Golden opportunity for two Cape Breton companies

Michique Designer Handbags of Sydney and Galloping Cows Fine Foods of Port Hood both have products headed to Tinseltown for one of the biggest nights of the year for film and television. Michelle Newcombe and Monique Delisle, the twin sisters behind Michique Designer Handbags, are actually in Beverly Hills, Calif., this week as participants in the Golden Globe gifting suite where celebrities and their entourages get a chance to see and receive some of the hottest and trendiest items — from Fendi sunglasses to Gucci clothing, to exclusive lines of jewelry. And now Michique bags. Newcombe said the opportunity to be a part of the Golden Globes stems from their involvement in a website campaign organized by Nova Scotia Business Inc. That campaign caught the attention of a Los Angeles-based company who invited Michique to participate in the gifting suite at the Toronto International Film Festival last year. The same L.A. company is running the Golden Globes gifting suite, and offered the Sydney sisters another golden opportunity. “We were excited. It’s L.A., I mean come on,” Newcombe said laughing. “The opportunity to meet amazing celebrities and the exposure for our company is huge because the amount of press that go there and how huge the Golden Globes are anyway.” Newcombe and Delisle spent part of the day Wednesday setting up their display of handcrafted bags, in preparation for what’s sure to be a nerve-racking couple of days. “When we’re in the suite, it’s very professional. You can’t gush over the stars or ask for autographs or anything, so we’re just going to be ourselves but still be calm if someone huge comes in,” she said, noting they have a couple of minutes to prepare before each celebrity comes in. Then, they simply introduce themselves and their product. “Then it’s up to us. We decide whether we want to gift them or not and what we want to gift them,” said Newcombe, noting they have a brand new product, an evening clutch purse, for the event. A photographer will also be on hand to take pictures of celebrities holding a Michique purse in front of a large promotional sign for the Sydney company. All in all, it’s huge exposure for the Michique brand. “When we went to (Toronto International Film Festival) there was press from Germany and Paris and New York, and I mean how else would we contact these people in one place? So for us it’s a huge marketing campaign,” she said. “It’s a great opportunity for us. We’re excited.” The sisters will be documenting some of their experiences this week with video footage which can be found at www.youtube.com/Michiquebags. Meanwhile, Ron and Joanne Schmidt, the husband-and-wife team behind Galloping Cows Fine Foods, will be watching this Sunday’s Golden Globe Awards from the Port Hood Fire Hall, where they’ll be hosting a party in celebration of the fact that their marmalade is part of the gift bags being given to award nominees and presenters. Like Michique, the Schmidts also got their foot in the Hollywood door at TIFF, where they unveiled a specialty brandy cranberry marmalade especially for the gift bags handed out to the stars at that film festival. Given the product’s success at that high-profile event, they were invited to provide the same to the Golden Globes.