The Thrill of Discovery Shop Offers the Unexpected
Shop Talk with Christine Jaeger
Museum of International Folk Art Shop Manager I’ve been the manager for seven years, and whatever is tied to an exhibition always sells best. The Yokai: Ghosts and Demons of Japan exhibition product is great because it goes across all ages. There are fabulous things for little kids, very sophisticated accordion books and crafts. We get new shipments almost daily. People come in and get the thrill of new treasures. I do love selling the Alexander Girard product. It’s so fabulous. I love the Girard dolls. Those are so fun to have. I also love being able to introduce people to a new author or a new topic. So many of our books are about women and immigrants and I love being able to share some stories with people and see their excitement. In the warmer months, we sell Indian kurtis. People come in asking, “Where are your kurtis?” They buy those in bulk sometimes, because they’re very affordable and perfect for our climate. The Holiday Pop-Up Shop has been one of the smartest things we’ve done. I’m so proud the Foundation put that together. Literally, we physically moved our shop. We sold in all categories.
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It’s easy to see why the Museum of International Folk Art Shop might be Shops buyer Sara Birmingham’s favorite store to curate. Her buying trips have led her to villages near Macchu Picchu, where she looked for handcrafted goods to complement the 2017 exhibition Crafting Memory: The Art of Community in Peru. In 2012, she scoured the Fancy Food Show in San Francisco for specialty chocolates to sell in conjunction with the New World Cuisine exhibition. For Birmingham and her customers, it’s about the thrill of discovery and an unwavering mission to support artists. Folk Art Shop manager Chris Jaeger says their customers expect the unexpected. “What are customers expecting to find here? Variety, variety, variety. Uniqueness,” she says. “I think people in general love shopping in museum shops for that reason.” The Folk Art Shop takes merchandising to another level with its thorough selection of objects surrounding exhibition themes. Japan-made ceramics, dolls, toys and books related to the popular Yokai: Ghosts and Demons of Japan exhibition (now extended until 2022) have sold well, including online when the museum shut down due to COVID-19. “By country, we carry as much as possible that’s tied to exhibitions,” says Jaeger. “We have our African section, we have Peru, we have Mexico, we have South America. When you walk in, what you will see is a variety of different countries. What the customers say about our wide assortment of things is, ‘I can always find something different here. I can always find something for the person who thinks they have everything.’” Museum executive director Khristaan Villela says the shop is “an extension of our mission.” He adds, “The Folk Art Shop is a destination in and of itself. The quality of goods keep people coming back year after year.”
