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[#1]

When I developed the idea for You’re Home with Jill almost 16 years, I had a small team of people that I worked with to bring my ideas and visions to life. Most of those “players” have moved on to other positions over the years….all, in fact, but one.

 

Mariellen Melker has been the set stylist for YHJ and Holidays with Jill Bauer for every show, every season, every year for 16 years. She has executed every idea for every theme I’ve ever imagined.  From spring entertaining to coastal chic, autumn harvest to elegant Christmas, it is Mariellen who has transformed our sets into the inviting, beautiful spaces that YHJ and Holidays with JB have become known for.

I always think the product we develop for my shows look great….but in the hands and vision of Mariellen, the pieces become so much more…like the way she used things for the Holidays with Jill Bauer shows last season:

Mariellen’s reputation around QVC is this….if you want your set to look beautiful and you want it done right, Mariellen is your gal. She is quiet, kind, funny, and one of the hardest workers I know.  Any time I decided on a last minute change to the look or style of the set, she never rolled her eyes, never became abrupt, just always smiled and in her sing song voice would say, “Ok.”  And she’d get it done.

In 16 years, in over 200 shows, not once did we quarrel…and not once did I ever look at a finished set before air time and think “it could be better.” Instead, it was always “what could be better than this?"

I can’t tell you the number of times (probably after every show, seriously!) that I’ve said to her, “You did it again. It’s beautiful! Please don’t ever leave.  What would I do without you?” 

This Sunday’s Holidays with Jill Bauer will be Mariellen’s last day at QVC. She is leaving to work as a free lance stylist and to have more control of her life.  I can’t fault her.  But I will miss her terribly.  That said, we have a really talented group of stylists who have worked with Mariellen on my shows, so I know they’ll continue to look great.  I’m not worried about that at all…it’s just that I’ll miss my friend. 

To Mariellen…it’s been a wonderful 16 years. Thank you for teaching me so much about style and design…for bringing my visions to life, for changing the sheet color on the bed at a moments notice and for elevating the look of YHJ and Holidays with JB to a level I never thought possible.  You’ve been a wonderful cheerleader and friend.  Wishing you everything you hope for…you deserve it.

xoxo,

JB