Blog posts from the DAM staff

Museum Shop Gift Ideas for Your Sweetheart

February 8, 2013 by Dianne Denholm

Note: All jewelry is 15 percent off in the Museum Shop through February 14, 2013, in celebration of Valentine's Day.

The Museum Shop team love what we do at the Denver Art Museum and the wonderfully fun things we display on the shelves. We also love, love, love the jewelry collection from small studios and local artisans that we offer. Here are some examples of creative gifts to help you show love to your special someone, courtesy of the Museum Shop staff:

Love Package #1

Love Package #2

Love Package #3

Love Package #4: quick and easy from our North Building shop

  • handmade delicate wood rosebuds
  • Mexican stone ground chocolate
  • promise to have an art date at the museum
  • The Kiss by Gustav Klimt mug or The Scream by Edvard Munch mug if that better describes your relationship

Love Package #5: wine connoisseur

  • silver bottle opener and stopper
  • bottle nest
  • wine thermometer
  • Chill it bag (with a good bottle of wine in it, of course)
  • chocolate!

Jewelry 

  • modest: Bali or Guatemalan beaded necklace & bracelet, amber pieces, earrings of many local artisans
  • moderate splurge: silver and gemstone designs by artisans of many imaginative designs, nature designs by Michael Michaud, necklace and earring sets
  • sky’s the limit: Somers silver designs, Julie Powell bead weavings

Chocolate

  • Taza traditional stone ground Mexican chocolates
  • Denver-based POMM chocolates
  • hot chocolate gift sets

Glass—moderately priced handblown glass by many local artisans

  • sushi and appetizer plates
  • vases small or tall in beautiful colors
  • paper weights made by Academy Award winning Screenplay writer
  • Denver Skyline Dichroic Glass by Nancy Bonig

Women’s fashion

  • silk/linen/wool hand woven neck scarves
  • silk scarves
  • reading glasses by Eye-Bobs to Look-like-an-artist-or-intellectual!
  • totes and bags in all styles and fibers and motifs

For the guys—beyond the tie and cuff links rut (although we have arty ones of those, too)

  • sand paintings at all price levels
  • rubber bike tube messenger bags, wallets and gear
  • JetSam “old-school haberdashery for the guy who doesn’t wear a suit”
  • recycled paper wallets
  • graphite pencils and sketch pads

For the manly chef

  • DAM black aprons
  • Gator grater
  • Chopula
  • Vebo steamer/strainer
  • Supoon
  • BBQ Clongs
  • silicone splatter salad bowl

Casual dating

  • Erik & Mike felted wool purse accessories
  • African phone wire baskets
  • beaded clutches and zipper purses
  • puzzles
  • Buddha boards (small clear watercolor painting boards)
  • coloring books
  • sketch books with arty covers
  • art print playing cards
  • memory games
  • zipper pencil bags, purse cases, zipper wallets
  • chocolate!

Co-worker

  • desk clocks constructed of computer parts
  • wind-up mechanical toys
  • art print mousepads
  • chocolate!

Mom

  • scarves—gorgeous silk prints and hand-woven
  • umbrellas—picture dancing in the rain with an art print above you
  • memory game art card games (SpecTrix and more)
  • art books and coffee table books
  • artist boxed note cards (lots of Georgia O’Keeffe inventory this month)
  • totes and scarves
  • satin brocade jewelry travel bags
  • chocolate!

Remember, purchases support the good work of the nonprofit museum, and members get a 10 percent discount on everything in the shop every day. Nothing says special better than an artful choice from the DAM. We shop the world and local artisans for you.

Dianne D’Lea Denholm is part of the Museum Shop sales team at the Denver Art Museum. Dianne has been at the DAM since 2012, is a Westword Mastermind winner for textile arts, and her favorite exhibition on view here is Yves Saint Laurent: The Retrospective, although the Charles Partridge Adams and Georgia O’Keeffe landscapes also tug at her creative Colorado native heart!

Find More: Museum Shop