museums&MORE Winter 2014

Taylor Wise-Harthorn

Taylor Wise-Harthorn
Holland Museum
Holland, Mich.

1. What makes your gift shop store unique?
We offer a variety of gifts featuring the history of our local area, as well as items from and about the Netherlands, since our city was founded by Dutch settlers.

2. What is your retail background?
I’ve worked in a variety of museums and art galleries and have been in my current position as our gift shop buyer for more than 3-1/2 years.

3. What is the most popular product that you sell?
Our postcards featuring images of the museum’s collection are very popular items, as well as smaller Dutch-themed products, such as magnets or Dutch ceramic known as delftware.

4. What are your top three retail tips?
Definitely know your audience. The majority of our guests come from out of state, so they tend to buy items that are smaller and are easier to pack. Our local visitors often purchase gifts to send to friends and family, so having a good combination of inexpensive and pricier pieces has been useful. We also take suggestions from visitors, especially locals, who may be interested in a certain theme or particular objects in our galleries.