Winter 2020

Gift Shop and museums&MORE Creative Display Contest By Julie McCallum

We were blown away by the amount of great displays and creativity that were shown in this year’s Creative Display Contest. It was a very difficult job to narrow down the entries to the top ten. Now the task is yours. Please review the finalists shown here and go to the Gift Shop website to vote for your favorite by Jan. 29, 2020. The winner will be featured in the Spring issue and will receive a $500 gift certificate for Kikkerland merchandise.

Go to this link to vote for your favorite store display by January 29, 2020. The winner will receive a $500 gift certificate for Kikkerland merchandise.

AIR ZOO

Portage, Michigan | www.airzoo.org

October 4-6 the Air Zoo hosted “Spyposium, the SR-71Blackbird revealed.” Sixteen former pilots and crew members of the SR-71 held open panels, personalized tours, educational classes and co hosted a special evening event. The store created merchandise for this event, and brought forward some of the best selling SR-71 merchandise. This event was handled much in the same way any museum would feature a new exhibit. Using all sorts of media vehicles and creating an icon that was used throughout. Making use of this icon created a display that mirrored the museum efforts. Beer, posters, glassware, t-shirts and signage were used to create a synergy between store, museum and exhibit. -Meridith Martin

Virginia Beach, Virginia | www.virginiaaquarium.com

A Few of Our Favorite Things: Turtle Mirrors and Seahorses on soap, beachy candles and signs of hope, clocks to tell the time of day, and, for your parties: serving trays. Lamps to fill your room with light, frames to keep memories in sight. Feelings of a beach house, these items bring, these are a few of our favorite things. -Vicki Krauter

INSPIRATIONS GIFT SHOP

Yorba Linda, California | www.discoverinspirations.com

We love creating displays that evoke laughter, joy, and gratitude. The wine table was inspired by our customers that love wine and enjoy visiting the wine mart next door. This table evokes laughter on so many levels and everyone who stops to see the merchandise is sure to smile and laugh.-Kim Watkins

THE PADDINGTON JEWEL BOX

Ashland, Oregon | www.paddingtonstationashland.com

We love this display because it is light, bright, welcoming and romantic. It showcases our favorite fragrance line and gives a hint of what you will find inside. -Stefanie Nagata

BLOUNT MEMORIAL AUXILIARY GIFT SHOP

Maryville, Tennessee | www.facebook.com/blountmemorial

We buy furniture to use as displays but also sell it. Being a hospital gift shop, we want to catch the visitors eye and make the area pleasing and not so “institutional” looking. We have fun with our displays and the volunteers enjoy helping. The tech items are a big seller and give a more masculine touch to the display with the metal furniture. The drawers are used for storage. -Connie Slingluff

SIMPLY BELLA

Ketchikan, Alaska | www.facebook.com/Simply-Bella-51034518509/

We love displaying!! For us it’s been such a great way to focus our buying and really look for what our customers are purchasing while also being creative and finding new and exciting products to offer on our amazing remote island! It’s our job to show trends and happenings from the lower 48! Our displays focus on that! -Orla Roberts

VICKIE’S GIFTS

Roscoe, Texas | www.vickiesgifts.net

I used an old cattle trough to display this best-selling candle line! I love the mix of rustic and chic!-Koti Lindsey

THE COTTAGE BY KRUMPETS

St. George, Utah | www.facebook.com/thecottagebykrumpets

We love this display for so many reason, most of all, seeing the children run through the store to play in this kids cottage playhouse! It’s whimsical, playful, and even shop-able! -Ashley Gonter

THE OWL BOX

Tracy, California | www.facebook.com/TheOwlBox/

We love that we can load our Welsh Cupboard with tabletop merchandise and keep the table in front clean, simple and easy for customers to relate to. We call this “controlled chaos” and it gives customers a lot to choose from but still offers a place to rest the eye. We think this is a great display because it tells a holiday story in a small space. We’ve layered tableware, textiles and floral to celebrate easy entertaining that is casual and affordable. The Mudpie serving pieces have whimsical sayings that make the display fun and unpredictable. -Gail Gabbert

ZOOTAMPA

Tampa, Florida | www.zootampa.org

These photos are taken from our main giftshop at the front of the zoo and the items are prominently displayed as soon as you walk through the door. This display showcases some of our most popular animals at ZooTampa. The display also features one of our favorite items, t-shirts made from recycled water bottles. These items help our guest to remember our vision; Everyone we touch is motivated to join us in taking action to protect and preserve wildlife. Several items in this display are conservation minded and all of the items purchased help guests remember the unforgettable natural connections they made while they were here. -Elie Johnson

Julie McCallum

Julie McCallum is publisher of Gift Shop Magazine. She is formerly the editor-in-chief of the publication, as well as editor of Museums & More, and she has more than 25 years experience in publishing.