BY LAURIE JO MILLER FARR
HauteSHOPPING
MoMA Design Store exterior
MUSEUM STORES MAKE MARVELOUS SHOPPING EMPORIUMS SERENDIPITY WITH A SPLASH OF ARTISTIC SENSIBILITY MAKES SHOPPING FOR GIFTS SO much more enjoyable. Pass up department stores to see what great finds await discovery within a first-rate art museum’s gift shop. Of course, there are wonderful coffee table art books, postcards, and prints. But that’s only the beginning. Museum stores are getting better all the time.
MUSEUM OF MODERN ART 44 West 53rd St., NY, NY
Everything about MoMA, including its Design Store across the street, is conceived to fuel creativity and ignite the senses. Highly curated, every single product that’s stocked passes eight rigorous criteria set by a team to ensure it fits the museum’s vision of good design. The result is a top-notch collection of cool form + function, tech + textile items from air purifiers to watermelon knives. At MoMA, there’s a Museum Store adjacent to the lobby, too. It’s no affront to art to say that the 18,000-square-foot store is one of MoMA’s highlights—and a major revenue generator.
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MoMA Design Store
PHOTO CREDITS: (TOP & BOTTOM) © LAURIE JO MILLER FARR
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