February 22, 2012
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New York, NY (January 14, 2011) – KPI, the primetime Emmy-award winning television production company has signed an exclusive talent deal with Jeanne Chavez and Dineh Mohajer, founders of Hard Candy cosmetics and Goldie Cosmetics, to produce a reality TV series based on the entrepreneurial world of these beauty industry pioneers. In 1999, Dineh and Jeanne sold Hard Candy for $30 million (est.), and the powerhouse duo are responsible for helping create and brand over 1,000 products and generate billions of dollars in beauty revenue.

Today, Dineh and Jeanne, repped by APA, collaborate with celebrities, corporations, fairytale characters (i.e. Tinker Bell) and television shows (such as American Idol) to help them brand, develop and launch their own cosmetics’ lines. They also get thousands of submissions from amateur beauty inventors asking for their secrets to success, and now they’re ready to reveal what their world looks like. APA was thrilled to pair this dynamic duo with KPI, repped by Kaplan Stahler, to produce a reality series.

Vinnie Kralyevich, President and CEO of KPI says, “Jeanne and Dineh are two beauty industry tastemakers that are made for television. They are dynamic personalities who let us enter their entrepreneurial business world as they greenlight or pass on beauty products sent to them to develop. We could not be more excited to have to the opportunity to bring these makeup divas to television.”

“We are confident about our partnership with KPI based on their talent and industry experience,” –Jeanne Chavez

“We felt an instant synergy from day one and look forward to having the opportunity to be part of a television series.” — Dineh Mohajer

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About Dineh Mohajer and Jeanne Chavez
In 1995, college student Dineh Mohajer struggled to find a shade of nail polish to match an outfit she was wearing to a party. She mixed together a pastel blue color that would soon take the world by storm. With the help of well respected beauty expert, Jeanne Chavez, these pastel nail concoctions led to glitter pencils, eyewear, makeup bags and in the end of the first year it was a ten million dollar company. Hard Candy with its revolutionary formulas married with irreverent names was snatched up by high end retailers such as Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Sephora and Fred Segal as well as prestige retailers in Tokyo and London. Within three years it was the fastest growing, revenue generating, independent brand in the cosmetic industry, and an irresistible purchase for Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy group. Today Dineh and Jeanne are represented by APA’s Branded Lifestyle Department.

About KPI
KPI is an Emmy Award-winning production company whose clients include A&E, Bravo, Discovery, OWN, National Geographic, Animal Planet, Discovery Science, TLC, History, Travel Channel, truTV, The Military Channel, MSNBC, Smithsonian Channel, and HGTV. KPI has created crime programming, hosted programming, factual, period and historical dramas, reality programming, underwater production, celebrity profiles, cost-effective international studio production, animal programming and docu-soaps for the past seventeen years. They continue to evolve and push boundaries in the television industry. KPI is represented by Kaplan Stahler.

KPI and Tatiana Byron-Marx, owner and founder of The Wedding Salon, have decided to make it official and take the leap into contractual bliss. Tatiana recently signed a one-year contract to work with KPI to create a show based around her success. Four years ago, Tatiana teamed up with Martha Stewart to create the world’s first luxury wedding showcase.  As an attendee to one of her showcases I can testify that this is no way an exaggeration. Thousands of celebrities, socialites, celebrity stylists/planners, and brides-to-be attend this larger than life wedding showcase. Without missing a beat, The Wedding Salon has a non-stop, energetic atmosphere with live bands, a bridal fashion show, plastic surgeons, makeup artist and hairstyle. From Sylvia Weinstock’s cakes, to Tiffany & Co. rings and couture dresses this showcase is a haven for brides-to-be.

Bill Hunt, SVP of Development for KPI says, “The signing of Tatiana continues KPI’s continued expansion into lifestyle and docusoap programming to compliment our core history, science and technology genres.”

Kendra McClean, Development Assisant

Bug Girl walking

TURNING FEAR INTO FASCINATION, KPI SIGNS “SPIDERWOMAN” KRISTIE REDDICK

She’s drop-dead gorgeous and loves furry creatures with lots of legs. She’s got a whimsical personality and a huge determination to convince us that bugs are not SO icky. She’s dedicated to saving insects from death, destruction, and humans. A real-life Spider Woman? She’s Kristie Reddick, self-proclaimed “Bug Girl” and Texas A&M trained entomologist.

Set to pursue acting (with a BFA in theatre), Kristie’s fascination with Africa took her on a college trip to Kenya. One night, she heard a scream coming from the choos (bathrooms). She ran with her net and red-light to investigate (it was a guy who screamed). Kristie watched as a very large, spider-like creature climbed up to her eye level, reared back, opened its jaws and hissed at her. That’s when it happened. This wild thing was speaking to her, and Kristie instantly fell in love.

Bug Girl + student

She ditched her show-biz plans, volunteered in a lab studying wasps in Florida and then took a job teaching inner-city kids in California. Strapped for cash, she bought a lotto ticket, won $250 and drove cross-country to her next adventure: Texas A&M’s graduate program in entomology (where she’s now a lecturer).

Kristie is one of the few people in the world to have studied solifuges (arachnids that are not spiders…) in Africa, and she has discovered five new species so far.

How many teachers do you know who will go into the wilds of Kenya (or Texas) in shorts and a tight tank top, surround themselves with hissing cockroaches, allow beetles to crawl up their arm, and describe hot spider sex?

Bug Girl+cam crew

Kristie, we look forward to working with you!

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Curvy…beautiful… sexy…. confident…seductive. Words used to describe one person…Bombshell Betty. She is the embodiment of the 50’s pin-up girl, who can pose the hell out of a picture, and seduce any man…well, almost any man, with her moves. And KPI has just signed her to a talent deal.

As an international pin-up model and burlesque dancer, Betty’s toured extensively across the USA, Canada, Europe and Japan. But in 2004, she decided to stay home and teach the tricks of her trade at “Burlesquercise” in San Francisco. Betty runs the studio with her partner/photographer Randy. Thousands have taken her classes; many have become burlesque performers themselves.

So…welcome to Bombshell Betty’s Pin-up Workshops: featuring retro-style makeovers, posing lessons, and a professional photo shoot. Her classes are for both amateurs and established performers–for anyone who wants to add confidence and a little seduction to their everyday life (and a little titillation for the man in their life). After turning San Francisco housewives into sex-kittens, she turned to New York, LA, Boston, D.C., Chicago, Seattle and Orlando to release the inner pin-up model in all. She hosts her workshops in luxury hotel suites and offers cocktails to ease the tension and loosen the suits of high-powered, high-strung women looking for a good time, good moves and goodies to go home with.

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Betty designs her own costumes for shows and photo shoots. When she’s not designing, she is creating collages from her pin-up photography. Her artwork has been featured in major San Francisco art galleries.
In 2006 she released a DVD “Intro to Burlesquercise” and her new book “Plain Jane to Pin-up Queen: Pinup Modeling Workshop in a Book” is currently for sale on 5 continents.

As Betty’s friends like to say: “She always has something new up her sleeve…or tucked into her garter.”

So, do you think there’s a TV series in all this? Maybe. It will be fun finding out.