It’s two weeks into National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which means you have more than two weeks left to do your part. A handful of favorite shopping stops step up at this time of year to donate a portion of their proceeds to the cause. We surveyed their offerings and picked some pink products to make the process easier. Note: Many companies claim to donate to breast cancer organizations. Be sure to vet every purchase you make to ensure proceeds (or a portion of them) do in fact go to a reputable group. (All of our faves donate at least a portion of their sales to fight breast cancer.)
— Shaila Wunderlich, [email protected]
GOOD EGG
Stalwart German porcelain manufacturer Nymphenburg unveiled a new pink porcelain Egg Vase at the Four Seasons Hotel Chicago Tuesday [Oct. 9] as part of the Lynn Sage Cancer Research Foundation’s 2007 Benefit Luncheon. What makes this piece so special (aside from the fact that it is a Nymphenburg and was designed by avante-garde artist Ted Muehling) is that up to 20 percent of the vase sales go to the Chicago-based Lynn Sage group.
Cost: $1,000 for a two-vase set (one small and one large). Available at the recently opened Nymphenburg USA showroom, 470 N. Milwaukee Ave., 312-421-3500.
BETTER THAN CARNATIONS
Red Envelope’s gorgeous Oriental Pink Lilies would be a great way to not only benefit the cause, but also to make a friend’s day. The five-stem arrangement comes in a pink glass vase.
Cost: $90. Ten percent of each October sale goes to The Entertainment Industry Foundation’s Women’s Cancer Research Fund; red envelope.com or 877-733-3683.
WIPE YOUR PINKY TOES
Take your pick of 11 cheery welcome mats in a variety of pink designs, with 25 percent of sales benefiting The Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Our favorite is this “Autumn Branches” pattern. Cost: about $21.99 at these Carpet One locations: 5849 W. 95th St., Oak Lawn, 708-636-2300; 50 Orland Square, Orland Park, 708-364-6100; 3071 N. Lincoln Ave., 773-935-9314.
SITTING PRETTY IN PINK
Design Within Reach has taken the classic Florence
Knoll Bench and reinvented it with pink tufted-leather upholstery. A limited number of benches were made exclusively for charity auction. One of them is currently on display at the Design Within Reach Kingsbury location. An online auction begins Tuesday and ends Oct. 25. An in-person silent auction takes place at the store Oct. 25. All proceeds go to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation.
Cost: As a benchmark, similar Florence Knoll Benches cost $3,463. 1574 N. Kingsbury St., 312-482-8661, dwr.com/pink.