I have a confession to make: I love museum gift stores, sometimes more so than the museums they are…read moreattached to (and, note: I LOVE museums! So that tells you how much I love the gift shops).
This store is no different than others I've been to (and I've been to many).
Whoever does the buying for this shop does a phenomenal job. You'd be hard-pressed not to find the perfect gift for someone - or yourself.
They consistently have the coolest things here! Many are made by local and Canadian artisans (I've seen some of the jewelry pieces at the annual Make-It artisan festival each winter, and I even have a few items handmade by these jewelers, purchased at the fair). They have an extensive childrens' section (the COOLEST baby and kiddie toys and educational "games"), TONS of gorgeous, unique jewelry items (most bold and modern but some delicate), a wonderful selection of trendy, funny socks for men and women, scarves puzzles, books, household decorative accessories (eg., vases, coasters, bowls, etc.), contemporary kitchen gadgets (eg., tea infusers, pizza cutters, etc), TONS of boxed note cards and greeting cards, meaningful Indigenous items (scarves, bowls, plates, etc), lots of art prints and books and totes, etc. The list goes on and on.
Yes, price points tend to be high here, as the quality of merchandise is high and many items are unique and/or artisan made. But they have a decent range of prices for those trendy mass produced products. Their prices for the socks and kitchen gadgets were on a par with prices elsewhere.
This shop is really awesome. Even if you're not going to see an exhibit in the museum proper, this store is still worth checking out - especially if you need to find a cool gift for someone, or after the holidays, when their seasonal items go on sale.