Original Air Date:
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
The Start of Coldstone Creamery:
Oprah's first guests, Donald and Susan Sutherland were the creative minds that brought us Cold Stone Creamery. The Sutherland's originally began their ice cream business in Tempe, Arizona in 1988. Donald joked on the show that the shop had been open for 15 months with hardly any customers - meaning days with only $6 in sales at times. Donald and Susan brought all 5 of their daughters to the show with them, each remembering how they had to work in the store. The Sutherland's luck changed when the local paper awarded them best ice cream - after that business picked up, way up.
Cold Stone Today:
Today Cold Stone Creamery has over 1400 stores worldwide. Using a cold stone to mix ice cream and toppings by hand, Cold Stone Creamery has big personality -- with workers singing and ringing bells in celebration of sales and tips. Oprah and the Sutherland's demonstrated how the ice cream and toppings are put together in the store - Oprah got a laugh from the audience when her creation was handed out instead of given to her! Audience members were all given a gift card and a sample of a Cold Stone treat
Oprah's Favorite Red Bottom Shoes:
Christian Louboutin shoes are simply a work of art. Oprah was introduced to the shoes by Tina Turner, and now owns many pairs. The creator hails from Paris and began designing shoes in his early teens, he moved on to design for Channel, and 16 years ago started his own line featuring the red sole. Louboutin has outfitted many celebrities with his "art for the foot" including Beyonce and Jennifer Lopez.
Spokeswoman, Shawna, appeared on the show due to Christian Louboutin becoming before his flight to Chicago. Shawna described how every shoe is handmade and at least 10 people touch the shoes before they are complete
The Shoes:
Described as being similar to jewelery design, the shoes are attention-getters and fabulous. 4 styles were modeled on the show including: red open-toe heels with black beading, black stiletto heels with a furry toe - Spanish flamenco style, heels covered with multi-color stones, and an olive green heel with a very large bow at the ankle. One Oprah audience member was randomly chosen out of a bag of numbers assigned when the audience arrived - #107, Laurie, had the help of Oprah and chose an open-toe animal print heel.
The Sandwich Gayle Traveled 2000 Miles to Taste:
Gayle interviewed chef Govind Armstrong for her XM satellite radio show and heard him describe this sandwich, and had to try it -- so she traveled 2000 miles for a taste. The "Grilled Cheese & Short Rib Sandwich" is made on sourdough bread with bel paese cheese and pulled short ribs with pickled red onion. The recipe is featured in Govind's cookbook, Small Bites, Big Nights and at his LA restaurant Table 8.
The Container Store Story:
Oprah first visited The Container Store after Stedman brought her a present -- an empty green box. She was curious how a store could be so successful selling all styles of empty boxes.
Kip Tindell and Garrett Boone opened The Container Store in the 70s wanting a unique idea. Getting inspiration from commercial products, the duo, along with architect John Mullen, created the first storage & organization store for the home. Products demonstrated on the show include: a purse organizer, dog food/water on-the-go container, door handle organizer and a cereal dispenser. The audience also went home with $150 gift cards.
The Williams-Sonoma Story:
Chuck Williams is the face behind the kitchen retail giant Williams-Sonoma. 51 years ago he opened his first store in Sonoma California where it remained the first and only for 17 years. Williams was taught to cook by his grandmother as a child and kept a love of cooking throughout his life. After traveling to Paris, Williams wanted to bring the same cookware and professional tools to America where it was not available.
The 92 year-old brought the audience the 3 pieces he loves to cook with most -- an Apilco cow creamer, Apilco souffle dish and a lemon reamer.
Oprah's Favorite $2 Invention:
Everyone knows how much Oprah loves to read, but she also highlights and writes down passages from her favorite books as reference. Now she used the Post-it highlighter with built-in flags to mark her book club selections and books appearing on the show or in the magazine -- she was thrilled to hear from the 3M designer, David, that the flags are also refillable! The audience also went home with a box of highlighters from Post-it.
The Family Behind Carmex:
For 70 years the Woelbing family from Wisconsin has been producing everyone's favorite lip-soother, Carmex. The recipe for the balm has never changed over the years, and the family sells the product in 26 countries -- over a billion jars have been sold since the creation of the company. The audience won't need to buy any for a while after a 4-year supply was given to them during the show!
