no monthly costs, no software installation (which is ideal if you own a mini notebook) and no contracts to sign. You also have the ability to save your newly discovered favourite stations to the “favourites” folder for easy access in the future.

Growing up in the Mesbouris household, music was ubiquitous. My mom would dance as she was preparing dinner for us. At times, my dad would grab my mom and they would dance to a song as those meals were being prepared. Those special moments were sparked by music. My parents immigrated to Canada from Greece and having the Jukebox from Aluratek has now allowed them to hear music from straight from Greece. Imagine that! The smiles on their faces are from ear-to-ear when they use this product.

So if you have Windows 2000, XP, Vista and an internet connection, you too can enjoy the magic of music.

Marianthe Mesbouris
Electronics Expert

Sir Anthony Hopkins‘ paintings and drawings are now available for viewing for the first time in Canada at the Harbour Gallery and I was fortunate enough to attend the opening night this past Wednesday.

I have always been a fan of Hopkins and have seen pretty much anything that he has ever appeared in. I did learn, however, that he was in one film I may have missed, which would have helped me understand his artwork a bit more - Surviving Picasso. My good friend and artist, Beckie Dileo, quickly made note that she could see alot of Picasso in his paintings and could even see the inspiration of painting in his Malibu home.

For me I have always loved art, partly because I can not truly paint anything. I’d be fearful of what the painting would reveal about me anyways! (ha,ha). I know, people say that we are all talented in painting…I think “those” people are trying to be nice! Sir Anthony Hopkins is most talented in the area of painting, acting and classical music composition! Yes, even the music playing at the art exhibit was composed by Sir Anthony Hopkins himself.

Harbour Gallery director Jackie Bryant describes Hopkins’ work as evocative and claims that no viewer of his art is left unmoved. ”His work has a magnetism that draws you in, not unlike the many characters he has played in his films. We feel very honoured to have been chosen to promote his work in Toronto.”

A true artist, Hopkins says he paints for the sheer pleasure of it. He often quotes Henry Miller: “Paint what you like and die happy.” Fortunately, Hopkins is painting what he likes and Canadians can now see the work of a true creative genius.

The exhibit runs until June 10th at the Habour Gallery which is located at 1697 Lakeshore West in Mississauga, Ontario. Check it out if you can!

The Bose Wave Music System is definitely up there in terms of ultimate Father’s Day gifts. If Dad loves his home theatre, then this is sure to score huge brownie points!

Tune in to The Shopping Channel today to watch live demos of the Bose Wave. Check out our Program Guide for exact show times.

As Canadians, both Melissa and I are so excited to be able to bring Revolution Organics‘ new FREEDOM Colour Collection to our Canadian customers exclusively on The Shopping Channel. We launched the collection in the United States on Earth Day to rave reviews! The New York Times just recently touted our Freedom Gloss as “a reason to smile”!

We are often asked why we called our Colour Collection “FREEDOM”. Quite simply it’s because they are FREE of synthetics, chemicals, parabens, sulphates, artificial ingredients, petrochemicals, animal testing and they FREE up time & FREE up space because of their multi-tasking capabilities. We like to think of it as your “Guilt Free Glam”!

One customer told us that our FREEDOM Glow Beauty Balm was her new “one-stick-wonder” – her “ultimate beauty weapon”! She didn’t know what she did before she had it – it is her blush, lipstick, bronzer, and eyeshadow all in one! That was so nice to hear and is exactly why we created it. Who needs to carry around so many products! Just imagine the extra space you’ll have in your purse and cosmetic bag with only one solid color stick that does everything!

As you know, what you put on your lips you end up ingesting - FREEDOM Lip Gloss is an all-natural lip gloss with beautiful, wearable shades, a glossy, non-sticky finish, and with all the benefits of a lip treatment because of the vitamins, antioxidant-rich plant proteins and nourishing organic butters and oils. How wonderful is that! Healthy and gorgeous gloss.

We are so thrilled to see that we have filled the beauty void for so many other women who want healthy, luxurious products in eco-chic packaging. Both Melissa and I are excited to share our new products with our customers at The Shopping Channel as we continue on our journey to create an organic revolution in beauty!

Alexandra Zanella
Revolution Organics 

Today would have been the 76th birthday of our founder, Ted Rogers. Ted loved to celebrate his birthday in a big way — for his 75th last year, every Rogers employee was invited to attend a huge birthday bash at Toronto’s Rogers Centre. 

As a company, we kept up the tradition this year and teams across Rogers gathered together to celebrate with a slice of cake and shared stories to mark the occassion.

Tony Viner, President & CEO of Rogers Media, joined The Shopping Channel in our celebration

TV Hosts Orlena Cain and Renee Torrington quite enjoyed their slices of cake.

TV Hosts Tanya Yanaky and Lisa Griffin took a quick break from their show prep to attend the event.

Everyone within the Rogers family will remember Ted Rogers as a great Canadian, entrepreneur, philanthropist and colleague.

BOOST is a community-based agency committed to eliminating abuse and violence in the lives of children, youth and their families. With the latest news of young Tori Stafford, I felt attending the annual fundraising event was even more essential than ever.

The Butterfly Ball is the main fundraising event held each year. CTV news reporter Galit Solomon was the emcee for the evening and disclosed how her own abuse motivated her to be more involved in the prevention of child abuse.

I was invited this year as a special guest by the Executive Director Karyn Kennedy. I was deeply honoured to be her guest and I was overwhelmed by emotion throughout the evening as I thought about my own experiences of abuse as a child and how many children continue to be abused today. I actively participate in any events I can to raise awareness and understand the power of media. I hope that being a part of The Shopping Channel will help me in getting that message out there.

It was a wonderful evening, brilliant food and elegant décor, held at the Four Seasons Hotel in Toronto. I shared a table with Detective Sergeant Paul Gillespie from the Toronto Police Sex Crimes Unit and his wife. It was also an incredible display of fashion too! Many of the women were decked out in the who’s who in the fashion world - I chose to wear David Dixon and pearls from Pearl Lustre. I am always quick to show off the goods from The Shopping Channel - so proud!

If you want to learn more about BOOST for KIDS please visit www.boostforkids.org

Tune in to The Shopping Channel every day this week at 8AM EST for our May Morning Madess Event. It’s a week of big time savings from the world of Fashions, Home, Jewellery & Beauty!

Shop these early-bird deals online now!

We’re back! Our web site is 100% back online - thanks to all the hardworking folks behind the scenes on a Saturday morning!

If you are experiencing trouble accessing our website you are not alone…the “pipe” is broken somewhere at our main internet access provider…swat team of techies working on it now.  The blog is connected through a different “pipe”, so no problems here.  Our phone lines are fine and our automated customer care represenative Susan is working so go ahead and place your order on 1.888.2020.888.

Sorry for the hassle - believe me we’re on it to get back up ASAP!