Wendy Brandes Jewelry Blog

Never Is the Next New Thing

NieNie Auction

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Some of you may have read about Stephanie Nielson, aka NieNie, a blogger who was terribly injured in a small plane crash last month. NieNie’s husband Christian was burned over 30% of his body, and Stephanie was burned over 80% of hers. Flight instructor Doug Kinneard died in the crash.

Stephanie and Christian, a few days before the accident

On Saturday, the New York Times wrote about bloggers’ efforts to raise money for medical and other expenses. One sentence in the article makes it clear how devastating Stephanie’s injuries are: “Last week, during reconstructive surgery on Ms. Nielson’s badly damaged face, doctors retrieved enough tissue from parts of her body to craft a new nose and ears.” (You can stay up-to-date on the couple’s progress through Stephanie’s sister’s blog, C Jane.)

Helium balloons carrying get-well messages.
Photo from the New York Times

I first read about this on gorgeous blogger/friend/client Jennifer‘s blog, Practically Perfect in Every Way. So I’m going to auction off a Wendy Brandes-designed sterling silver Diana Necklace like the one that Jennifer owns.*

The pendant is very tactile and curvy, and the metal has a beautiful matte finish. I love a matte finish. It’s subtle and sex-ay.

Diana Necklace in sterling silver

This is a bold pendant with a lot of heft to it — a good example of my overall style. To give you an idea of its size, allow me to present Jennifer’s sister Megan and their cousin Kim, my spokesmodels. Note that they are wearing the matching Diana Ring. (Somehow, Jennifer keeps ducking the camera.)

The retail price of the Diana is $250. The full amount of the winning bid will go to the Stephanie Nielson Fund. Jennifer will testify that this necklace worth every penny and then some, because the compliments she gets are priceless. You know what else is priceless? The good karma that you’ll get when you buy this necklace. Trust me — nothing else in your wardrobe is going to make you feel as good as this necklace will. Oh, now is a good time for me to reiterate what the Times wrote: “Last week, during reconstructive surgery on Ms. Nielson’s badly damaged face, doctors retrieved enough tissue from parts of her body to craft a new nose and ears.” Think about that. No, seriously, think about it. I’ll wait for you in the next paragraph.


Are you ready, my peeps? I already know you are the most gorgeous and stylish peeps in the blogosphere. Impress me with your generosity too!

Here’s how the auction works:

  • Leave your bid in the comments on this post. (PLEASE DO NOT MAKE OTHER COMMENTS ON THIS POST. IT IS FOR BIDDING ONLY. SEND ANY QUESTIONS TO ME AT WBJEWELRY AT HOTMAIL DOT COM.)
  • The opening bid is $50, and subsequent bidding can be in increments of $10, $20, $50 or $100 (this has been updated: originally $10 was required). Please stick to those round numbers.
  • You can bid many times. It’s just like eBay! If you get outbid, bid again, for God’s sake! I’ve temporarily stopped comment moderation so you can bid in real time.
  • All bidders must have a way for me to contact them. If you don’t have a blog profile with your email address in it, please leave your email address in your bid comment.
  • The highest bidder as of Friday, Sept. 12, at 11:59 PM ET wins the necklace.
  • After I contact you to let you know you’ve won, you’ll pay via Paypal directly to the Stephanie Nielson Fund by clicking the little blue button at the top of this page. (You can also use that to make a donation at any time.)
  • Then you forward me your receipt and I will send you your necklace…anywhere in the world. This is not limited to the US.

Anyone who links to this post from their blog, website, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, etc. will be doing a good deed. And you can read about why this necklace and its matching ring is named “Diana” here.

*UPDATED TO ADD: Here are the new incentives. Previously, I offered a pair of blue topaz earrings for a winner who bid $250 or higher; special engraving (by the artisan who engraved my Matilda Necklace) on the Diana if the winning bid was $500 or higher; and immortality in the form of a namesake jewelry design for a winner who bid $1,000 or higher. We have achieved all those goals! So now:

  • If the winning bid is $2,000 or higher, the winner can opt to upgrade the blue topaz earrings for delicate diamond studs.
  • If the winning bid is $5,000 or higher, the winner can opt to exchange the silver Diana and the small diamond earrings for an 18K gold Diana Necklace. The gold necklace is set with over half a carat of diamonds. The necklace can be customized to the winner’s taste in yellow, white or rose gold.
  • If the winning bid is $10,000 or higher, the winner can opt to exchange the gold Diana necklace for the first example of the “immortality” design itself. As I said before, I will grant you immortality by naming a piece after you and adding it to my It Girls collection (or Men’s collection, for the boys). I will interview you about your favorite gems, metals and jewelry concepts before designing a piece in your honor. Your story will be told on my website. You’ll be right up there with Elizabeth I and Cleopatra. The immortality is priceless! I expect the piece itself to fall into the $5,000 – $6,000 range of many of my pieces.

If at any time, you want to stick with what you already earned, you may do so!

Spend some money, peeps. Now I’m looking for $2,000. Look at all the stuff you can. A mere $2,000 for immortality! Two thousand dollars seems like a lot but it is a drop in the bucket for Stephanie Nielson and her family. Still, every drop helps. You’ll be doing a good deed AND making out like a bandit. Maybe you have a birthday coming up? You can ask your whole family to chip in for a birthday present like no other. Get creative!

Again, please don’t leave non-bidding comments on this post. I appreciate your kind thoughts but prefer not to distract the bidders.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. I’ll start with a $60 bid and thank you for linking to her sister’s page so we can find out how to do more.

    Leah

  12. Wendy that’s such a sad story, I’m a bit shaken this morning. I know they’ll be in for a long recovery but hopefully we can all help make it as smooth as possible.
    I’ll donate to their paypal account.

    Great idea for the auction!

  13. Thank you for donating, Jen! Remember, other peeps, save this comment section for bids only (it’s okay, Jen, I just don’t want people to get confused). The most recent bid is $170 from K.Line. Who is going to raise the bid by $10???

  16. I unfortunately just can’t afford to bid in dollars, but it’s a really great thing you’re doing Wendy, best of luck with the auction.

  26. I did not know of this blogger prior to the NYT article but I love how the blogging community has banded together.

    I can’t afford to bid at this range at the moment but want to commend you for this.

  27. I can’t afford to bid on it at this time 🙁
    But what a wonderful thing you are doing. I hadn’t heard about this tragic story all the way in Australia, but I truly pray for them and their family.
    Best of luck with raising the money.

  29. Please excuse Practically Perfect, people. She’s operating on very little sleep. But she is really bidding $300! So the next bid should be at least ten dollars above that. Do I have another bid? Someone needs to win immortality here.

    (Remember, please save this comment section for bids ONLY.)