Artists, Fashion Designers and Jewelers Create Custom Dolls For Charity: Frimousses Designers for Darfur.

For the tenth year, UNICEF France's Frimousses Creators bring together the greatest designers, artists and jewelers who put their talent toward helping UNICEF and children worldwide by creating one of a kind dolls that are auctioned with the proceeds going toward vaccinating children in Darfur.



The unique dolls (or in some cases, artworks inspired by dolls) were created by such well-known names and fashion houses as Prada, CHANEL, Gaultier, Gucci, Missoni, Issey Miyake, Olivia Putnam, Philip Pasqua, Mathieu Lehanneur, Dolce and Gabbana and many more. The pieces range from couture dressed Barbies to lithographs, knit dolls to robotic sculptures. To show the path of hope and gather people to believe in tomorrow, this year's theme was "Yes Future!" for which dynamic, lively, modern dolls and art works are the ambassadors of hope and carry the colors of life.

Here's a look at many of the other dolls from the project.
Anne Fontaine:

Agatha Ruiz de la Prada:

Ara Starck:

Agnes b.:

CHANEL:

Chantal Thomas:

Chloe:

Christian Dior:

Dolce and Gabbana:

Elie Saab:

François Clerc:

Frimousse de Coeur:

Gucci:

Issey Miyake:

Jay Ahr:

Jean-Paul Gaultier:

Jerome l'Huillier:

Jean Claude Jitrois:

Lorenz Baumer:

Mac Chaoul:

Mathieu Lehanneur:

Missoni:

Nicolas Saint Gregoire:

Olivia Putnam:

Prada:

Rallye des Princesses:

Valerie Attinelli:

Vincent Darre:

Yulia Yanina:

See all the dolls here.


What Went for The Most Money:
The Artcurial auction, which took place on December 3rd, 2012 at Petit Palais, raised $251,942. The top five pieces which garnered the most money for the cause were:

Lot 17. Carlos CRUZ-DIEZ Couleur Additive Denise B 6/8 2007, sold for $23,613:


Lot 16. DICE KAYEK Poupée Trésor « Lumière » June 2012 // Paris, sold for $16,557:


Lot 21. Claudine DRAI - Galerie de Noirmont, Untitled, August 2012, sold for $8,915:


Lot 5. Philippe PASQUA, Aora 2011 sold for $8,278:


Lot 71. TORRENTE Shina June, 2012 // Paris, sold for $7,642:


The individual results of each lot in the auction can be found here.

In ten years, the auctions of Frimousses Designers have raised over $ 1.5 million, allowing the fund UNICEF vaccination campaigns and saving hundreds of thousands of children.

For this 10th anniversary, UNICEF hopes to ensure the children of Darfur right to be healthy and to grow and thrive, protected from diseases such as measles.

If you want to support the actions of UNICEF for children in Darfur, you can send your donations by check *:

Frimousses Designers for Darfur
UNICEF France
3 rue Duguay Trouin
75006 Paris

The Top Ten Top 10 Lists of 2012 Ranging From Pop Culture, Art and Music To Tech, Cars and Science.

For the end of the 2012, instead of sharing with you my own top ten list of this blogs' most popular posts, I've rounded up interesting and informative Top 10 lists in various categories from reputable sites and journalists. Ranging from Pop Culture and Scientific Discoveries to Luxury cars and iPhone Apps, here are some great compilations.


Ten Great Top Ten Of 2012 Lists


1. The Top 10 Books of 2012 (New York Times Editors)


2. Top 10 Albums of 2012 (Rolling Stone)


3. Top 10 Art Auction Sales in 2012 (Bloomberg)


4. Top 10 Weirdest Stories of 2012 (National Geographic)


5. Top 10 TV Moments of 2012 (Art Info)


6. The Top 10 Science Stories of 2012 (CNN)


7.  Top 10 Best Cars Over 80k of 2012 (Car and Driver)


8. The Top 10 Crowd-Funded Projects of 2012 (Engadget)


9. Apple's Top 10 Free and Paid For iPhone apps of 2012


10. The Top 10 Google searches in 12 categories in 2012

24 Artist-Embellished Darth Vader Helmets Up For Auction Starting February 7th.

Three months ago, 24 local and national artists were selected by HalloweenCostumes.com to create original art pieces with authentic replica Darth Vader Helmets as their base. And what a job they've done! And yes, all of them are shown in this post.



Tattoo artists, prop designers, illustrators, poster designers, graffiti artists, sculptors and more have turned the iconic helmet into original and unusual pieces of art that you have the opportunity to own.



With a starting bid of $50.00 USD, HalloweenCostumes.com is auctioning off each of these artists’ creations with the proceeds benefitting two Minnesota charities, the Midwest Art Catalyst and the Miracle League of North Mankato.

Here are all 24 helmets

Denise Vasquez “FRANKENVADER”:



Jason Goad “The Haunting of Darth Vader”:



Christopher Mark Galiyas “Luke, Put Down That Koi… I Mean Toy and Get Over Here”:



Ryan Peterson “Skevader”:



Brad Smith “Star Roars”:



Lindsey Tollefson “Saturday Night Vader”:



Shane Anderson “Vader’s Got Character”:



R.L. Gibson “Lack of Faith”:



Kelly Bunde “Darth Hoot”:



Staci Queen “The Lord of the Stitch: Tailored for Evil”



Sonny Wong “Wong Vader”:



Karl Schneider “Black Metal Vader aka Darth Throne”:



Weston Brownlee “I Have You Now (2200 AE)”:



Dawn Evans Scaltreto “The Trouble with Hubble”:



Travis Lynn Mattick “Bugs in the Helmet”:



El Celso “Chicha Vader 2011”:



Dheepan Ramanan “Enigma (Darth Vader Helmet)”:



David Melendez “Tiki Torch Vader”:



Jason Knudson “Darkside Dessert”:



Makeba Ische “Sweet, Sweet Daydream for Darth”




Megan Hoogland “Muertos de Vader”



Albert Song 'Guys Gone Right':



John Dickinson “Apocalypse Vader”:



Gabriel Wimmer “Vader from Vader Unmasked”:




Auction Details:
• The auction will begin on February 7, 2012 at 12PM CST.

• Bidding will open on February 7th, 2012 at 12pm CST. When bidding opens, individuals will be able to click on a helmet and enter a bid. The placement of a bid will start a 24 hour timer. If the individual is outbid within that 24 hours, the timer will start again and the new high bidder will have 24 hours to be outbid. This process will continue until a high bidder maintains his or her position for all 24 hours. EACH HELMET'S AUCTION, BIDDING, and TIMER WILL FUNCTION INDEPENDENTLY.

Note: After you place a bid, you will receive email confirmation that your bid has been received. If you are outbid during the 24 hour period, you will be notified that you are no longer the high bidder. If your bid has won the helmet, you will receive an email with further details.

For questions and media inquiries contact Elise at contest@halloweencostumes.com.
Happy Bidding!



Visit here for more images, artist's statements, information and videos of each helmet.

This project is not sponsored or endorsed by Lucasfilm Ltd., and has no relationship with Lucasfilm. Star Wars and all related intellectual property is © or ® 2012 Lucasfilm Ltd. & (tm). All rights reserved.