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The art of holiday shopping
Visit museum stores for a cultural twist on gift-giving

BY SARAH SCHELL

Keep on shopping ...

• John F. Kennedy Library and Museum, Columbia Point, Boston, (877) 616-4599

• Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 280 The Fenway, Boston, (617) 566-1401

• The Children’s Museum, 300 Congress Street, Boston, (617) 426-8855

• USS Constitution Museum, Boston National Historical Park, Boston, (617) 426-1812

• MIT Museum, 265 Mass Ave, Cambridge, (617) 253-4444

• Museum of Transportation, Larz Anderson Park, 15 Newton Street, Brookline, (617) 522-6547

• New England Aquarium, Central Wharf, Boston, (617) 973-5200

WHERE SHOULD I begin?" you ask yourself, setting out to find unusual and meaningful gifts this holiday season. You’re not alone if you cringe at the thought of leaving your cozy abode for the chaos of shopping malls, crowds, and long lines. Wouldn’t it be nice if there were a place where you could find something just right for everyone on your list — and where your purchases would support a worthy cause? Impossible, you say? Consider spending a peaceful afternoon browsing the works in a local museum, then winding down the day with a stroll through the museum’s shop.

This city is filled with spectacular museums (too many to mention here), and most of them have stores. The merchandise reflects the mission of each institution, and is often based on the museums’ permanent collections or current exhibits. And those who shop in museum stores leave not only with beautiful and exotic gifts, but also with the knowledge that they’ve helped support the museums themselves. For example, sales from the store at the Museum of Science supply roughly 11 percent of the museum’s total revenues. The money goes toward improving facilities and developing exhibits and programs.

"Museum shops are great for one-stop holiday shopping; there are always unique gifts for all of my friends’ and family’s individual tastes," says informed shopper Wendy Newman. "There’s some type of art that appeals to everyone, from jewelry to coffee-table books."

Making your holiday purchases in museum shops is a powerful way to acknowledge the importance of these institutions. Happy shopping!

FOR CHIC, sophisticated, and sparkly gifts (perhaps for New Year’s Eve?), check out the exhibition shop (upstairs from the main store) at Boston’s preeminent Museum of Fine Arts (465 Huntington Avenue, Boston, 617-267-9300). The store currently focuses on the theme of "The Look: Images of Glamour and Style." The exhibit, on display through January 6, features exquisite photographs by Horst P. Horst and George Hoyningen-Huene, along with other works by the likes of Man Ray, Edward Steichen, Richard Avedon, and Herb Ritts. You’ll be transported to 1930s Paris, at the high point of fashion and art, as you move through the exhibit and then into the shop.

Shiny tiaras ($12 for child, $28 for adult), martini flasks ($56) and glasses ($39/set of four), silver cigar holders ($64), cloches ($125), and magazine totes ($32-$38) made from Vogue images from the ’20s and ’30s fill the store with holiday flair. Two notable books, Shaken Not Stirred: A Celebration of the Martini (HarperCollins, $10) and The Savoy Cocktail Book (Pavilion Books, $19.99) may come in handy this festive season. And videos about the time period, bubble magnets with images of glamorous women, posters, and numerous fashion books line the store’s walls, presenting the visitor with a multitude of elegant options.

After you’ve experienced the exhibit and accompanying shop, head downstairs to the MFA’s café for a cappuccino before popping into the museum’s main store. The popular Boston Common at Twilight Christmas cards are back, accompanied this season by magnets and bookmarks with the same peaceful image. Brightly colored glass sun catchers ($38) and molded glass votives ($26) make beautiful and simple gifts, as do metal reindeer napkin rings ($18/set of four) and delicately painted Tiffany ornaments ($24).

You’ll be hard-pressed to find a jewelry selection quite like the MFA’s, with its reproductions of ancient Egyptian, Roman, and Greek jewelry, as well as Asian, Indian, Czech, and Austrian designs. The store sells jewelry that relates specifically to a work of art in the museum, and it also showcases individual jewelry designers from New England and all over the world. "Our selection is constantly changing," says jewelry salesperson Barbara Gaydos. "For holiday flavor, people may want to buy more fanciful, dressy jewelry — pearls and rhinestones, for example, which we have here on display."

Over at the Museum of Science store (Science Park, Boston, 617-723-2500), you’ll find more than just astronaut ice cream and plastic dinosaurs. The vast selection of hands-on educational kits, such as the Young Naturalist Kit ($18.95), and a kit called "Go Weather" ($23.95) — which teaches how to build a barometer, produce rain and thunder, and chart wind speed — might make you wish you were eight years old again. Inspired by the current Big Dig exhibit on display at the museum, the store promotes the theme of construction with its impressive selection of books, including Industrial Design A-Z (Taschen, $32) and the Visual Dictionary of Buildings (DK Publishing, $18.95), various construction-related kits, and children’s T-shirts and hardhats — all of which make fun presents with an educational twist.

Especially appealing at the MOS shop is a new brand of funky, handmade products put out by Oregon-based Resource Revival, a company that has mastered the art of recycling. Since 1994, Resource Revival has saved more than 100,000 pounds of used bicycle and car parts from landfills and turned them into an eclectic selection of accessories, including picture frames, clocks, key chains, candle holders, and bracelets ($4.95-$38).

It’s not surprising that the store at the Institute of Contemporary Art (955 Boylston Street, Boston, 617-266-5152) has some interesting gifts that you won’t see anywhere else. As one of the first places to exhibit a range of legendary artists — from Pablo Picasso to Cindy Sherman — the ICA continues to showcase art that challenges and inspires. The store’s new line of jewelry by designer I. Ronni Kappos is eye-catching, with its geometric designs and vibrant, retro colors. The bracelets, necklaces, and earrings (all around $40) are made from vintage German beads and coupled with a modern aesthetic. Also at the ICA shop is a new line of designer accessories — pencil bags ($15), business-card holders ($7.50), small-notebook covers ($28) — made by Pantone. You’ll also find "The Strap" ($20), a long strip of rubber that you attach to your wall for inserting notes, mittens, your wallet, or whatever else you want to keep secure and convenient.

A little-known museum well worth visiting is the International Institute of Boston’s Dreams of Freedom (1 Milk Street, Boston, 617-695-9990), an immigration museum located along the Freedom Trail, near Downtown Crossing. Dreams of Freedom explores the roles, lives, and history of Boston’s immigrants, and the store is filled with interesting gift ideas. Here you’ll find gorgeous carved wooden boxes ($18.95-$36), family-tree charts ($5), unique cards from Brazil (75 cents), and books such as Through the Eyes of Your Ancestors (Houghton Mifflin, $16) by Maureen Taylor and Rethinking Multiculturalism: Cultural Diversity and Political Theory (Harvard University Press, $35) by Bhikhu Parekh. There’s also a simple, beautiful basket from the Philippines ($9.95) made by a nonprofit organization called SERRV, whose mission is to promote economic and social progress in developing regions of the world.

The Store@DeCordova, at the DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park (51 Sandy Pond Road, Lincoln, 781-259-8355), is one of the best museum shops around. Among the various items for sale here are a humorous clock made from a fly swatter ($18), a large selection of handmade ornaments ($10-$30), pottery and glasswork made by regional artists (prices vary), chenille scarves ($95), hand puppets ($12.95), and one-of-a-kind lamps, including a floor lamp appropriately called "Glow Worm" ($235).

After a short walk from Harvard Square, you’ll find the Harvard Art Museums, considered among the leading university art museums in the world. All three — the Fogg Art Museum, the Busch-Reisinger (both at 32 Quincy Street, Cambridge, 617-495-9400), and the Arthur M. Sackler Museum (485 Broadway, Cambridge, 617-495-9400) — share a gift shop that mirrors the range and richness of each museum’s collection. You’ll find exquisite Pakistani shawls ($55-$125), reproductions of German Expressionist art ($2.50-$18), Japanese brushes ($6) and ink ($12), intricately patterned ornaments ($2-$15), origami pinwheels ($7), Santa Claus figures made in Poland ($11), and an array of handcrafted items from all over the world.

Also a short distance from Harvard Square, Harvard’s Museum of Natural History (26 Oxford Street, Cambridge, 617-495-3045) has a store well worth the walk. Particularly impressive are the brilliant mounted butterflies ($18.95-$90), amethyst clusters ($6.95-$95), and fossils ($9-$35), which make great stocking stuffers, not to mention the assortment of educational toys and Native American handicrafts.

Finally, if you’re looking for a single spot to get a taste of all the Harvard museums, check out Harvard Collections (Holyoke Center, 1350 Mass Ave, Cambridge, 617-496-0700). This store, though independent of the Harvard Museums, reflects the mission of each institution. While the store doesn’t sell holiday-specific gifts, you’ll find a plethora of treasures in this hands-on environment, such as bamboo pens ($2.50), delicious-smelling soaps ($2), a brass gong ($60), and mini Japanese teapots ($26).

Sarah Schell can be reached at sarahalcott@yahoo.com

Issue Date: December 13 - 20, 2001

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