Princeton University Art Museum.
More than just souvenirs
By Anne Levin
Back a few decades ago, museum shops might have been relegated to a compact corner of the building’s entrance or exit. Postcards, a few books, maybe some keychains, refrigerator magnets, and other tchotchkes related to exhibits inside the galleries were the main offerings at these modest retail spaces.
The modern museum store is a different animal. Responding, in part, to increased financial pressures from a reduction in government grants and private donations, museum powers-that-be have rethought the retail experience. Clothing, jewelry, decorative objects, furniture, and fancy teas from around the globe are just some of the items regularly displayed in shops at local museums and others outside the area.
What makes these spaces special is the careful curation involved. While they are, on one hand, extensions of the museums themselves, these shops also tend to be places where patrons will find things not available anywhere else.
Morven Museum & Garden.
“I look for something you’re not going to find at Hallmark,” says Kathy O’Hara, who manages the shop just outside the entrance to Princeton’s Morven Museum & Garden (55 Stockton Street; morven.org/online-shop). “If I see something elsewhere from a vendor I’ve been using, I don’t use them anymore.”
Morven’s shop is compact, but O’Hara packs it with everything from flowing scarves to coasters from Holland. A selection of dog banks (like piggy banks) represents the canines who have lived at Morven, which used to be the New Jersey governor’s mansion. In artful frames for sale, O’Hara has placed a photo of Annis Boudinot, one of the home’s most famous residents.
O’Hara starts looking for items to stock during the winter holiday season in February. While this year has been particularly challenging because of the issue of tariffs, she perseveres.
“I have regular customers,” she says. “I ask people what they would like, and I get it for them.”
Part of the excitement related to the recent reopening of the Princeton University Art Museum has to do with its gift store, which is considerably larger than its predecessor in the old building (the museum reopened on October 31). The store’s satellite location on Palmer Square (princetonmuseumstore.org), which opened during the reconstruction of the main building, is still going strong.
The smaller store “acts as an important anchor location to drive awareness of the museum from Nassau Street,” says spokesperson Stephen Kim. “We see the museum stores as an extension of the museum experience — a place to be inspired by art and celebrate artists. In that spirit, we proudly feature a number of handmade products from local/regional artisans.”
In the main store, there are pieces inspired by the opening of the new building.
“One very special collection we’re calling a wood art project: Second Growth,” says Kim. “Inevitably we did have to clear some trees to make way for a museum twice the size of the old one. We invited seven regional artisans to make handcrafted items using this wood and the resulting items are incredibly beautiful and functional pieces that give second life to the material, in a reflection to our commitment to sustainability of our campus resources.”
Also on the shelves is a new book by Museum Director James Steward. Renaissance includes contributions from University President Christopher L. Eisgruber, and also features essays by architecture critic Paul Goldberger and art critic Mark Stevens.
Wild Cherry Tea Scoop by Jonathen Spoons. Ellarslie, the Trenton City Museum.
The shop at Ellarslie, the Trenton City Museum in Cadwalader Park, even has a name: Molly’s. Named after late artist and museum supporter Molly Merlino, the store offers paintings, prints, jewelry, home goods, memorabilia, and gifts for kids. Wild cherry wood chopsticks, Leon Rainbow’s Trenton T-shirts, colorful finger puppets, and soy candles are among the items on its website at ellarslie.org.
From the Penn Museum in Philadelphia.
The shop at the Penn Museum in Philadelphia (3260 South Street; penn-museum-shop.myshopify.com), which displays culturally and scientifically significant objects, focuses on “Holiday Giving That Gives Back,” according to Penn Museum Shop Manager Dan Ellerbroek. Among the items currently in the store are silk scarves, jewelry duplicating the royal style of a Mesopotamian queen, excavation kits and hieroglyph-decoding activity kits for children, board games, and 1,000-piece puzzles.
Ellerbroek is particularly enthused about Museum Store Sunday, which takes place on November 30. More than 2,200 museums worldwide offer discounts on this day designed to spur holiday shopping.
Necklace based on the headdress of Queen Puabi from the ancient city of Ur, featuring carnelian and lapis stone beads and gold finished pewter leaves.
“Shopping during Museum Store Sunday not only supports the mission of cultural institutions, it also helps local communities around the world,” he says. “Museum shops like ours are intentional about buying from local artisans and businesses to showcase fair trade products like tins of Just Tea, keychains from Guatemala, and Made 51’s ornaments. Shopping with purpose can be a fun and powerful way to give back.”
Nearly every museum shop across the U.S. and beyond has an online presence, which makes the opportunities limitless for picking up unique treasures. For visiting in person, consider these locations:
The New Jersey State Museum shop (205 West State Street, Trenton; nj.gov/state/museum/index.shtml) offers jewelry, pottery by local artisans, educational toys and games, and much more. The museum specializes in New Jersey’s natural and cultural heritage, which is reflected by the offerings on the shelves.
The shop at the Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms (2352 Route 10, Parsippany; stickleymuseum.org/shop), which was built by craftsman Gustav Stickley as an expression of his distinctive style, has everything from beeswax candles and the children’s coloring book Adventures at Craftsman Farms with Teddy (the dog) to Craftsman-style floor and table lamps.
The shelves of the generously-sized shop in the Michener Museum (138 South Pine Street, Doylestown, Pa.; michenerartmuseum.org) are loaded with cards, jewelry, pottery, books about local history and art, prints, some toys, and more.
Not surprisingly, the shop at Liberty Science Center, the child-oriented museum at 222 Jersey City Boulevard in Jersey City (lsc.org/visit/gift-shop) is big on educational items geared toward young minds. The shelves are overflowing with puzzles, games, T-shirts with science slogans, experiments, and toys.
The Philadelphia Museum of Art (2600 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia; pham.org) has its main gift store on the first floor. Like many large museums, it also offers pop-up shops thoughtfully positioned at the exits of major exhibitions. The array of items for sale is hard to resist and especially well curated. Scarves, gloves, books, cards, candles, toys, books, prints — the choices seem endless.
Just down the road at 2025 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, the Barnes Foundation is renowned for its collection of Impressionist, post-Impressionist, and Modern art. Visiting its shop (shop.barnesfoundation.org) and coming out empty-handed is a challenge. The shop even has a category called “Barnes Exclusive,” with everything from pins, pillows, scarves, tote bags, brooches, metalworks, and puzzles, to name just a few items.
New York’s Museum of Modern Art (11 West 53rd Street; store.moma.org) is particularly known for its MoMA Design Store. The variety of holiday items, ranging from stocking stuffers to pianos, is huge. It goes way beyond things related to exhibits in the museum, but everything is thoughtfully curated.
Perhaps the granddaddy of them all, New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art (1000 Fifth Avenue; shop.metmuseum.org) draws holiday crowds for its jewelry, clothing and accessories, stationary, home décor, and tables stacked with beautiful art and photography books. Custom prints reflecting the museum’s collection are available — Edward Hopper, Mark Rothko, Vincent Van Gogh, Sonia Delaunay, and Faith Ringgold, just to name a few.
