Columnist Muriel Stevens: No art to shopping in museum stores

Wednesday, Nov. 18, 1998 | 10:03 a.m.

One week in New York was not nearly enough to do all of the things I wanted to do, but I did get to MoMA -- The Museum of Modern Art -- and to shop in the smashing MoMA design store located across the street from the museum.

On sale in this captivating store are replicas of many of the award-winning designs on display in the section of the museum devoted to designs for the home. Ordinary things such as teapots and brooms become works of art in the hands of a talented contemporary designer.

My friend and I spent a day in the museum viewing the Jackson Pollock retrospective, and seeing one of the German films that is currently running there. In between we enjoyed lunch in the dining room. As national members of the museum, we had free access to everything and were entitled to discounts on merchandise purchased in the design store.

It was pure serendipity that shipping was free through Nov. 25. With no tax to pay, free shipping and a member discount, I was in a shopper's thrall.

The sleek, tall nutcracker I bought for a friend is like a small sculpture; the cheese planes I purchased are stylish as well and they feel so good in the hand. What's more, many of the items sold in the design store are exclusively its. I love the extra-large key to use for squeezing the last drop out of any tube larger than toothpaste size. I often use the imported tomato paste and mustards that come in tubes. With my new key I won't waste that elusive last spoonful.

The design store has hundreds of small gifts, toys, games, books, art, cooking utensils, decorative light switches, lamps, glassware, place mats, gorgeous scarves and whimsical accessories. You don't have to be a member to shop in these museum stores, but you will pay full price. Free shipping through Nov. 25 is available to everyone. For a mail-order catalog, call (800) 793-3167.

Museum shops are wonderful places to shop. Items range from just a few dollars for novelties to many hundreds for such high-tag items as furniture and precious jewelry. Quality is usually excellent. I have some vermeil (gold over sterling) costume jewelry that I bought years ago at the Metropolitan Museum that look as good as the day it was purchased. My designs have been retired, but with museum reproductions nothing ever becomes passe.

Two visits to the Metropolitan Museum store in Rockefeller Center were not fruitful. The shop had many things I would have purchased, but each time I was there the crush of the crowd made shopping impossible. The sales staff was doing its best, but I could have used a sturdy linebacker to get near the showcases. I'll phone in my order from the comfort of my home. For a catalog, call (800) 468-7386.

Or, shop online. Most museum shops offer this service.

Another kind of museum shop is located right here in Las Vegas. The Museum Company Store in the Forum Shops at Caesars is not directly associated with any one museum, but does purchase its merchandise from a number of museums and their licensees. I've enjoyed shopping there since the store opened, and often visit just to look at the new merchandise. A second, smaller location opened recently at the airport.

Here, too, prices range from as little as $1 to thousands. My personal favorite is the fascinating reproduction of Leonardo da Vinci's flying machine ($7,500). It's an amazing bit of history. Look for it nearby the sign that tells the story of the Museum Company.

At this time of year, the Museum Company store is packed with holiday merchandise in addition to the usual collectibles, fine art, reproductions, gift items, creative toys and much more. Among the museums whose merchandise may be found here are MoMA, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Art Institute of Chicago, Boston Museum of Art and the Smithsonian. Store manager Elizabeth calls the shop "a mini department store for the arts."

The shop also features original art from Africa's Shona tribe. Prices start at $59. The jewelry selection is quite large and attractive.

Museum stores have a lot to offer for mostly reasonable prices. No expertise is required to shop these stores. Just buy what appeals to you.

About this column

When I started to write this shopping column, I never realized that corporate America had become so paranoid. Unless a store has surly employees, poor return policies or other shopper unfriendly qualities, the intent of this column is simply to inform and entertain. I have no ulterior motives. I am not going to "steal" anyone's ideas or open a competitive business.

There is no pattern to what I write. What is here reflects my own shopping habits and my needs, such as a new mattress. Sometimes my experiences are good ones, sometimes they're not. I share it all. Most of the stores I write about do not know me. I identify myself only when I need more information than I can get just by wandering around. You can tell a lot about a shop by the way it treats those "just looking."

One-of-a-kind independent stores are usually not a problem, but lately I've come up against corporate chain mentality: Ask a salesperson a question after identifying yourself and she acts like you're Freddy Krueger about to attack.

Oddly enough, the manager of one of the stores where I was recently treated like I was an industrial spy had sent me a personal note asking me to come by. The salesperson did not know I had already shopped at the store, liked it and was, until now, ready to write about it.

There's no mystery to what I do. The mystery is the paranoia of corporate America.