"
Thanks!" to
Stephanie, who shared the following upcoming J.Crew-related auction for charity with us.
Over at CharityBuzz (click
here), there is a current auction donated by Ms. Lyons herself, to "Tour the NYC Offices of J.Crew, Go Behind-the-Scenes on a Photo Shoot, and Have Lunch with the Brand's President & Executive Creative Director, Jenna Lyons". The lot details include:
This is your opportunity to tour the New York City offices of J.Crew and go behind-the-scenes of a photo shoot. In addition, you will have lunch with the brand's President & Executive Creative Director, Jenna Lyons, during a 1-hour meeting!
During your sit-down with Ms. Lyons, you will see firsthand what goes on behind the scenes of an iconic American brand. This is truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to sit down with the creative genius behind fashion industry's biggest name.
J.Crew debuted in 1983 with the mailing of its first catalog. Six years later, the brand opened a flagship store at New York's South Street Seaport. Today, the business includes retail and outlet stores nationwide and an ever-growing online and catalog business.
J.Crew offers the highest quality men’s and women’s clothing as well as children’s clothing including cashmere, sweaters, women’s dresses and shoes, men’s shirts and ties, accessories and much more.
Ms. Lyons joined J.Crew as an assistant in 1990 and became Creative Director in 2007. Recently profiled by the New York Times as "the Woman Who Dresses America," Ms. Lyons has played a key role in the brand's overwhelming success throughout the years. Ms. Lyons was recently named by Glamour as their "Woman of the Year," and serves as a judge for the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund.
This experience is not going for cheap. The current bid (as of time of post)
is $1,850. Considering there are still 5 days left before it ends, I can safely assume the
auction will be sold for {a lot} more. According to the page, the estimated value is $10,000.
Dayum! I hope the winner takes lots of pictures and posts them somewhere for us JCAs to view!
Equally as interesting as the actual experience of lunch with Jenna, are the legal notes that are associated with this event:
Please note: tour will not be conducted by Jenna Lyons. Meeting cannot
exceed 1 hour. Cannot be resold or re-auctioned. Cannot be
transferred. Expires 1 year from the close of auction. To be scheduled
at a mutually agreed upon date. Travel and accommodations are not
included. Every effort will be made to schedule this experience at the
earliest possible date convenient to both parties, but please note it
may take up to 1 year to schedule based on availability.
If the tour (and most likely the photo-shoot) will be Jenna-less, who would be the point-person accompanying the winner? Wouldn't it be awesome if it was Mr. Mickey Drexler himself! ;)
I also found it pretty funny that they make it
very clear that the winner gets 1 hour, max. I picture her staff members looming in the background of the restaurant with a stop-watch. Don't even think about going over a minute or two! ;) But in all seriousness, I get it. I am sure Jenna Lyons' schedule is jam-packed with work, social events, and family. Every minute counts for her.
What are your thoughts on this upcoming auction? If you had the "spare cash" to spend, would you bid on this auction? How much do you think it will sell for at the end of the auction?