Talking shop with Museum of the Home
What are the secrets behind developing an award-winning retail experience? We asked the Museum of the Home Retail Manager Elizabeth King to tell us all about how to transform the museum shop into part of the visitor experience.
Lately, retail at Museum of the Home has been attracting attention, winning the best retail initiative in the Association of Cultural Enterprises Awards, among other accolades. The shop is rapidly gaining a reputation as an innovator using events, collaborations, innovative product strategy and eye-catching visual merchandising to win hearts and minds.
For Retail Manager Elizabeth King, the elements that set them apart include unique product selection, a focus on sustainability, storytelling, creative visual merchandising and a consistent approach that runs through every element of the customer experience.
“We try to make the shop an exciting, stimulating place to be. That’s important to us. It’s not just about what we have on display, but also how we approach customer service” she says.
When coming up with ideas that help bring the retail offer to life, Elizabeth has no shortage of inspiration to draw from. Museum of the Home takes visitors through a series of immersive period rooms illuminating different experiences of the home, from 17th-century family life to a 21st-century flat share to a room of the future. The galleries touch upon broad-ranging themes encompassing social justice and history, while also exploring topics such as homemaking, gardening and interiors.
"We think about the way we curate the shop as an extension of the gallery spaces."
“We very much see the shop as an extension of the museum. I’d even go as far as saying that we think about the way we curate the shop as an extension of the gallery spaces,” she says.
“We want people to take away a piece of their visit with them. Some bespoke products are based on items in the museum’s collection, such as fabrics or images. We’ve also introduced more playful pieces, reflecting the galleries’ playfulness. Our “love is love” T-shirt featuring a glass poodle and a glass deer, both objects in our collection, is popular.”
“We’ve got some lovely collaborations going on. We’ve been working with the artist Kenneth Lam, who has created seven artworks based on our seven newest rooms, which opened in July 2024. The prints are on display at the museum and exclusive signed prints are available to buy,” she says.
Sustainability is a factor that drives product selection too. The team limits plastic and seeks out fairly traded or organic cotton options where possible. Second-hand and vintage items also make their way onto the shop floor, and there is the potential to grow this category.
The compelling product offer comes to life with vibrant visual merchandising that tells stories in every corner. Books weave into the narrative, seamlessly integrated with other products, while being core to the retail offering, delivering on fundamental aspects of the product strategy.
"Books are integral to our shop and really popular."
“Books are integral to our shop and really popular,” says Elizabeth. "People want to take something away with them to learn more from their visit. There is a rich variety of ideas presented here, giving us a wealth of different things to draw from when selecting books.
“It’s nice to have a range of books that reflect the themes in the rooms. Our theme for spring/summer 2025 is “make do and mend.” In the gallery are stories about people repairing and making in the home during different ages, and we've drawn on that in our shop for this theme. It is a nod towards sustainability, and it's given us a lovely opportunity to bring in new books about upcycling, sewing, and knitting.”
“We have books on Vietnamese cooking to tie in with our 2024 room, which has been developed in collaboration with people from the local British Vietnamese community. These books sit alongside some wonderful Vietnamese spices, which we sourced from a Vietnamese Cultural Centre based in the UK,” she says.
“It’s great to have a single supplier for our books. It makes our lives a lot easier.”
Elizabeth’s team caters for a diverse range of museum visitors. London guidebooks sell well for the international visitors, while local residents or workers will often shop without visiting the museum. The family audience is also significant, making children’s books and toys an important part of the offer. To simplify the book-buying process, Elizabeth has been working with Bookspeed for almost a year.
“It’s great to have a single supplier for our books. It makes our lives a lot easier,” she says. “There have been times we’ve asked for books on a specific theme, and we get this wonderful selection back that we can choose from. It's been helpful to see what's on the market.
“Our account manager is excellent at sending us suggestions. I also like to keep my eyes peeled when I’m out and about, if I see a book I like it’s brilliant that I can simply ask if Bookspeed can source it for us. Sometimes we've had to get a load of books in quickly for an event and that’s always been straightforward.”
"I have also bought so many books as presents for people."
It helps to love the products you sell, and when it comes to Elizabeth’s personal favourite books, there are too many to choose from.
“I love the local history of this part of London and we have many related books including Spitalfields by Dan Cruickshank. Michael McMillan's The Front Room is also an excellent accompaniment to the 1970s room he curated. Other books which relate closely to themes in the museum include From Sylhet to Spitalfields by Shabna Begum which tells the stories of the local Bengali squatters’ movement in the 1970s, and An Unconsidered People by Catherine Dunne are just two examples. Philosophy of the Home by Emanuele Coccia is on my to-read list, and The Council House by Jack Young is another very beautiful book. I have also bought so many books as presents for people and kept some for myself!"
Be inspired by Museum of the Home
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If you are inspired by Museum of Home's approach to retail, get in touch to find out how to develop a curated book range that supports your retail objectives.
Images: Claire Lee
