Lake Bell and Aurora James Hosted an ‘Auction of Nothing’ to Benefit The Fifteen Percent Pledge

Aurora James, Lake BellPhoto: Jojo Korsh

Imagine your most interesting friends gathered around a room, gossiping over cocktails and promising to hex each other’s exes in exchange for a home cooked meal or intel about a secret family cookie recipe. That’s exactly what unfolded at a so-called Auction of Nothing, hosted on a breezy Sunday evening in Silver Lake by Lake Bell and Aurora James.

Welcoming guests to gather at the recording studio of Grammy Award-winning producer Emile Haynie, the fundraiser bucked convention by offering niche and personal experiences over extravagant lots. In fact, Bell has been organizing these nights for the last 15 years, regularly inviting her friends to auction off things that, quite literally, cost them nothing, in order to raise money for important causes.

This time around, she teamed up with Brother Vellies designer Aurora James to benefit her non-profit The Fifteen Percent Pledge, which combats racial inequity by providing grants and resources to Black-owned businesses and entrepreneurs. Setting a warm and inviting tone for the evening, Bell personally explained the concept to the crowd by opening up a stacked leather binder full of old bids, ranging from piano lessons with Jeff Goldblum to afternoon tea with Gloria Steinem. “I always auction off clay plating because I’m a ceramicist,” she told Vogue. Her only rule for the one-on-one creative session at her home? “No work talk.” 

The premise soon became “something really special in an organic way,” she explained. “That’s what I’m all about: kindness, talking to people in real life, and games. It’s chic, fabulous, and fun, and it gets a bunch of cool people together.

While James admitted she was too “terrified” to participate at Bell’s last event, she found herself eager to host. “I feel like community is really what people want right now,” she said. “There’s a lot of opportunities in my life where I can get dressed up and be at a fancy table, but what I really relish the most is being around people that care about the things that I care about, having conversation, and meeting new people.”