One Of A Kind Pink Diamond™ Barbie Doll by The Blonds Auctioned To Benefit Charity.

This original one-of-a-kind Pink Diamond™ Barbie® doll by design duo Phillipe and David Blond of The Blonds was unveiled at The Blonds Spring 2013 show during New York Fashion Week. The doll is now being auctioned off for charity with proceeds benefiting the MAC Aids Fund organization. Bidding has begun (link to bid is at the end of this post) and the auction ends on Tuesday, September 25th.

Custom Stella McCartney Handbags by Five Artists Up For Auction To Benefit Charity.

Stella McCartney, fashion designer and environmental activist donated a collection of six eco-friendly Falabella bags to be recreated as works of art by a group of five artists (Mr. Brainwash, David Foox, Peter Tunney, Bunta Inoue and Justin Terry) to benefit Christie’s Green Auction: BID to Save the Earth.

The Falabella Bag is a Stella McCartney favorite for its edgy design and eco-friendly construction. Brown vegan-friendly faux leather with signature whip stitching and curb-chain trim and top handles. Made in Italy.

The six custom bags shown below (with images of both the front and back sides) are presently up for auction right now. Bidding closes on April 19th.

Custom Stella McCartney Bag by Mr. Brainwash
Juxtapop
Mixed media on authentic Stella McCartney vegan canvas bag:


bid for this bag here.

Custom Stella McCartney Bag by Mr. Brainwash
Life is Beautiful, 2012
Stencil and spray paint on authentic Stella McCartney vegan canvas bag:


bid for this bag here

Custom Stella McCartney Bag by David Elan Foox
Hand-painted on authentic Stella McCartney vegan canvas bag:


bid for this bag here


Custom Stella McCartney Bag by Peter Tunney
Acrylic Paint and Extensive and Unique Mixed Media Collage on authentic Stella McCartney vegan canvas bag:


bid for this bag here

Custom Stella McCartney Bag by Bunta Inoue
AGAPE - Happy Prince
Hand-painted with a on authentic Stella McCartney vegan canvas bag
Genuine natural sapphire with certificate from the GemResearch Swisslab (GRS)
Weight: 0.32ct
Cut: Oval
Color: vivid blue (GRS type "Royal Blue"):



bid for this bag here

Custom Stella McCartney Bag by Justin Terry
Acrylic on authentic Stella McCartney vegan canvas bag:


bid for this bag here




This project, which merges art and fashion, reflects the spirit of collaboration which is central to the Green Auction initiative. Proceeds from the Green Auction benefit leading environmental organizations including Oceana, Natural Resources Defense Council, Conservation International and Central Park Conservancy.



Details on how to participate in the online auction and how to donate, volunteer and act can be found at www.BidtoSavetheEarth.org.

Portraits of Black Icons Made With Thousands Of Colorful Thumbtacks.

Andre Woolery's work depicts his journey as an artist and reflects his personal cultural experience as a young black man. His current work, comprised of thousands of colored thumbtacks (not unlike Eric Daigh's pushpin portraits) combined with paint, is primarily portraits of black icons by design.


above: Artist Andre Woolery with some of his thumbtack portraits

Initially inspired by Fruit Loops, because of their bright colors, Andre considered using the children's cereal as a medium. He then found a package of multicolored thumbtacks and began searching for them in all the colors he would need (apparently trying to find "orange" was like searching for the holy grail according to Andre).

Thanks to Mike Jacobs of Jam Paper, he ended up a wide array of colors (including orange) that made the following portraits of Jay-Z, Kanye West, Jimi Hendrix, President Obama and All About The Benjamins possible.




Challenged to find a way of keeping the tacks in place on the canvas, he bought ALL of the hardware store's expanding foam to spray the back of the canvas. The rest of the piece was tack-by-tack trial and error. Every 'pixel' was a lesson in spacing, light, and color to create the vision of Mr. Sean Carter (aka Jay-Z).


Jay-Z "The Tackover," April 2010
7,633 thumbtacks in total
Price for the original: $ 7,633.00, 20% of proceeds from original piece go to Harlem School of Arts.




Kanye West "Tacks on Tacks on Tacks," September 2011,
Over 8,000 thumbtacks
Price for the original: $ 12,000.00, 20% of proceeds from original piece go to Harlem School of Arts.




President Obama "Wet Paint," November 2011,
Over 10,000 thumbtacks.
Price for the original: $ 15,000.00





"It's All About the Benjamins," (featuring Benjamin Banneker) November 2011
23,850 thumbtacks in total
Price for the original: $ 25,000.00, 20% of proceeds from original piece go to Harlem Children's Zone.




Jimi Hendrix "Electric Feel"
Over 2,000 thumbtacks
Price for the original: $ 4,250.00, 20% of proceeds from original piece go to Harlem School of Arts.




Artist Andre Woolery:


All the artwork in this post (and more) is available for sale as originals or digital prints, some pieces whose partial proceeds go to the Harlem School of the Arts and the Harlem Children's Zone, making them that much more attractive.

Andre's thumbtack portraits only represent some of his artistic work. Check out his website to see more.

His etsy store

Shop for Andre's work here

Ho Ho Haute Christmas Trees. The 16th Les Sapins de Noel des Createurs (all the trees).

above: Louis Vuitton's Christmas Tree for the 16th Les Sapin de Noel des Createurs

The 16th Les Sapins de Noël des Créateurs, an exhibition of Christmas Trees designed by top French Fashion Designers, Architects, Photographers, Interior Designers and other creative personalities, just took place at the Hotel Salomon de Rothschild in Paris.



This is my third year in a row blogging about this charitable event and this year the proceeds from the auction of the trees designed by the likes of Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Stella McCartney and Jean Paul Gaultier will benefit the Association pour la Vie-Espoir contre le Cancer (A.V.E.C.), a children’s cancer charity.


above: a detail of Sonya Rykiel's Christmas Tree

The exhibition at the hotel took place from the 2nd of December through the 7th and featured personal artistic interpretations of Christmas trees by the following (in alphabetical order):

Ali Mahdavi:

Barbara Rihl:

Blind Adam:

Chanel:

Chantal Thomass:

Christophe Josse:

Damien Da Rocha:

Diane Von Furstenberg:

Dior:

Dries Van Noten:

Dsquared:

Elie Saab:

Esmod:

Jean-Claude Jitrois:

Jean-Paul Gaultier :

Jean-Jacques Ory:

Jean-Charles de Castelbajac:

José Lévy:

Louis-Marie de Castelbajac:

Louis Vuitton:

Les Garçons:

Mathilde de L’Ecotais:

Marc-Antoine Barrois:

Maxime Simoëns:

Olivia Putman:

Pierre Hermé:

Rachid Khimoune:


Ruben Alterio:

Sonia Rykiel:

Stéphane Rolland:

Sébastien Parfait:

Smalto:

Stella McCartney:

Thanos Kyriakides:

Trussardi:

Wooyoungmi:


The only participants whose images of trees I do not have are those by Christian Biecher and Christian Ghion.

Images courtesy of Les Sapins de Noel des Createurs,, Journal des femmes, Diane Pernet and Les Petits Bout2fee

•See the designer Christmas trees from the 15th Les Sapins de Noel des Createurs

•See the designer Christmas trees from the 14th Les Sapins de Noel des Createurs