BETHLEHEM, Pa. — By the time the Banana Factory’s final "yard sale" came to a close Sunday afternoon, there was not much left for shoppers to comb through.
When the doors opened Saturday morning — the second day of the sales finale — a line already had formed approaching the ceramics classroom on the ground floor.
Art school students, instructors, amateurs and creative professionals spent much of the weekend picking through bags of beads and half-finished bottles of acrylic paints.
“It’s kind of a bittersweet moment of saying goodbye to this building, but it's really nice to see all the supplies... go to good use instead of going to a dumpster if we can't store it."ArtsQuest Manager of Visual Arts Elena Ostock
There also were frames, adjustable office chairs, display stands and more — and plenty of drastically reduced prices and even some free supplies throughout the building.
A $30 Christmas tree sat in the furniture room near a cluster of chairs as cheap as $4. In another room, a framed retro poster for Musikfest 1989, marked for $10, leaned against a wall.
Large Ziploc bags of jewels, stones and beads marked for $5 filled half a table.
On Sunday, shoppers could take home whatever they could stuff into a drawstring bag for $5, and anything too large to fit was marked down 75%.
By noon Sunday, after a final $220 in sales, only a picked-over fraction of the art supplies, furniture, home goods, decor and odds and ends remained.
‘Exactly what we wanted’
Since the first Banana Factory sale in April, the organization has raised just shy of $10,000 clearing out the building, ArtsQuest Manager of Visual Arts Elena Ostock said.
“People really came out for the last few days and really cleaned us out, which is awesome," she said. "That's exactly what we wanted.”
The bulk of whatever was left — mostly mismatched glasses, swatches of fabric, old tile samples used for mosaics and assorted office furniture — will be donated.
“We've been contacted by somebody who runs an art thrift store, so we'll be in touch with them about getting more supplies to them,” Ostock said.
Proceeds will go directly to the ArtsQuest Re-Imagine That! Capital Campaign fund, which supports the organization’s “mission of strengthening access to arts, culture and educational programs.”
A cornerstone of that campaign is construction of a new, $26 million Cultural Center that will “serve as the cultural anchor and gateway to Bethlehem’s South Side Arts District and meet the needs of our growing and evolving community,” the ArtsQuest website states.
Before the new center opens,First Fridays and some other ArtsQuest programming will be held at the ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks.
‘Bittersweet moment of saying goodbye’
Ostock said she knew two functioning pottery wheels up for sale Saturday were the hot-ticket item of the day, and expected a rush to pick up the coveted item once the doors opened.
"It’s kind of a bittersweet moment of saying goodbye to this building," she said.
"But it's really nice to see all the supplies, all the equipment, all the stuff we've accumulated over the last 25 years here go to good use, instead of going to a dumpster if we can't store it.”
Just before noon Saturday, Ostock said she believed about half the items in the building had been bought up.
“It's been great because we’ve seen a lot of artists we've worked with over the years, whether it's former resident artists, exhibiting artists, repeat students, teaching artists, come through to buy stuff."ArtsQuest Manager of Visual Arts Elena Ostock
Many supplies were snatched up quickly, Ostock said — easels were a hot commodity during Friday’s sale, disappearing in mere minutes.
“It's been great because we’ve seen a lot of artists we've worked with over the years, whether it's former resident artists, exhibiting artists, repeat students, teaching artists, come through to buy stuff,” Ostock said.
“I run our summer camps, and I've seen a bunch of my campers come through, and we've had so much stuff that isn't art supplies, that there really is stuff for everybody.”
Bargain hunting
Former art teacher Michael Stek came out specifically for those pottery wheels, and with a strategic position at the start of the line, he could secure both.
“I used to teach here, and I wanted to get these,” Stek said, gesturing toward the two pieces he described as a “very big bargain.”
“This one needs work, and that one actually does work, from what I’m told, but I can fix them and use them in my studio for personal use.”
Searching through a pile of free items atop a worktable in the ceramics room, Kristina and Gianna Carbone said they were on the lookout for just about anything.
“I'm really into learning, I’m really into arts and crafts and stuff like that, and I love this, it’s cheap stuff," Kristina Carbone said.
"And I figured I’d come out and get some cool things.”
Gianna Carbone said she had hoped to snatch up an easel, “but it was already gone before I could get it.”
Up on the second floor, clusters of customers strolled throughout rooms sectioned off by theme — furniture and shelving in one larger area, photography equipment in a smaller enclosure, Christmas decorations, dinner plates, utensils and other odds and ends in another area.
The bargain hunters were searching for anything of interest.
'We love the Banana Factory'
ArtsQuest volunteer Mandy Cappella said she made a point to come out on Saturday because “I thought it would be fun to see what they had.”
“It’s great because I think they sold a lot, but there’s still some neat things left for people if they wanted to get them,” Cappella said.
As Saturday’s sale winded down, Susan Morelock and her daughter Delta perused the furniture room one more time, with the toddler excitedly testing office chairs and benches.
“We love the Banana Factory," Morelock said. "I’ve taught here for a number of years. It’s been such an institution in the Valley.
"And I’m also a deal hunter,” she said, a pair of graduated cylinders from the photography room in hand.
“These are great and super useful… and we might be going home with a piece of furniture, too,” she said with a smile.
Then she prepared for one last look around the place to pick up some art supplies for Delta.
Last Call
The weekend’s final customer, Bethlehem resident Amanda Carey, loaded up a bag shortly before noon Sunday with glasses, other home goods, and strips of construction paper.
With all of it stuffed into a single bag, she paid just $5 for the haul.
"It's nice to get to say goodbye to a space that curates the arts and supports the community.”Bethlehem resident Amanda Carey
As a kid, Carey said, she participated in Pennsylvania Youth Theater, a long-time Banana Factory tenant. As an adult, she joined stand-up comedy classes just down the hall from Sunday’s sale.
“Because I have that history as a child and then even in adulthood, it's nice to get to say goodbye to a space that curates the arts and supports the community,” she said.
With ArtsQuest’s “yard sales” complete, the organization and its tenants are in the final days of emptying the building before demolition begins early next year.
Artists with studios in the Banana Factory have until Jan. 1 to clear out.
Staff and volunteers will spend the next several weeks moving, storing, and donating every last stick of furniture, bottle of paint and piece of art.
