The Marilyn Horne Museum and Exhibit Center held Museum Store Sunday in celebration of the grand opening of the museum gift shop.
The grand opening featured a complete overhaul of the gift section of the coffee shop, which previously only held University of Pittsburgh at Bradford memorabilia. More than 150 unique music and culture-related items have been added to the shop, from toys and German music boxes to handcrafted sterling silver jewelry.
Pitt-Bradford opened the museum in May to display some of the opera singer’s archives that she donated to the university.
Shannon Crattie, the barista, had her hands full with a shop full of customers, as she said there were anywhere from 10 to 15 customers stopping by every hour.
“This was a wonderful event. People seemed to love the changes to the gift shop,” Crattie said. “It was a good way to draw people in.”
Upon entering the shop, shoppers were given the opportunity to win a trip to Pittsburgh for two to see a Pittsburgh Opera production. Also included in the their grand prize giveaway was a custom-made string art doll created by Kamibashi.
“It’s a jumbo Mozart doll,” said Matthew Hileman, museum manager. “It’s the only one in the entire world specially made for the museum.”
The Kamibashi doll was just one of many different items that suited Hileman’s preference of making the memorabilia in the shop unique to the museum and Bradford.
Included in the shop are Christmas ornaments made of marble with Norman Rockwell-esque paintings on them. Each one of the unique ornaments have quotes wishing Bradford a Merry Christmas.
“Our next step is to make a line of exclusive Marilyn Horne products,” Hileman said. “They’ll be available in other museums and areas, but we will include the museum’s name as well as Bradford, Pa., on the package.”
This is all in an effort to increase the museum’s recognition. Hileman added that he has submitted the museum to be featured in the Opera News publication in January of 2018.
“Once the opera crowd sees the article, we’ll be sure to see an increase in museum tours,” Hileman said.
Hileman wanted to remind anyone passing by the shop that everything on display is for sale.
“We’ll still have the Pitt memorabilia available, but we’re aiming to get more museum and Bradford exclusive products,” Hileman said.
