Your Invitation
Join Maria Bakalova, Amanda Kloots, & Aurora Perrineau inside the EF Collection x The Retaility dinner
held in collaboration with Thirteen Lune
Photography by Emma McIntyre & TheRetaility.com
“Welcome to my home,” said EF Collection designer Emily Faith Strauss, who opened her beautiful West Hollywood abode for a dinner party with The Retaility and Thirteen Lune. A pre-Mother’s Day celebration of sorts, the evening celebrated all forms of motherhood.
Co-hosted by Strauss and TheRetaility.com founder Lindzi Scharf, the intimate event attracted Maria Bakalova, Amanda Kloots, Alliance of Moms co-founder Kelly McKee Zajfen, Aurora Perrineau, Ahna O'Reilly, and director Kay Cannon.
Others in attendance included Ashley Hinshaw Grace, Mouna Traoré, Jenna Parris, Jessica Paster, Nola Singer, Ashley Fultz, Ashley Kraus, Set Active founder Lindsey Carter, Thirteen Lune’s Melissa Magsaysay, and Goop’s Noora Raj Brown.
The evening was deeply personal for Scharf and Strauss, who are bonded by the unimaginable. Scharf's daughter Evan passed away from a rare mitochondrial disease just shy of her fourth birthday while Strauss's son Austin was diagnosed with Polycystic Kidney Disease and passed away as a newborn. Strauss understood Scharf's pain and reached out to her shortly after her daughter's passing. The gesture led to a new friendship built on perseverance as well as a piece on TheRetaility.com detailing Strauss's journey. It was one of the first stories Scharf wrote when she returned to work.
Scharf and Strauss are on a mission to honor their kids' legacies. Together, they designed a rose-gold and ruby ring with as much personality as Scharf's daughter Evan.
“Lindzi and I have really bonded over the unimaginable but we have formed such a beautiful relationship,” Strauss told guests.
Modeled after a pair of pink sunglasses Evan often wore, the design was a custom creation for Scharf and her family; but the mothers quickly decided to make the joyful design available to the public with a portion of its proceeds benefiting Evan's passionate advocates: Rady Children's Institute for Genomic Medicine through Angels 4 Austin, a non-profit founded by Strauss and her husband Justin.
The dinner — a testament to the strength of community — was an opportunity to celebrate their collaboration and to honor inspiring women. “Tonight is about celebrating badass mamas,” Strauss told the crowd before dinner was served. “[It’s about] everybody in this room who might not have had a straight path into motherhood but [we’re] coming together, supporting each other, talking about the good, the bad, the difficult. This is what it's about.”
As a nod to fur baby mamas, Nola Singer’s Rescue Rosé, which supports animal rescue, was served.
“Motherhood can mean so many things,” Scharf told guests. “To me, birthing a project is motherhood. Fur babies? [That’s] motherhood. I have three of them and you've got…”
“My Levi!” Strauss said, referencing her pup.
“I didn't know that this more traditional version of motherhood is what I wanted,” Scharf continued. “I was so grateful to discover it.”
Guests turned out in gorgeous looks — with O’Reilly clad in Zimmermann, Bakalova in Erdem, Kloots in St. Roche, Scharf in Ted Baker, and Strauss in a stunning blue floral dress.
Naturally, the women wore jewelry from EF Collection with Strauss in the gold treasure bangle, gold diamond mama bracelet, endless love eternity bracelet, diamond hummingbird signet ring, and her signature pave diamond hummingbird necklace. Scharf wore the mini hummingbird stud earrings as a nod to Strauss’s son Austin as well as the diamond angel wing necklace and her Evan’s sunnies ring.
The group enjoyed on-site ear piercing by EF Collection and could choose from a variety of delicate options.
Kloots, Cannon, and Traoré were among those who left with new ear piercings.
“I am allowing this man to pierce my ear—with my eyes closed,” Traoré laughed, taking a deep breath. “I’m a brave girl. Do I get a lollypop at the end? Do you have a shot of tequila?”
The evening also included beauty gift bags from Thirteen Lune featuring products like Relevant: Your Skin Seen's new 13 Stems fragrance; Relevant's Discovery Set, a five-piece skin care kit; and a Joanna Vargas mask; as well as a monogrammed EF Collection jewelry travel pouch and The Retaility journal.
Event planner Frannie Felder Hudson of Hudson Production helped curate the details, which included a delicious meal of little gem salad with toasted quinoa, market find roasted veggies, rigatoni with crispy sprouts, a pizza bar, roasted chicken breasts, and roasted salmon filets with fennel pollen.
Abigail Spencer’s County Line Florals designed the exquisite flowers featured on the tables and throughout the home.
Scharf’s husband Michael Buckner and Strauss’s husband Justin Strauss attended in support of their wives.
“I can't even tell you how much it means to see — new faces too — but everyone in this room means more than you realize,” Scharf said, explaining she couldn’t have made it through a difficult year without the support of friends and colleagues. “A small note is not small. It's big. It means so much. I love having all of you here.”
“Thank you all for being here,” Strauss concluded. “This is an incredible group of women. This means a lot.”
