Little Shop of Images Sharing Lasting Impressions of New Mexico
Shop Talk with Liz Rannefeld
In its small alcove on the northwestern corner of the Santa Fe Plaza, the New Mexico Museum of Art Shop holds the least amount of square footage in the Museum of New Mexico Foundation’s stable of museum shops. Yet it brims with books, cards, exhibition catalogs, prints and other products devoted to the historic and contemporary artists featured at the museum.
New Mexico Museum of Art Shop Manager
“Our challenge is to pack as much interesting merchandise as possible into a very small space,” says shop manager Liz Rannefeld.
I have been here nearly 22 years. I always laugh when repeat customers come in and say, “Are you still here?” I always tell them that I was born in the basement of the museum and that Gustave Baumann used to babysit me.
The shop succeeds in stocking a whopping 357 matted card images for visitors eager to take home a print of the artworks they have just seen in person. A carefully curated lineup of jewelry, clothing and other decorative items offer a contemporary aesthetic. Avant-garde necklaces made from stainlesssteel piano wire share a display case with a sterling-silver pin by local artist Catherine Maziere depicting the museum’s Saint Francis Auditorium.
What I have loved most over the years is my relationship with the Willard Clark woodblock prints. Clark was a genius at capturing the spirit of Santa Fe, and so some of my favorite friends are Willard Clark customers. We connect on some emotional level as kindred spirits, so I am thrilled when I can turn a customer into a collector.
Fittingly, the shop is all about image—many different images, in fact. Shop buyer Sara Birmingham says the key to strong sales and return visits from art museum visitors is featuring items related to artists who are strongly identified with Santa Fe and New Mexico. Painter-printmaker Gustave Baumann and printmaker Willard Clark are ever-popular examples. Calendars featuring Baumann’s colorful woodblock prints and greeting cards boasting Clark’s charming prints of life in early 20th century Santa Fe achieve a dual purpose, says Birmingham. They provide the visitor with a cherished memento of both their museum experience and their Santa Fe visit.
Sara Birmingham is a total joy to work with. She is a phenomenal buyer who asks for opinions and actually listens, which is always affirming. She really has her finger on the pulse. A real challenge during COVID is that I am limited to three customers. It is really difficult to tell prospective customers that they have to wait. What gives me the most pleasure is when a customer leaves with a full shopping bag and says, “I just had so much fun!” I hope that we’re not just a shop, but an experience. It really is all about the customer.
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