Pink Auction raised €2,942.33 for Action Breast Cancer

On Sunday, the 10th of October, scores of people gathered from around Ireland to support and enjoy The Pink Auction. After months of preparations, it was time to admire the more than 230 beautifully-crafted handmade creative textile donations by very talented Irish donors and raise funds for Action Breast Cancer.

Along the way, and particularly at the Pink Auction itself and the drop-off day, we were fortunate to have volunteers who helped things go smoothly. For those wonderful people who helped us with special events, organizing, publicity, logistics, social media, blog posts, and all the pinkthings that came up, WE THANK YOU and will make every effort to pay tribute to your efforts in this wrap-up. Note: If a name is a link in this post is goes to either the person's website OR a photograph of their auction donation.

The day began at 8:30 a.m. when the set-up volunteers met to transport and display the donations in the Ballroom of Cork's Imperial Hotel. Cork-based fashion designer, Laura Eliason, led the display design with color groupings, which received praise all day from visitors. We were thrilled to see so many friendly faces find us to offer help in the morning hours and are so grateful to each of you! There were so many to help, a few of whom had cheered us on along the way, including: Carol O'Leary, Melissa Mullins, Emer Hewson, the ladies of Wilton Library Knit and Knatter, and many more dedicated volunteers. Suzanne McEndoo, Ph.D., Hook's Law blogger and physicist extraordinaire dedicated her skills to organizing the item lots and creating the PowerPoint slideshow with photos taken by co-chair Evin O'Keeffe.

All morning, the items were available to buy then at promptly 2:00 p.m. sales ended so we could prepare for the big auction. By the time the live auction began, a considerable number of creations were sold outright, but the enthusiasm and excitement were still there. The dedicated work of the cashiers, Tamzyn de Rohan-Truba and RoseMary O'Shea made it all possible. Helping with just about everything, including Pink blog posts and event-day bidder registration, was Mandi Jackson. Informing the auctioneer and Evin, who was running the slideshow from the front of the room, may seem like a simple task, but couple that with displaying specific items and modeling donations for promotional images and there are many reasons to appreciate Máire O'Sullivan.

Auctioneer Denis A. Barrett guided guests through the bidding and at the end of the day, every item went to a loving new home and €2,942.33 was raised for Action Breast Cancer.

Julie Anne Carleton, whose idea sparked this community-based campaign and phenomenal event, shared a few words at the end of the event, paying tribute to the hard work, amazing creative talents, and heartfelt generosity that made the Pink Auction possible. We were also honored to have a registered nurse present to speak on behalf of Action Breast Cancer.

Shaun O'Connor, Thomas Cowderoy, Victor Sullivan, and Evin O'Keeffe were the photographers of the day though a photographer from The Evening Echo was also present. Click on each photographer's name to access their Pink Auction photos, if available.

THANK YOU

Yesterday, we were thrilled to see Cork City's Lord Mayoress and so many Pink Auction donors, supporters, enthusiasts, and volunteers at the Pink Auction. For those of you who couldn't be with us for Julie Anne's final speech, here are the words that go with our heartfelt gratitude:

Lady Mayoress, Ladies, and Gentlemen -

Thank you for attending and supporting this, "The Pink Auction." We hope you enjoyed the auction.

There are a few people I would like to thank today:

• Vibes & Scribes who have given us so much support and assistance from the beginning. Thank you to Joan for being so helpful and supportive. I also want to say a big thank you to Declan O'Meara for helping design the fliers

• Martin Desmond, who gave us a stand at the Innishannon Vintage Rally race

• Rose O'Dea in the Irish Cancer Society who gave us so much support and encouragement

• Lucy Lyons and the knitting group in Youghal Library, who gave amazing support and belief in this auction from the very start

• Denis A. Barrett and Gráinne Killilea, a fabulous auctioneering team who stepping in at the last-minute to help make this event a success

• LifeFM

• Barry's Tea

• Cafe Gusto

• The Imperial Hotel

• WhazOn?

• StitchLily

• The Woolly Way of Ireland

• Lisa Fitzpatrick

• Vibes & Scribes knitting group

• Cork Stitch N Bitch

• LGBT knitting group of Cork

• Knit and Knatter group of the Wilton Library

• Crafty Alley in Killarney

• Creative individuals and groups who hand-crafted textile donations for this worthy cause

A huge thanks to Evin O'Keeffe who made this auction professional, elegant, and graceful, much like herself. Without her help, the auction would not have succeeded and she's also done amazing work photographing and cataloguing all the more than 230 items.

To everyone who has donated work to the auction, thank you so much. Evin and I are both textile artists and we know how much love and hard work has gone into every item here. We are also aware that for many people here who have lost loved ones to cancer, that it was sometimes hard work emotionally too - and we are especially grateful to you.

For those ladies here who are breast cancer survivors and have donated work, thank you for sharing your courage, beauty, and strength with us. I hope today is a day that everyone can celebrate you and your work.

Thank you to Denis A. Barrett who has been our auctioneer and to his colleague Gráinne.

We also remember those we have lost to breast cancer with great love. Today, we help to make sure that we can provide a brighter future for all those affected by breast cancer, now and in the future.

We would like to dedicate this auction to the memory of Patricia Fisher, Josephine Gleason Talone, Kay Conroy Gleason, Jenny Hulehan, Ardyce Elaine Thorson, and Kym McMurray.

Kim Basteed with the Lord Mayoress Catherine O'Connell at the Pink Auction at The Imperial Hotel, Cork City.

Photo: Evin O'Keeffe

Latest Press for Pink Auction

We are thrilled to be getting so much positive press as the Pink Auction approaches. Only a few days until the main event, so enjoy reading and hope to see you on Sunday for the best part - bidding on beautiful Irish creative textiles and raising funds for Action Breast Cancer. Oh, and if you feel so inclined, get in the spirit and wear a little pink with us.

In the past 24 hours alone, these two fab articles are fueling us to make the final touches:

DABBID.com - the blog of our fabulous auctioneer, Denis A. Barrett

Cork Independent (7 Oct 2010) - shown in photo

In the past six weeks, we've been cheered on by this press:

City Style: Cork from The Cork News (Sep 2010)
The Irish World (Sep 2010)
Journeying Beyond Breast Cancer (Sep 2010)
The Woolly Way of Ireland (Sep 2010)
The Crafty Alley Shop
Whazon Cork (Sep 2010)
Irish Craft Update (Sep 2010)
Corkipedia (Aug 2010)

Send in the [Knitted] Clowns

Six of the more than 200 beautifully-crafted textile creations are clowns. Yes, clowns! Knitted with care and good humour by Bernice Daly (the two with hat toppers) and Mary Brouwer & Tracey Brouwer (the four without hat toppers, including the Produce Clown shown below). Bernice donated her two in memory of May Daly. You can see photos of more Pink Auction items on Flickr and come on Sunday, the 10th of October to bid on or purchase your favorites!