Getting Gift Merchandise Out the Door at Museum Shops

By Karen Appold

There are many reasons why visitors buy gifts for someone else when traveling. They may want to get something for a loved one who couldn’t make the trip. Or, they want to buy something for someone who is helping out while they’re away, such as a pet or house sitter. Even though they may not have intended to buy a gift for a certain person, a visitor may be tempted to do so if they know someone would love a certain item. Another reason might be to buy a gift for someone who has a birthday or another special occasion coming up.

So what gift items are selling best at museums these days? Ava Maxwell , manager of retail operations at The Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art in Winter Park, Fla., has found that Modgy vases and Modgy lumizu are perfect gifts because they are modestly priced, lightweight, and are packaged flat. They expand when water is poured into the vessel. They are beautifully designed from the large collection of Louis Comfort Tiffany works in the museum.

Umbrellas reproducing some of Tiffany’s most treasured works always awe Maxwell’s customers. Eye-catching and bold in color and pattern, the custom umbrellas produced by The Product of Design, MP Barcelona, Raincapers, La Selva Designs, and Galleria Enterprises come in collapsible and stick forms. “They are easy to carry or pack in a suitcase or tote bag, are well priced, and are often a necessity during a sudden Florida shower,” she said.

Boxed notes and notecard folios with gorgeous Tiffany images compete in sales with Maxwell’s vast assortment of small, four-inch round glass ornaments with details of Tiffany windows in the Morse’s collection. The notecard sets are by U.S.-based Museum Store Products and the notecard folios are made by Bekking & Blitz Uitgevers