Home » Features, Spring 2011

WEB EXCLUSIVE: Museum Stores DO Buy American

by Jean Thompson April 4, 2011

Many museum stores reserve a place in their product mix for American-made gifts.

For some, buying American fulfills a mission or mandate. For the rest, the decision to choose U.S. products over imports is influenced by a tapestry of business imperatives.

Interestingly enough, none of the buyers contacted for this article cited patriotism as a specific reason for sourcing local or domestic merchandise. So stow the red, white and blue bunting and turn down the Sousa march music: museums that are buying American-made products are doing it to keep their customers coming back.

Accommodating Shoppers

American-made and locally made products please an important segment of museum patrons, according to several store buyers. Many of their customers are museum members, who visit often and consider the institution their own, the buyers say. These shoppers are vocal.

"They will ask for American-made products before even looking around the store," says Marianne Brown, senior buyer for the Philadelphia Museum of Art stores. "We try to label the more expensive (over $100) work with the country of origin as the items are placed on the display floor."

Currently, the museum's stores carry American-made jewelry, including work by glass artist Kevin O'Grady and Erica Zap Designs. Other U.S. studios producing artwork for the museum include the blacksmith Blackthorne Forge and mixed-media artists Mullanium Jewelry and Home Accessories.

"Our customers ask lots of questions when they buy an item in one of our museum stores," says Brown. "The customers think they are buying a piece of 'art' when they buy something in the museum. We try to provide them with as much information as possible."

Enhancing the Mission

Many museum stores operate with a mandate to extend the mission of the museum or reflect the themes in museum collections and exhibitions. This creates opportunities for local and domestic makers-and challenges for store buyers.

Erika Gross says she was overjoyed when she discovered Kewpie art among the jewelry designs of The 3 Sisters Design Co., of Bradenton, Fla. Gross is the store manager and buyer for the Brandywine River Museum Store in Chadds Ford, Pa.

The recycled domino jewelry stamped with baby-faced illustrations was a two-fer. Her store takes its cues from the museum's dual missions. Owned by the Brandywine Conservancy, the museum emphasizes environmental preservation. Also known for its extensive collection of regional and American art, the museum owns works by the illustrator Rose O'Neill, originator of the pointy-haired Kewpie doll.

" 'Green' is trendy, but 'green' is also us," says Gross. "We also get excited when we find something new that speaks to people who live nearby and who visit us often. For example, we get excited when we see redware pottery, no matter where it is from, if it looks like the Pennsylvania redware that was made in this region."

Gross searches for jewelry inspired by flora native to the area, including thistles. Silver Seasons products by Michael Michaud help her fill that need. She also buys from Pewabic Pottery. "The vessels are exquisite," she says, and the period look of the designs appeals to homeowners in the Brandywine region. She buys Arts & Crafts Movement-inspired tiles from Motawi Tileworks for the same reason.

Reinforcing the Brand

Museum gift stores obviously can't be "all things to all shoppers." They stock a carefully curated selection of American-made merchandise, one that helps brand or reinforce the museum as a source of expertise on a topic.

One example of this is the Arthur Gorham Paperweight Shop, one of several museum stores located at WheatonArts and Cultural Center in Millville, N.J. It has cultivated a following among collectors who covet traditional and contemporary paperweights from world-renowned American artists including Paul Stankard, Cathy Richardson and Mayauel Ward.

The product mix in the gift shops of the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center in Washington, D.C., achieves the same goal. There, all products must relate in some way to the Capitol and the Capitol Complex (which includes the U.S. Botanic Garden and Capitol Grounds), says general manager Susan Sisk. Acanthus leaf decorations crown the columns in the U.S. Capitol, so she has stocked several products with acanthus designs, including plates by Table Art. Clever labeling helps visitors learn more about the Capitol's design while they shop.

Taking Price into Account

There may be cheaper imported goods with a similar look, but many museum store buyers choose American-made merchandise for the quality and original designs.

Price still matters, because many museum visitors are young families, school groups and seniors. It's not enough for a product to be fresh, exciting, trendy and attractively priced. In the world of museum finance, sales from the gift shop often help the institution meet its basic obligations (as compared to donations, which may arrive earmarked for special projects). As a result, products must appeal to the audiences that visit the museum because the bottom line is making the sale.

"We look for items where you can see the hand of the artist, and pieces that express the kind of quality of things the Kaufmanns would have collected or kept here," says Betsy Poole, museum shop manager at the Fallingwater Museum in Southwest Pennsylvania's Laurel Highlands. Built by Frank Lloyd Wright for a department store magnate who made the house his family's summer home, Fallingwater has inspired generations of designers.

Poole shops at the Buyers Market of American Craft shows to find products by American artists. This year, she says, she has picked up works from about 20 new American artists to expand an already extensive selection.

Jewelry made of concrete or stone recently caught Poole's eye (the distinctive architecture at Fallingwater includes both materials). The store carries ikebana vases from Kovecses, Designs in Wood; candlesticks from Glasslight; tiles, vases and clocks from Ed and Kate Coleman; ceramic birdhouses by Stephen Fabrico; geometric-shaped jewelry by Carly Wright; and jewelry from Kinzig Design, to name just a few American artists.

"Nearly everything we buy relates back to the collections that are in the house," she adds.

50 Items Under $50 Wholesale

The excuse that American-made objects are too expensive is no longer valid. We've put together a list of handcrafted American artwork at affordable prices, all wholesaling for $50 or less.

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