Hamptons magazine to auction $75K artist surfboard for local charities

Niche Media’s Hamptons magazine is capitalizing on the influx of affluent individuals heading to the east end of New York’s Long Island with its “Summer of Giving” charity campaign.

Now celebrating its 36th season in the Hamptons, the imprint is looking to give back to the community it covers through a series of summer-long philanthropic partnerships. The largest of the seasonal initiatives is custom-designed surfboards designed by nine artists.

Summer of love
Hamptons magazine partnered with auction Web site, Charitybuzz to house its Summer of Giving campaign. Here, the consumer can view the publication’s local partners such as The Ross School, Southampton Hospital and the East Hampton Library, as well as widely known efforts such as VH1’s Save the Music.

Readers can also place bids on the auction lots that include Niche Media covers designed by artist Peter Max, tickets to the Metropolitan Opera, a day of beauty at the Neiman Marcus store in Westchester, NY, a needlepoint rug from Stark Carpet and a Ralph Lauren Purple Label made-to-measure experience.

The largest aspect, the custom-designed surfboards, will premiere in the June 27 issue of Hamptons magazine. The nine participating artists are Charles Wildbank, Michael Dweck, Paton Miller, Thomas Dash, Jeff Muhs, Peter Dayton, Jerome Lucani, Peter Tunney and Peter Max, all of whom are offering a personal experience along with the surfboard.

Artist Thomas Dash with his surfboard for Hamptons magazine

Each custom surfboard is valued between $5,000 and $75,000 with starting bids ranging from $2,500 to $25,000 on CharityBuzz. Hamptons magazine collaborated with Global Surf Industries with support from Douglas Elliman and the New York Sunshine Surf Club.

The Hamptons auction page on CharityBuzz can be viewed here.

With an established audience already in place, publications often partner with charitable organizations to show their values.

For example, Condé Nast imprints joined the fight against mother-to-child HIV transmission through a partnership with charity Born Free Africa.

May issues of Condé Nast-owned publications, such as Architectural Digest and Vanity Fair, included Born Free Africa advertisements to spread awareness about the multi-faceted campaign. Condé Nast’s involvement with Born Free Africa included sponsored events, subscription-based donations and provided exposure for the exclusive capsule collection available at online retailer Shopbop (see story).