Special Section

Founding the Foundry Sale

V1 Staff |

CURATED COLLECTION. Mary Freeberg started the Foundry Sale as a way to get rid of some of her stuff (and the stuff of many other local vintage and antique sellers).
CURATED COLLECTION. Mary Freeberg started the Foundry Sale as a way to get rid of some of her stuff (and the stuff of many other local vintage and antique sellers).

Initially started as a way to get rid of some things, Mary Freeberg and her husband began the Foundry Sale, a periodic, multi-seller, vintage and antique market housed in a old foundry near Banbury Place.

Calling all hipsters, antique collectors, and anyone who loves a good deal!  

The Foundry Sale is in the works as we speak, slated for this fall in downtown Eau Claire. And just to make sure we’re on the same page, this is not an event where foundries are sold – that would just be silly, as a foundry is a workshop or factory usually used for casting metal. But I suppose it doesn’t hurt to clarify.

If you haven’t heard of the Foundry Sale and didn’t attend one of the two that happened in May and October of last year, what you’re missing out on is a gathering of local collectors, vendors, and dealers who come together in order to sell their unique goods to the public in a shared environment.  

The “goods” include things such as antiques, vintage items, estate pieces, art, jewelry, and more.  It’s not just your run-of-the-mill neighborhood sale, either.

Foundry Sale creator Mary Freeberg said the items featured are a little “higher end” than what you might find at a garage sale.  

“I talk to people to find out what they have to contribute because I don’t want it to be a thrift sale,” Freeberg said, adding that in the end, “there’s a little bit for everybody and people just love it.”

Freeberg came up with the idea to host a foundry sale when she thought of selling her own collectibles, which are stored in a foundry that she and her husband, David Graziano, have owned for the past 20 years. Industrial equipment was once made at the local foundry, but hasn’t been produced since the early 1990s.  

After deciding to sell some stuff, Freeberg tried to think of a suitable venue in Eau Claire where she could do it – and came up blank, until a light bulb went off.

She thought, “Instead of lugging my things around to sales, why not bring the people here?”  

Freeberg and Graziano reached out to local vendors and, after getting a few to commit, the first Foundry Sale was born and took off May of last year. And unlike flea markets at bigger cities, the Foundry Sale is located indoors, so no matter the weather, the show goes on.

“The first one was small but still went really, really well,” Freeberg said.

After receiving a lot of positive feedback from the vendors and shoppers who attended, Freeberg and Graziano decided to hold another sale in October. From five vendors at May’s sale to 13 participating in October, they knew they were on to something.  

“People collect stuff and Eau Claire just doesn’t have anything like this,” Freeberg said. “It takes a lot of work, but people like it, so it’s worth it.”

There’s just one Foundry Sale this year October 3, 4, and 5, from 9 am to 5 pm The foundry is located at 1239 Bellevue Ave., right behind Banbury Place. At press time, there are still four open spots for vendors or collectors to fill. If interested, contact Mary Freeberg at grazfree@gmail.com.

This Year's Foundry Sale

Oct. 3-5 • 1239 Bellevue Ave., Eau Claire