Lydia Fenet’s Book Launch Attracts SF’s Cool Girls

Photo Credit: Jaime Borschuk for Drew Altizer Photography

San Francisco’s cool crowd came out recently to support New Yorker Lydia Fenet, and her new book, The Most Powerful Woman in the Room Is You. Twenty years ago, Fenet started working as an intern at Christie’s. Today she is Christie’s managing director and global head of strategic partnerships. Fenet travels the globe as one of the world’s most in-demand auctioneers, and she has raised more than half a billion dollars for nonprofits including local favorite Tipping Point.

Becca Prowda, Emily Holt, Lydia Fenet, Sabrina Buell, Mariana Wall

Photo Credit: Jaime Borschuk for Drew Altizer Photography

To celebrate the book, which chronicles her life and shares her revolutionary sales technique, Emily Holt invited Fenet to host a signing at her Tenderloin boutique, Hero Shop. The party was co-hosted by Sabrina Buell, Becca Prowda, and Mariana Wall. Guests sipped wine while shopping the latest collections at Hero Shop. Every single book that Fenet brought to sign was purchased making it a successful evening.

Photo Credit: Jaime Borschuk for Drew Altizer Photography

Fenet read the first two pages of her book; it’s a section that details her signature strike method. “The Strike has become my signature move,” she read. “I never start an auction without it. A few times I have forgotten my gavel and had to improvise—an empty saltshaker, a jar of Kiehl’s face cream from the goody bag at my chair, a tube of Laura Mercier lipstick. Other times the organization doesn’t have a podium, and I have had to use other things—the rail of a staircase, the top of a piano, a wooden block I found backstage. A frequent auction bidder once told me I should patent the gavel strike; there is little doubt who is leading the auction when bidders hear the repeated cracks of my gavel against the podium. Whatever it takes. I always start with the Strike. And once the gavel hits the podium, I never back down.”

Photo Credit: Jaime Borschuk for Drew Altizer PhotographyThe book includes case studies written by female leaders like Martha Stewart, Barbara Corcoran, and Deborah Roberts. It also includes tips for harnessing the power of a community, negotiation, and how to sell oneself. Guests at the fashion-forward soirée included Jill Kargman, Katie Paige, Jessica Silverman, and Susan Swig.