Special Surf Expo Section

Getting Nautical Home (From page 39)

store for museum staff and volunteers to communicate with customers about their favorite items. “They have been hugely effective,” Jaques said.

Trivelli is a proponent of making signs fun. For example, glasses from Bow & Hummingbird feature a little submarine logo which the gift shop includes as part of the graphic design on signage for them.

Finding Unique Merchandise

When looking for something different to stock, Rice tends to seek out products from local companies or smaller businesses. “It’s much easier to find unique items from lesser-known sources; I have found some amazing products,” she said.

To find one-of-a-kind items, Jaques recommended going to local gift shows, researching products online, listening to recommendations, and always keeping your eyes open. “We have many talented and interested visitors who are also makers,” she said. “We are always learning about new things happening in our area.” They museum also has hand-forged items made onsite by volunteers and students in its blacksmith shop.

Because a lot of cruise ship passengers visit the gift shop at the Los Angeles Maritime Museum, Trivelli seeks out smaller home décor items that will fit in a carry-on bag.

Cowee is a huge supporter of small designers. She follows other nautical and museum stores on social media to get ideas for merchandise.

Uniquely branded apparel sells well and cannot be found anywhere else. Buying on the online wholesale site, Faire, has been tremendously successful for her. Here, she can easily search themed categories and many vendors have zip code protection which ensures that other stores in town won’t also carry the same merchandise. It’s easy to visualize how merchandise will go together by using the option to create boards (like Pinterest) to organize items. She also carries many local artists' work on consignment. The 1,200-square-foot shop garners around $350,000 annually. Porter scout outs other retailers either online or in person. She searches for items that aren’t typically found elsewhere, which is why consignment partnerships are growing at the 1,000-square-foot gift shop. ❖