Briggs and Riley,
the manufacturer of Travelware, a high end innovated luggage design company, has teamed up with
the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation of Long Island to raise money in
the fight toward finding a cure for Juvenile Diabetes.
The designs of Jonathan Lipnicki, the adorable scene stealer from the movie Jerry Maquire, King of Queens co-star, Leah Remini, and ESPN SPorts Anchor, John Anderson.
The cocktail reception, recently held at
the Grant Gallery in Soho, was
the kick off to a ten day on-line auction for celebrity decorated Briggs & Riley's Wheel-On weekender luggage.
The event, sponsored in partnership with Ebay, was eighteen months in
the planning. Grant Gallery Director, Tatiana Grant, introduced
the event and donated ten percent of all gallery sales for
the length of
the auction.
The celebrities involved went beyond
the call of duty as their obligation ended with personalizing
the exterior of weekender. Each celebrity filled
the luggage with additional items central to
the theme of
the exterior decorations.
Chef Ming Tsai and "Spanning The World" Sports Anchor Len Berman show their creative side.
Celebrated Chef and author Ming Tsai created a Far East theme and filled
the suitcase with autograph cookbooks, knifes and other kitchenware. Kevin Covas,
the preteen girl’s dream from American Idol, and a native New Yorker, created
the Road to American Idol and filled
the inside with never before seen Idol memorabilia. Morgan Freeman used his immeasurable talent to create and his generosity by adding an autographed suit carry bag.
The design of Oscar winner, film director and film narrator, Morgan Freeman.
Other celebrities who donated their time and talent included Bryant Gumbal and Jim Belushi, who both used their love of sports to create exterior sports themes and made
the inside a sports lover’s paradise with sportswear and sports DVD’s. ESPN Sports Anchor John Anderson decorated
the bag with golf course and filled
the inside with ESPN tee shirts, mugs, and a hat.
Sportscaster Neil Everett enlisted his colleagues and had them all autographed
the tote and fill
the inside with SportsCenter memorabilia. WNBC Anchor Len Berman also used his love of sports in decorating and personalizing
the interior with his book, Spanning
the World and other sports symbols. Pro skateboarding entrepreneur Tony Hawk created a skate boarders Mecca.
The JDRF event with Jim Belushi's design, Go Bears! in the forefront and Hip Hop Mogul Damon Dash's decorative design sits left.
Kelly Ripa, of Live with Regis and Kelly, and Leah Remini, of King of Queens, both created a girly girl theme in pink. Nikki Cox of
the hit series Las Vegas elaborated on
the girly girl theme by adding Disney’s Cinderella and
the words, Every Girl’s A Princess. Ivana Trump, like Morgan Freeman, autographed her bag and used her exquisite talent and sophisticated taste to add multi-colored appliques to create a collection of fine jewels something I'm sure she is familiar with.
The design of Leah Remini, star of the television show "King of Queens."
Television dramas were also represented by Sasha Alexander of NCIS and Robert David Hall of CSI. Mr. Hall decorated his luggage with New York Yankees and other sports decals and Ms. Alexander created
a West Coast, Hollywood and Napa Valley travel theme
.
The inside of Ms. Alexander’s luggage contained memorabilia from 7th Heaven and Melrose Place. Fresh Prince of Bel Air star, James Avery worked with Mr. Hall to replicate
the peace generation days with modern peace decals.
A collection of Briggs & Riley Travelware.
Rachel McAdams, best known for
the Wedding Crashers, enlisted
the aid of an artist friend and
the two used
the luggage as a canvas, painting it white and creating
the portrait of a woman in black with red lips: A very Vogue design. Shelly Morrison, who played Rosario on Will and Grace, decorated
the exterior of
the luggage in
the theme of never stop living your dreams. She filled
the inside with a Will and Grace Script, a hand-knitted scarf and a replica of
the gift bags she gave out to castmates at
the holidays.
The designs of Robert David Hall of CSI: New York and Nikki Cox of the hit television show, Las Vegas.
Legendary New York comic Jackie Mason created a faith-based bag using
the Star of David as
the centerpiece allowing both his Jewish religious beliefs and his love for New York City to be prominent. Ray Romano, of Everybody Loves Raymond, whose character was a sportswriter decorated his bag with a New York Yankees sports theme. He included an autographed copy of his book, Ray Romano, Everything and a Kite.
The designs of comedian and Everybody Loves Raymond star, Ray Ramono, American Idol's Kevin Covas and SportCenter Anchor Neil Everett.
Ashley Benson and James Reynolds, both of
the soap, Days of Our Lives, filled their bags with a Days of Our Lives script and other soap memorabilia.
The exterior designs differ greatly between
the two as Mr. Reynolds chose a basketball theme and Ms. Benson designed her bag, with
the help of a friend recently diagnosed with diabetes, with a Hollywood theme and added a photograph.
Jonathan Lipnicki,
the lovable child star and scene-stealer in
the film Jerry Maguire, created a travel-based theme to go along with
the luggage. He included destination logos of exotic locales. He personalized
the interior with a signed water polo sports ball he used as a child. Kieren Hutchison and Nicole Tuboila stars of
the ABC Family Television Wildfire created a canvas of travel destinations and included DVD’s of their shows, One Tree Hill and Wildfire.
The design of former Today Show Anchor and Real Sports Talk Host, Bryant Gumbal.
Hip Hop Mogul Damon Dash designed
the exterior of
the luggage with decals of his hip-hop empire. In addition, he went all out filling the inside of the suitcase with his DVD, Damon Dash: A CEO’s Point of View and a set of Men’s and Ladies High Top sneakers. Geoffrey Zakarian,
the celebrated Chef, author and entrepreneur and owner of
the elegant Restaurants, Town and Country decorated
the front of
the luggage with designs from
the newer of
the two restaurants, Country.
The design of daytime drama, Day's of Our Lives, Ashley Benson and James Reynolds.
Jim Lehren, Briggs & Riley Vice President of Marketing spoke briefly about
the commitment of B&R to
the awareness campaign with JDRF.
The intent is to find a cure. “
The cause,” he stated, “
the one closest to
the heart of
the Briggs & Riley family is
the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
The Walk-A-Thon was just one way we could find to help. This is another way.” Innovators in
the luggage design business,
the B&R family are also innovators in their desire to assist
the fight of
the JDRF by coming up with new and distinctive ways to create interest, raise money and awareness for
the cause of JDRF.
Mary Tyler Moore, a veteran of stage, film, and television has been
the International Chairperson of
the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation for twenty years and has lived with Type 1 diabetes for over 35 years. Due to her own diagnosis, she made a lifelong commitment to
the goal of finding a cure for childhood diabetes and increased awareness by her many successes in
the entertainment industry.
International JDRF Chairperson, film, television and stage star, Mary Tyler Moore and friends.
Barbara Rogus,
the Executive Director of
the Long Island Chapter spent a few moments discussing
the myths surrounding
the cause, such as overloads of sweets and candy and inactivity, of
the diseases and
the long term and short-term goal associated with cure, care and control of
the disease. Diabetes affects approximately 30,000 Americans annually of that 13,000 are children.
Barbara Rogus, Executive Director of the Long Island Chapter of the JDRF and two of the reasons for the fight.
Briggs & Riley offers a full selection of, Travelware, high-quality luggage collections. Briggs and Riley are committed to establishing permanent relationships with each person who invests in
the purchase of their Travelware Luggage. With this commitment comes their “Simple as That” warranty. If through normal life use and simple wear and tear
the Briggs & Riley Travelware becomes damaged, they will replace it: Simple as That.
The generosity of
the Briggs & Riley family extended to everyone who was a part of
the kick off reception with a gift of a Boarding Tote and soft suede notebook cover and pen.
A very Vouge design from Rachel McAdams graces the window display at The Grant Gallery.
Grant Gallery is located at 7 Mercer Street and is home to a collection of contemporary European, and in particular Russian, art. Tatiana and Julia Grant have put on permanent display
the works of five successful Russian stage designers combining their love of theater and art. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday 11:00am – 7:00pm and Sunday 12:00pm – 6:00pm. Visit their website, www.grantgallery.com for further event information.
The Briggs & Riley Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation auction raised over 6,000.00 from
the auction of
the Travelware.
Photos courtesy of Terry Maloney and HWH New Media and Public Relations.
Mary Tyler Moore Photo courtesy of JDRF website.
