BLOGS FOR QUINTANA KEMP AND JESSICA PRASSE
CASTING (Premiered September 14, 2005) - We entered the casting late, so we only had a week to prepare for the judging. We were frantically trying to get organized. We had no idea how many people would be there, and our hearts sunk when we walked in and saw so many people. To make matters worse, there were two other groups that had similar shoe ideas. It was very tense in the holding area. Then we had to give our first pitch. We plead temporary insanity with the banana incident! We were really nervous when the judges announced the 12 groups that would be going on, because there were so many great inventions.
DOES IT WORK? (Premiered September 21, 2005) - When we walked into the lab for the first time we were blown away, we were so excited to have our own workstation. We knew at that point that our product was going to be worked on and tested. The quality assurance test was the test we feared most, because we thought we were most vulnerable. We were very relieved to see that we passed, and that the judges were harder on someone else.
The egg drop competition was hilarious. We remember looking around the lab for the highest ledge that the egg could be dropped from; we never expected to drop the egg from such high height. We constructed the "Sassy Prasse" to withstand a 10ft drop. Well, needless to say, our egg broke when we dropped it from so high. But, it was really hilarious.
DOES IT LOOK GOOD? (Premiered September 29, 2005) - We thought that we had an advantage going into the packaging challenge because we had, what we thought, was a good start. We were definitely excited to see what Evan had to say about our packaging and see what improvements could be made. We think we came up with an interesting idea, but one that was not very practical.
The mascot challenge was very embarrassing. We forgot how unforgiving high school girls could be. Our initial idea of making two charging buffalo outfits turned out to be too complicated in the short amount of time, so we opted for a more clever approach to "chargers." We didn't have enough time to make our credit card outfits - so the crowd didn't get it. We were booed off stage - very embarrassing. This elimination was particularly scary; we thought we were going home for sure. Hearing the judges give us an F was brutal. We were thankful to make to the next level.
DO PEOPLE LIKE IT? (Premiered October 7, 2005) - We were very nervous to go in front of the focus group with a prototype. We didn't know if the group would be able to imagine what a finished product would look like, or really get the concept of what we were trying to do. It was the first time total strangers were critiquing our product. We were so excited to see that the group was enthusiastic about the shoe; they completely "got" the concept. Most said they would pay more for the product, which was interesting information. Every girl can empathize with picking an outfit off a mannequin and having to put it on in front of everyone without trying it on. Enough said. We tried to incorporate what the focus group taught us into our final pitch to the judges. Unfortunately, we got another F from the judges. And once again, we were convinced we were going home. Good thing we were wrong!
READY TO PITCH? (Premiered October 14, 2005) - Going to HSN was amazing! Just being one of the last three teams is an incredible accomplishment, but getting to see HSN was great. We learned so much. We randomly saw Kathy Levine the day before at the mall, so it made us laugh when she walked in. She was terrific, really energetic, and brutally honest. We really tried to incorporate her advice into the pitch. Making the pitch was terrifying, because you know it's live - no retakes. It's difficult because you are trying to engage in a high energy dialogue with the host, you are trying to look at the camera and your host, and you are listening to a producer give you direction via earpiece and doing what he says without missing a beat. We have a new respect for anyone that sells on HSN. We think the guys did a great job too. It's going to be a tough call. We really can't say who we think will win next week, but we hope it's us! We have worked really hard for this.
AND THE WINNER IS... - Being a part of this contest has been such a great experience. We met some amazing people and have learned so much. Most of all, we realized that dreams don't just come true - you need to work at them to make them a reality. We are very happy for Chris and Sammy, they are two wonderful guys and they have been very supportive of us. As for the future, we will continue to work on our shoe - and hopefully still sell it on HSN!
