One-of-a-Kind Auction Items to be Offered at Party for Life
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Gift for Life, the gift and home industries' charitable organization, announced that the upcoming Party for Life silent auction will include 12 one-of-a-kind items, including handcrafted unique home décor and fashion pieces.
The items have been donated by eight leading artisanal importers in connection with the presentation of Gift For Life’s 2014 Bert Tonkin “Gift of Giving Award” to Clare Brett Smith, president emerita of Aid to Artisans. A new, online auction service will allow viewing and bidding on the items beginning two weeks before Party for Life, which takes place Monday, Feb. 3, in New York City.
Honoree Clare Brett Smith was a craft importer for 15 years before joining the nonprofit Aid to Artisans, where she served as president for more than 20 years and helped to create economic opportunities for low-income artisan groups around the world. Believing in “trade not aid,” she brought Honduran cornhusk flower makers to Williams Sonoma's Pottery Barn in the 1980s; Peruvian ceramics to Jonathan Adler in the ’90s; and then items such as Salvadoran hammocks, Macedonian rugs, Haitian metal angels and more to homes in the U.S. and Europe.
Today, as an independent crafts professional based in Farmington, Conn., Smith continues to be active in the industry — working with programs such as the Alliance for Artisan Enterprise, hosted by the Aspen Institute; and the HAND/EYE Fund and magazine.
The Party for Life auction will be administered by Gavel & Grand (Paddle 8) auction services, allowing for advance viewing of these one-of-a-kind auction items online before the event.
Interested parties can view auction items, pre-register as bidders and submit advance bids through the website, www.GavelAndGrand.com/auctions/partyforlife, beginning Jan. 20. Gavel & Grand uses mobile technology to notify bidders of their bid status and alert them to competitive bids against items in which they are interested.
Each year, Gift for Life hosts events throughout the U.S. benefitting DIFFA. The primary mission of Gift for Life and DIFFA is to eradicate the AIDS pandemic in the U.S. Working together, Gift for Life and DIFFA will continue to raise funds for HIV/AIDS service and education programs.
Gift for Life’s 22nd Annual Party for Life, benefiting DIFFA, will take place on Monday, Feb. 3, at The Boathouse in New York City’s Central Park. For more information, visit www.giftforlife.org.