Wednesday 14 January 2009

"Culture ShopK"

The lates version of the rocker (next pcture I will place after Milan satelite where it will be shown a a part of the Platform10 exhibitionin Seves showroom in Zona Tortona)



One of the inevitable elements of homey atmosphere which is nowadays forgotten sees to be a rocking chair. This element of interior is commonly associated with grandma's chair and warm woolen rug or blanket. As strong as a mantelpiece and fireplace it is coded in the mass consciousness. I think it is really relevant to the theme of Geffrye Museum.

People often do not buy a rocking chair because of the problems with the space they missing in their flats and beceuse they do not use it too often. Having attachable legs they could solve the problem of the space required to keep it as wellas they can dd it to teir favourite chair.


While trying to model that object I was trying to make it adjustable to different kinds of chairs, those wit the round legs as well to those with square wooden ones.


The core subject matter of the Geffrye Museum is the history of the English house and to some extent garden.


Merchandise:

- Artist ceramics: Tea for one, Stoneware

- Hackney designer bone china mugs made exclusively for museum.

- Small Chinese porcelain.

- English pewters

- Greetings cards

- Key rings

- Gift wraps

- Slides

- Herb seeds

- Moth repellents

- Gardener hand cream

- Soap

-Wooden light pulls

-Wooden door wedges

- Wooden gardening dibbers

- All time hits CD’s (Nat King Cole, Dean Martin etc.)

- Books (Architecture, Design, Decorative Arts, Furniture, Gardening, History, Children History books, colouring books)

- Museum signed pencils, pens, rulers, erasers and sharpeners.


Merchandise specific to this Museum and signed with its name:

- Postcards depicting most characteristic artifacts.

- Exhibition catalogues and museum publications, as well a T-shirts themed after one of the exhibitions

- Jigsaw puzzles showing characteristic paintings of the museum.

- Plates by “people will always need plates” company showing the front of the museum building made exclusively on museum request as one of a series of characteristic London sites of which the Museum is exclusively authorized to resell. http://www.peoplewillalwaysneedplates.co.uk/index.html

- Fridge magnets showing their collection pieces.

- Wallets of note cards with their collection


The shop is arranged in the style between old pharmacy and bookstore,

The products are placed along the walls and arranged by theme. The cabinets are much bigger than the amounts of merchandise so it looks a bit empty. The kind of merchandise aesthetics arises due to the imperial England decor aesthetics of the most book covers and postcards.


Their sale method is passive. Counter with Museum publications and till, behind which the quiet salesperson becoming alive and coming out of the background after asking her a question or putting desired products on the counter, makes the shopping experience really museum like.


There is no clear distinction between up sold objects and the rest though he stands with the postcards are placed in the centre of the shop. Most forward brought publication seems to be the Chinese home catalogue and few smaller ones. Shop manager Jenny Knott told me that the most awkward merchandise they sell are the catalogues of the past exhibitions which sometimes sell but soon they are going to throw it away. This is their least popular piece.



The most important for the business existence are the books and postcards, their existence is based on book selling though postcards are the next in the row because the large amounts required to be sold to have the same level of profit. Books are also the best sellers.

They are most proud of the museum facade painted plates commissioned by them and the exclusive white bone china commissioned by them which they are reselling in to the other places.


Some of the goods are found during the gift shop fairs in Birmingham and other places of this kind where producers of gadgets finding their new resellers with their brands and logos to print on their things. Some of those goods are problematic because of the usually large quantities of ordered goods within minimum purchase.

Significant number of customers is asking about the white porcelain thimbles which the manager of the shop absolutely hates. People are used to see it in other museum shops and some of them are the collectors of it. Bookmarks ad umbrellas are the other things people expecting but can not buy in this shop.


There is no visible object, more special than other most mysterious, funny, unexpected, surprising, strange and exclusive only from this museum nor a story or legend useful for the marketing purposes. Before museum the building was used as a hospital, a place to stay for the poor people.


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