Open Shelf · Free checklist · the shops most makers forget to pitch
Museum & gift shop supplier checklist
Tick these off before you pitch a museum store.
Museum stores buy differently from boutiques. They buy for a mission, an exhibition or a season, often on a set review schedule. Open Shelf lists 54 museum shops in 19 states that accept product submissions. Many makers never think to pitch them. This list is built from what those shops actually ask for.
Fit
☐ Name the connection: an exhibition, the collection, the city or region
☐ A one-line “why it fits” (Hillwood asks for 50 words or less; the Barnes won’t consider a submission without one)
☐ Check the shop’s focus. The Museum of the City of New York wants products that clearly relate to NYC or current exhibitions
☐ Price that works as a gift or souvenir, with an MSRP that sits next to what’s on their shelf
Paperwork they may ask for
☐ Vendor questionnaire, often one per product (NMAAHC, Charles H. Wright)
☐ A one-page vendor bio
☐ Line sheet with wholesale and MSRP
☐ Production capacity: how many units you can make for a reorder
☐ A proper invoice and a W-9 (Museum of Graffiti asks for both)
☐ Proposed terms: discount, payment terms, minimums (the Bullock Museum asks)
Product
☐ Retail-ready packaging that survives a busy shop floor
☐ Barcode/UPC if you have one
☐ A hang tag or card that tells the story a visitor would want to know
☐ Lead time for holiday and exhibition orders
Timing & samples
☐ Find the review cycle: quarterly, four times a year (Museum of the City of New York), once a year (The Store at MAD)
☐ Pitch for upcoming seasons and exhibitions, not this weekend
☐ Samples only if asked. Some want return postage; some never return samples
☐ Use their form if they have one. 20 of the 54 museum shops in our list do
Gift shops too
☐ Most of this works for gift shops. They care more about turnover and price, less about mission
☐ Ask what sells at their register in the $10–$40 range
Examples are from museum shops’ own published submission instructions in the Open Shelf directory (checked Oct 2026).
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New listings in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago and 32 more cities (and the next cities as we add them), calls that just closed, vetted brand picks for buyers, and pitch notes from the other side of the counter. Sent as a short email occasionally while we're new, and growing into a weekly list as more shops and brands sign up — so we only email when there's a batch worth your inbox.
