The tension in the air of the auction house was palpable. It was the dénouement at Gensler London’s annual Christmas benefit auction. A polished Heritage rocking chair was being paraded though the crowds of tony Brits eager to capture a Philippe Starck souvenir.

She caught my glance from across the room. Smokey eyes- even at that distance radiating heat. My hand went up for the first bid. She smiled - at me? -and nodded to the auctioneer. The dance began. Each time I bid it felt like those dark eyes looked directly at my soul.

And then, suddenly, it was over and I was the owner of a magnificent polished rocking chair –handmade in Pennsylvania by Wayne, Bob, Davey and the rest of the Emeco crew. This time her eyes flashed disappointment, and yet a bit of admiration too. Heat.

And then I noticed her stare locked on the Knoll rep next to me as they began the dance – and soon enough he was the proud owner of his own Barcelona chair at twice the retail value. Those damned eyes. The damn anguish.

The Emeco all-aluminum Zeppelin was in London for the photography of the new all-nude Emeco ad. Wieden Kennedy, brand champions to Nike and Honda, had assembled a creative team featuring Neil Wilder, celebrity photographer and maniacal visionary. Just a teaser here; more on that next month when the first ads run.

	Last May at the ICFF we met Ty Pennington, the wild-man host of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. Each week this network show re-builds a house from the ground up for a family facing extraordinary hardships. This past December 2, The Stockdale family of Idaho got the full treatment, including some Emeco chairs and stools in their kitchen. The design team made great cushions for the Emeco stools, and featured the kitchen at the very end of the show. Millions of viewers tuned in, and once again Emeco was hit.
	We are very pleased to report new reps in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Minneapolis. Sally Thomas Cooper, who successfully took Emeco to Las Vegas, has taken over Southern California – and opened her reign with a gala cocktail party at Nonna, a hip, and Emeco filled, restaurant in Hollywood. Kriss Kokoefer is selling for us in San Francisco and Northern California and we’ve started working with Howard Roark and Associates in Minneapolis. We look forward to amazing things from this new crew.
	The Emeco all-aluminum Air Stream Camper made stops at DWR’s in Minneapolis, Portland, and Philadelphia where we had almost 80 local architects and designers come to a continuing education talk last month. Book us now for 2008.

This is the last AlumiNEWS for the year – thanks to everyone who made it another spectacularly successful one, and best wishes for a delightful holiday season.