Bedazzler
Encyclopedia
The Bedazzler is a home appliance
which is used to fasten rhinestone
s, studs, hunks, and patches to material, clothes and accessories.
product. It was developed by NSI Innovations in the United States
. It is promoted through Television infomercials, most recently by Tana Goertz
of "The Apprentice" fame. Television marketer Avram C. Freedberg
owns the rights to the product.
March 2005 edition). Craft magazine - 'CNA Magazine' featured the Bedazzler on its cover in the January 2001 edition.
Like any fashion item, the popularity of the device and its output has waxed and waned over time. Because of its low cost and the type of glitzy clothes and accessories that can be created using a bedazzler, it is often associated with kitsch
and retro
fashion.
A commentator in Entertainment Weekly
magazine described the Bedazzler as: "The cheap-ass rhinestone-studding tool favored by art teachers and over-excitable soccer mom
s everywhere, the biggest piece of crap sold on late-night TV since the Thighmaster
, the reason women own shirts with glittery kitty-cats on them."
's Rosie McCall
received gift bags that included the Bedazzler. Radio personality Danny Bonaduce
regularly bedazzles pieces of his wardrobe, which the other members of The Adam Carolla Show often mock him for. It is also a recurring element in The Game Plan
. The Bedazzler was also used in the hit Australian movie The Castle (film)
with Anne Tenney as Sal Kerrigan, who bedazzles her tops. The Bedazzler has appeared on the HBO series 'Big Love' Season 1. A young potential polygamist girl out of her compound Bedazzles her jacket. And in a first season episode of the TV Land
sitcom "Hot in Cleveland
", Elka Ostrovsky (played by Betty White
), is seen Bedazzling one of her many track suits.
Home appliance
Home appliances are electrical/mechanical machines which accomplish some household functions, such as cooking or cleaning. Home appliances can be classified into:*Major appliances, or White goods*Small appliances, or Brown goods...
which is used to fasten rhinestone
Rhinestone
A rhinestone or paste or diamante is a diamond simulant made from rock crystal, glass or acrylic.Originally, rhinestones were rock crystals gathered from the river Rhine. The availability was greatly increased around 1775 when the Alsatian jeweller Georg Friedrich Strass had the idea to imitate...
s, studs, hunks, and patches to material, clothes and accessories.
History
The Bedazzler first appeared in the 1970s as a direct marketingDirect marketing
Direct marketing is a channel-agnostic form of advertising that allows businesses and nonprofits to communicate straight to the customer, with advertising techniques such as mobile messaging, email, interactive consumer websites, online display ads, fliers, catalog distribution, promotional...
product. It was developed by NSI Innovations in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is promoted through Television infomercials, most recently by Tana Goertz
Tana Goertz
Tana Goertz was one of the candidates for the title of Donald Trump's The Apprentice in the television show's third season. Goertz was 37 when the season was recorded/produced. She ended as the runner-up in the season finale....
of "The Apprentice" fame. Television marketer Avram C. Freedberg
Avram C. Freedberg
Avram Chaim Freedberg is a Broadway theatre producer and direct marketer. He also owns BioLogic Solutions. Among its products advertised on television was Sta-Tight which was said to be an alternative to Botox.-Biography:...
owns the rights to the product.
Description
The Bedazzler is a plastic device, similar to a stapler. The base has a circular wheel (a "Tiffany setting") opposite the plastic applicators ("plungers"). The device allows users to add various rhinestones and other assorted studs to fabrics and similar materials.Reception
The Bedazzler was voted #100 in the Top 100 Gadgets of all time (Mobile PC MagazineMobile Magazine
Mobile Magazine is an online publication which started in December of 2000. Mobile Magazine covers mobile technology, including notebook computers, mobile phones, personal digital assistants, MP3 players, digital cameras, mobile gaming, and other portable electronics and computing devices as well...
March 2005 edition). Craft magazine - 'CNA Magazine' featured the Bedazzler on its cover in the January 2001 edition.
Like any fashion item, the popularity of the device and its output has waxed and waned over time. Because of its low cost and the type of glitzy clothes and accessories that can be created using a bedazzler, it is often associated with kitsch
Kitsch
Kitsch is a form of art that is considered an inferior, tasteless copy of an extant style of art or a worthless imitation of art of recognized value. The concept is associated with the deliberate use of elements that may be thought of as cultural icons while making cheap mass-produced objects that...
and retro
Retro
Retro is a culturally outdated or aged style, trend, mode, or fashion, from the overall postmodern past, that has since that time become functionally or superficially the norm once again. The use of "retro" style iconography and imagery interjected into post-modern art, advertising, mass media, etc...
fashion.
A commentator in Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
magazine described the Bedazzler as: "The cheap-ass rhinestone-studding tool favored by art teachers and over-excitable soccer mom
Soccer mom
The phrase soccer mom broadly refers to a middle-class suburban woman who spends a significant amount of her time transporting her school-age children to their sporting events or other activities. Indices of American magazines and newspapers show relatively little usage of the term until a 1995...
s everywhere, the biggest piece of crap sold on late-night TV since the Thighmaster
Thighmaster
The Thighmaster is an exercise product designed to shape one's thighs. The device is basically two pieces of metal tube bent in a loop and connected with a hinge. The intended use is to put the Thighmaster between the knees and squeeze them together. This exercises the hip adductors...
, the reason women own shirts with glittery kitty-cats on them."
In popular culture
The Bedazzler has appeared in pop culture. In Episode 15 of Season 3 of NBC's The Apprentice a Bedazzler is the focus of the show. Guests at the launch party for Rosie O'DonnellRosie O'Donnell
Roseann "Rosie" O'Donnell is an American stand-up comedian, actress, author and television personality. She has also been a magazine editor and continues to be a celebrity blogger, LGBT rights activist, television producer and collaborative partner in the LGBT family vacation company R Family...
's Rosie McCall
McCall's
McCall's was a monthly American women's magazine that enjoyed great popularity through much of the 20th century, peaking at a readership of 8.4 million in the early 1960s. It was established as a small-format magazine called The Queen in 1873...
received gift bags that included the Bedazzler. Radio personality Danny Bonaduce
Danny Bonaduce
Dante Daniel "Danny" Bonaduce is an American radio/television personality, comedian, professional wrestler, and former child actor...
regularly bedazzles pieces of his wardrobe, which the other members of The Adam Carolla Show often mock him for. It is also a recurring element in The Game Plan
The Game Plan (film)
The Game Plan is a 2007 family comedy film directed by Andy Fickman and starring The Rock. This is the last film in which Johnson uses his ring name "The Rock." This is also the last Disney film to be distributed by Buena Vista, due to Disney semi-retiring the name in May 2007, making all other...
. The Bedazzler was also used in the hit Australian movie The Castle (film)
The Castle (film)
The Castle is a 1997 Australian comedy film directed by Rob Sitch. It starred Michael Caton, Anne Tenney, Stephen Curry, Sophie Lee, Eric Bana and Charles 'Bud' Tingwell. The screenwriting team comprised Sitch, Santo Cilauro, Tom Gleisner and Jane Kennedy of Working Dog Productions.The Castle was...
with Anne Tenney as Sal Kerrigan, who bedazzles her tops. The Bedazzler has appeared on the HBO series 'Big Love' Season 1. A young potential polygamist girl out of her compound Bedazzles her jacket. And in a first season episode of the TV Land
TV Land
TV Land is an American cable television network launched on April 29, 1996. It is owned by MTV Networks, a division of Viacom, which also owns Paramount Pictures, and networks such as MTV and Nickelodeon...
sitcom "Hot in Cleveland
Hot in Cleveland
Hot in Cleveland is an American sitcom on TV Land starring Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves, Wendie Malick and Betty White. The series, which is TV Land's first original scripted series, premiered on June 16, 2010, and was TV Land's highest rated telecast in the cable network's 14-year history. The...
", Elka Ostrovsky (played by Betty White
Betty White
Betty White Ludden , better known as Betty White, is an American actress, comedienne, singer, author, and former game show personality. With a career spanning seven decades since 1939, she is best known to modern audiences for her television roles as Sue Ann Nivens on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and...
), is seen Bedazzling one of her many track suits.