Museum gift shops have evolved far beyond postcards and paperweights. The best now rival design boutiques—thoughtfully curated spaces where you can shop for sculptural glassware, limited-edition prints, or artisan-made toys that carry a museum’s spirit into daily life. Icons like the Getty Museum Shop, MoMA Design Store, and London’s V&A Shop still set the standard, but countless smaller boutiques have quietly mastered the art of retail too. (For wonderfully specific examples, picture invisible ink pens from D.C.’s International Spy Museum Store or Pedernal-inspired tea towels at Santa Fe’s Georgia O’Keeffe Museum Store.)
While some international museum shops have temporarily paused U.S. shipping amid new import and tariff rules, these stores remain open to American shoppers. From a movie-themed museum in L.A. to a pan-African powerhouse in Cape Town, you’ll surely want to exit through the gift shop—and can do so from your couch.
Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles, California
Part cinema shrine, part Hollywood time capsule, this museum celebrates film in all its forms—from golden-age glamour to contemporary auteurs. Browsing the gift shop feels like a backlot treasure hunt, with limited-edition posters, enamel pins from cult favorites like Blade Runner and Spirited Away, and director catalogues honoring Agnes Varda, Spike Lee, and Bong Joon Ho. The vibe is less tourist trinket than cinephile chic, a must for anyone who alphabetizes their Criterion Collection. Don’t miss the impressive range of coffee-table tomes spotlighting behind-the-scenes legends like production designer Dean Tavoularis (The Godfather, Apocalypse Now) and tongue-in-cheek kids books such as the playfully pretentious My First French New Wave.
What to buy: the signature “I’d like to thank…” note-card set with Academy-red envelopes; a 1960s-style Batman bat radio; or fun replicas of iconic movie props such as The Wizard of Oz’s sequined ruby slippers and Jaws’ Amity Police Chief badge.
Shimmering beauty is everywhere at the Shops at the Corning Museum of Glass.
Courtesy of Corning Museum of Glass
The Shops at the Corning Museum of Glass in Corning, New York
Glass takes center stage at this world-class museum in New York’s Finger Lakes, where visitors can see glowing ribbons of molten sand shaped into art. The gift shop is a shimmering extension of that experience: 18,000 square feet of radiant color and intricate craftsmanship. It’s easy to lose track of time wandering the eight boutiques, scanning for delicate blown-glass jewelry, funky fruit bowls, and geometric pendant lamps. One-of-a-kind works by some of the biggest names in art glass (Simpson, Stankard, and Chihuly among them) share space with dozens of under-$100 finds (whimsical bud vases from Denver artist Nicole Berger spring to mind). During the holidays, the museum’s twinkling Ornament Tree—strung with more than 2,000 handmade glass baubles—is reason enough to make the trip.
What to buy: Tiffany-inspired landscape earrings by David Howell & Company; a graceful Steuben wine decanter; or one of Finnish artist Oiva Toikka’s beloved Iittala birds—functional art that catches both the light and the imagination.
The Freedom Store at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati, Ohio
At this riverfront museum honoring the fight for freedom and equality, the retail experience is a continuation of the museum’s mission. The Freedom Store champions fair-trade partners and Black-owned businesses, with handmade goods that celebrate craft and community. Alongside a thought-provoking selection of books on activism, abolition, and social justice, shoppers will find garden-themed totes stitched by women in India overcoming discrimination and abuse and terra-cotta “chanchitos” from Pomaire, Chile—three-legged pigs said to bring good luck. (A fitting keepsake in a city nicknamed Porkopolis.) Every purchase supports ethical production and small makers whose stories warrant telling.
What to buy: a 1,000-piece Harlem-themed puzzle from interior designer Sheila Bridges; an elephant-shaped copper bookmark handmade in Kisumu, Kenya; and an assortment of accomplished finger puppets (Kentanji Brown Jackson, Bessie Coleman, Malcolm X).
Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix, Arizona
This one-of-a-kind museum strikes a chord with children and adults alike, housing more than 15,000 instruments from 200 countries and territories. Its store hums with the same global energy, mixing serious gifts for audiophiles with inspired finds for budding musicians. Shoppers can pick up hand-carved djembes, kalimbas, bodhráns, ukuleles, castanets, and Peruvian pan flutes; clever DIY instrument kits for kiddos; or jewelry fashioned from repurposed piano wires and guitar strings. Whether you lean jazz, punk, or hip-hop, there’s a French horn magnet or boombox lunch box to strike the exact right note.
What to buy: a portable Stylophone theremin; Alice Cooper hot sauce; or hand-painted wood egg shakers from Indonesia.
The dino skeleton is not for sale. But so much is at the Carnegie Museumof Natural History’s gift shop.
Photo by CNMages/Alamy
The Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
This venerable institution—129 years in the making—is best known for its towering dinosaur skeletons, dazzling gems and minerals, and eerily lifelike wildlife dioramas. The gift shop channels that same sense of discovery, trading glass cases for displays of handcrafted jewelry, archival-quality art prints, artist-designed hoodies and tees (even hooded dragon capes), DIY science kits, and quirky stocking stuffers like a five-in-one leaf-foraging tool. Many items come from Pittsburgh makers, giving the shop a distinctly local flavor.
What to buy: a gold-striped porcelain-and-fiber bracelet, a collaboration between ceramicist Jenna Vanden Brink and local brand SASHA; a creepy-cool piranha dissection kit; or a pterodactyl 3D wooden puzzle (with other dino models available for the Jurassic inclined).
Art & Design Store at Remai Modern in Saskatoon, Canada
Overlooking the South Saskatchewan River, this striking museum has become the cultural heart of the Canadian prairies. The retail store mirrors the Remai Modern’s design-forward spirit with a focus on local and Indigenous makers. Eye-catching displays feature stone carvings by Inuit sculptors, hand-beaded jewelry from Métis artists, and beautifully produced books on contemporary Canadian art and architecture. Stationery and prints play up the museum’s prized Picasso linocut collection, while locally made pantry goods and accessories showcase the vibrancy of modern day Saskatchewan.
What to buy: an Inuit art calendar; haskap hot mustard and fruity tea from local chef Christie Peters; or a mother-of-pearl-and-moosehide bolo tie by Gwich’in/Métis designer Parker Bourque, aka the Flowered Raven.
Cycladic Shop at the Museum of Cycladic Art in Athens, Greece
This elegant Athens museum celebrates the civilizations of the Aegean and Cyprus, including minimalist marble idols of the Cycladic era and the pottery and jewelry of classical Greece. The boutique draws on those ancient motifs to create objects that feel both timeless and of the moment: hand-carved figurine replicas, gilded olive-branch brooches, ceramics patterned with meanders, and refined home accents echoing Bronze Age forms. Even the purses bow to the collection. The La Tête bucket bag, for instance, reimagines the elongated head of a Cycladic goddess in supple calfskin leather, a modern ode to a 5,000-year-old muse.
What to buy: a cylindrical vase carved from Tinos green marble; a handmade ceramic pitcher inspired by a Minoan “mother goddess”; or a gold-plated oak-leaf bracelet whose pattern takes its cues from the ancient metalwork of Macedonian wreaths.
Zeitz MOCCA Shop at Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa in Cape Town, South Africa
Housed in a converted grain silo on Cape Town’s V&A Waterfront, Zeitz MOCAA is the world’s largest museum dedicated to contemporary African art—and its shop channels that same creative pulse. The selection spotlights designers and collectives from across the continent, with bold textiles, handwoven baskets, and wearable art that all celebrate Africa’s modern design movement. The edit changes often, but expect vibrant color, sustainable materials, and pieces that tell a story. It’s the rare museum store where the displayed items feel alive, not archived.
What to buy: a kuba cloth clutch from Mali or Congo; a locally knitted Kirchana wrap whose jacquard print salutes traditional West African indigo cloth; or a Swazi basket woven from hand-spun sisal and grass coil.
A brightly colored tote is a perfect contrast to the sleek concrete exterior of the M+ Museum.
Photos by Jessie Yip/M+, Hong Kong
M+ Shop at M+ Museum in Hong Kong, China
M+ in Hong Kong, Asia’s first global museum of visual culture, celebrates art, design, architecture, and moving images. It’s no surprise, then, that the inventory in its multidisciplinary concept shop is next-level cool. The proof is in the new Keiichi Tanaami capsule collection—a fever-dream mix of psychedelic cups, plates, and tea sets. Also on offer: minimalist tableware by local brand Milk Design, witty T-shirts and totes, and design books that trace the evolution of aesthetics from across the continent.
What to buy: a glass-vacuum flask in a punchy print; a Picasso cushion cover; or an iPhone case whose graphic pattern riffs on I.M. Pei’s iconic architecture.
MONA Shop at Museum of Old and New Art in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
At Tassie’s wildly unconventional Museum of Old and New Art—where sex, death, and dark humor are recurring themes—the gift shop is every bit as subversive as the galleries. Here you’ll find irreverent souvenirs that toe the line between art and attitude: Balint Zsako’s limited-edition adult coloring books that are anything but innocent; a perfume described as “a disinfectant in environments of . . . toxic masculinity,” and cheeky catalogues such as Art from MONA That Your Child Could Have Made (apologies to Damien Hirst and Yayoi Kusama). Equal parts satire and souvenir, MONA’s merch dares you to leave with your sensibilities slightly scrambled.
What to buy: a cane toad clutch by French designer Kobja; a “Death Candle” redolent of amber woods, white musk, and shallow grave; or an apron emblazoned with a Wim Delvoye creation that would make your mother blush.
