FALMOUTH — Memorial Library is gearing up for war next month – a bidding war.
Beginning Monday, March 2, the library will host its third annual Beauty and the Books silent auction, featuring a variety of creations made by 50 local artists and craftsmen.
Auction Chairwoman Marsha Clark said she expects the library to have about 100 items donated for the auction. Bidding will take place during regular library hours by entering an amount in the Bid Book at the circulation desk. On the auction’s final day, March 26, from 5-7 p.m., the library will serve refreshments donated by “every food vendor in Falmouth” and will give bidders one last chance before awarding the treasures to the winners, Clark said.
During the month of March, auction items will be displayed in the regular gallery area and in two display cases before they “take over the tops of bookcases and every available space,” Clark said.
Donated items include quilts and paintings, photographs, a hand-knitted sweater, scarves, bags, books, a mirror and necklaces.
But some of the most unusual items up for bid may be the Duct Tape creations fashioned by Falmouth High School freshmen Sam Bruni, 15, of Bucknam Road, and Ben Shapiro, 14, of Brown Road.
Not just your father’s Duct Tape, a rainbow of colors brings these 100 percent Duct Tape purses, wallets, flowers and bracelets to vivid and practical life.
Their hobby-turned-business venture began three years ago, when Shapiro gave his friend a Duct Tape wallet.
“And two summers ago, I retaliated and gave him one,” Bruni said.
At first it was “just a funny kind of thing to do,” Shapiro said.
But the boys stuck to it, constantly coming up with new ideas. In October 2007 they sold their work at a Maine Audubon show.
“No one thought we’d succeed, but we did,” Shapiro said.
Last year, the business blossomed when the boys sold more than 400 of their Duct Tape flower pens to fellow middle school students.
Now, they not only sell locally, but nationally through their Web site and recently received an order for a whole set of flowers from a Las Vegas man who planned to use them as decorations on the head table at his wedding reception.
“We ship them all over the country; people call us the Duct Tape Dealers,” Bruni said.
They have also begun leading kids’ Duct Tape workshops at Portland Pottery.
“We’re trying to inspire children to experiment with crafts,” Bruni said.
Shapiro and Bruni said they are contributing to the auction because they are big supporters of the library.
Last year’s event raised more than $6,300.
“It is truly a community event,” Clark said.

Falmouth High School students Sam Bruni, left, and Ben Shapiro have donated some of the Duct Tape creations they sell to next month’s Falmouth Memorial Library auction. (Roberts photo)

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