Local Catholic Charities running online auction of hand-painted furniture

EAGLE COUNTY — If you need furniture that is artfully decorated by locals and want your purchase to help people in need, this auction is for you.

“We’re calling it, ‘Designs For Hope,’” said Marian McDonough, regional director of the Western Slope Catholic Charities.

The auction runs through Friday and you can see the furniture at Alpine Bank offices in Eagle, Garfield and Pitkin counties.

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Folksy to fabulous

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The furniture runs from the folksy to the fabulous.

The auction includes tiny wooden chairs for children, an Adirondack chair with an amazonite stone affixed to the central slat in the chair’s back and a small, unpainted Conrey & Birley table that was made in 1896.

Catholic Charities is the charitable arm of the Archdiocese of Denver, with offices in Eagle and Glenwood Springs. It’s the group’s first time trying this kind of fundraising event.

“It’s our first. It’s our inaugural year,” McDonough said, adding she got the idea from the Grand Junction Symphony.

“They weren’t going to do it this year, so they were happy to let us take it on,” she said.

McDonough collected 23 pieces of furniture from thrift shops and consignment stores around the region. A volunteer, Mark Willingham, sanded the pieces down and prepared them for the artists’ work.

The website will feature photos of the pieces and their locations, so that bidders can either visit or bid by telephone.

After the bidding closes, McDonough said, there is to be a “closing event” at a location yet to be announced in Glenwood Springs. There bidders can pick up their furniture and mingle with some of the artists who decorated the pieces.