A $977,000 Mac Pro and The Other Top Selling Items At Jony & Marc's RED Auction.

On Saturday night, 44 special design items were auctioned at Sotheby's Jony and Marc's (RED) Auction to raise money to fight AIDS in Africa. Brought to you by Marc Newson, Bono & Jony Ive, the event raised an incredible $12,883,000 USD (more than double that when you add the Gates' Foundation donation) with many items going for far above the estimate.





The 44 items in the auction were a combination of specially designed items by Jony Ive and Marc Newson and their favorite vintage and new design items.

The hugely successful (RED) auction raised $26.2 million to fight against AIDS in Africa. The auction was 100% sold and three lots were sold for more than $1.5 million each. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation matched the auction total of just over $13 million.

From Steinway Grand to custom Airstream trailer, here's a look at the 10 (actually there are 11, since a few went for the same price) items that sold for the most money at the auction.

1. $1,925,000:




2. $1,805,000




3. $1,685,000



4. $977,000



5. $845,000



6. $485,000




7. $461,000 (tied with #8)




8. $461,000 (tied with #7)




9. $425,000




10. $365,000 (tied with #11)




11. $365,000 (tied with #10)



Other items worth noting, because I like them and hey, this is my blog, are the following:

George Lucas Signed Stormtrooper Helmet:

A Stormtrooper Helmet from the "Star Wars" Series Signed by George Lucas for the (RED) Auction 2013. ABS. In original cardboard "Star Wars" Stormtrooper box.
Estimate 10,000 - 15,000 USD
LOT SOLD. 245,000 USD

Cosmonaut Suit That Went Into Space:

A "Zvezda" Cosmonaut Suit Worn on a Soviet Space Agency Mission into Space
Fabric with rubber lining
1990, Produced by RD & PE Zvezda, Russia
Estimate 50,000 — 75,000 USD
LOT SOLD. 305,000 USD

Dom Perignon with Special Label and Case:

Dom Pérignon Œnothèque 1966 Magnum in Custom Red Cooler Designed by Jony Ive and Marc Newson. The red cooler is unique to, and created for, the (RED) Auction 2013. The cooler is edition 01/01. Dom Pérignon has created a unique red foil label for the Œnothèque Magnum.
Estimate 15,000 — 20,000 USD
LOT SOLD. 93,750 USD

Christian Louboutin's Custom Boots:

Unique to, and created for, the (RED) Auction 2013. Edition 01/01. The pair of boots will be made to size for the buyer.
Patent leather, 2013
Estimate 20,000 — 30,000 USD
LOT SOLD. 50,000 USD

Quadrophenia Lambretta Scooter Replica:

An Exact Replica of Jimmy's Lambretta from the film "Quadrophenia"
Signed by Pete Townsend and Roger Daltrey for the (RED) Auction 2013.
Estimate 30,000 — 50,000 USD
LOT SOLD. 209,000 USD

The star-studded crowd of more than 1,000 guests was treated to a number of surprises throughout the evening including an appearance by Coldplay’s Chris Martin, who took to the stage to sing ‘Perfect Day’ and ‘Beautiful Day’ with Bono.


above: Bono and Chris Martin from Coldplay performed at the event

The performance inspired more than a dozen bidders to compete for the Steinway & Sons unique “Red Pops for (RED)” Parlor Grand Piano, which was finally won by philanthropist Stewart Rahr for $1.9 million.

Later in the evening, the Azzedine Alaïa pink couture long ruffle dress was revealed in the salesroom worn by supermodel Christy Turlington before it sold to applause for $149,000. 


above: Christy Turlington models a custom Azzedine Alaïa dress onstage that was sold for $149,000. Next to her is a "Zvezda" Cosmonaut Suit which sold for $305,000.

After the sale, guests made their way to the 10th floor for a private concert with Bono, The Edge, Nile Rodgers, Chic, and Angelique Kidjo:


Jony and Marc's (RED) Auction highlights prior to the auction were shown in this 'teaser' video:

All information and images courtesy of Sotheby's

Corporate States of America by Steve Lovelace

After writing an article about corporate feudalism, writer, artist and photographer Steve Lovelace took it upon himself to map out, subjectively, each state within the US and the corresponding corporations he felt best represented that state and the inhabitants within.



The visuals above illustrate his hypothesis that "that, as corporations become the dominant organizations on Earth, people will start thinking of themselves as citizens of Apple or partisans of Starbucks."

Steve describes the project as follows:

"This is a map of “The Corporate States of America”. For each of the fifty states (and the District of Columbia), I selected a corporation or brand that best represented the states.

My criteria are subjective, but in each case, I tried to use a brand that a) is based in that state and b) is still in business (as of 2012). I created this map after writing an article about corporate feudalism. My hypothesis is that, as corporations and non-governmental organizations grow in power, the power of nation states will become increasingly irrelevant. We’re already seeing this on a small scale, as people turn to the Internet to make friends, instead of befriending their neighbors. I think that, as corporations become the dominant organizations on Earth, people will start thinking of themselves as citizens of Apple or partisans of Starbucks.

One thing I discovered while writing this article is that corporations are not evenly distributed across the country. Some states, such New Mexico, Alaska, Montana and West Virginia, simply do not host many big corporations. Others host so many that choosing one was difficult. In these cases, I went with the company that I though best represented the state, rather than the biggest or most notorious. Hence, I used Dr Pepper for Texas instead of ExxonMobil."

Steve Lovelace

WOODCHUCKcase. Real Locally Sourced Wood Adhesive Cases For Apple Products.

University of Minnesota students Kevin Groenjes and Benjamin VandenWymelenberg put their academic (and clearly, creative) heads together and came up with a way to add a bit of nature to high tech.



above: real Mahogany and Walnut add both protection and good looks to the Apple MacBook and Apple Air.

During an all nighter in the University of Minnesota Architecture studio, Ben came up with a prototype for the 'Woodchuck' and his friend Kevin became his partner. Eventually they found a third Minnesotan, Bob Feyereisen to make the products and WOODCHUCKcase was born.


above: Kevin Groenjes, Bob Feyereisen and Benjamin VandenWymelenberg work on the design of the Woodchuck products

The WOODCHUCKcases are really beautiful. The 100% real wood self-adhesive veneers come in mahogany, walnut and birch, sourced from local lumberyards and designed to perfectly fit Apple iPhones, iPads, MacBooks and the Mac Air.




Because they are made from 100% real wood each case varies slightly in color and texture so no two are exactly alike.

iPhone WOODCHUCKcases:
Birch:

Mahogany:

Walnut:

iPad WOODCHUCKcases:
Birch:

Mahogany:

Walnut:

MacBook and MacAir WOODCHUCKcases:



The cases can easily be removed without leaving a sticky residue, using a special 3M adhesive.

The Woodchuck Team is passionately and energetically changing the way people interact with technology and has partnered with local company Midwest Special Services, a facility giving life opportunities to adults with disabilities, to create the packaging.



They began by selling the products, which are 100% made in the United States, in the University of Minnesota bookstores and now the products can be bought through their online store at the Mall of America and four gift stores, including one in Milwaukee. And beginning today, 18th of July, the cases can be purchased at Best Buy.

SPECIAL FREE SHIPPING OFFER for If It's Hip, It's Here Readers. Use code IIHIH at check out.


Buy your WOODCHUCKcase