In celebration of the museum’s 40th anniversary year, the Museum Shop has launched a special capsule collection featuring classic, elevated NMWA products. We spoke with Adriana Regalado, director of retail operations, about the collection. Stop by the shop in person to check out these goods or buy them online.
What inspired the collection, and where did the idea begin?
Since the museum reopened in 2023, following the major renovation, we’ve wanted to do a cohesive, celebratory collection encompassing NMWA and the building. In the past, we’ve printed postcards and put our logo on notepads and mugs, but this time we wanted to do something elevated and new. Timing it with the 40th anniversary, we decided to go retro. It’s fun. Everyone is in a nostalgic place.
Can you describe the collection and the items in it?
We’ve got a premium crew neck sweater, a ringer T-shirt, two mugs, a keychain, three different caps, matchboxes, and two bandanas featuring the names of NMWA collection artists. The style is classic and retro and draws on our green and navy brand colors. We were intentional about featuring the museum’s name, mission, and building. We wanted to create statement pieces that reference who we are and our advocacy. We also have a cool landmark address and an iconic space. We wanted to celebrate that.
Tell us about the design process.
We’re a two-person shop team and creating a whole collection is very time-consuming, so some of the design process was outsourced. We worked with the company Mello Merch because we wanted high-quality products and premium materials. We wrote them a brief detailing NMWA’s history and mission as well as what we wanted to convey with the collection: beautifully designed, classic products that make people feel part of our institution and mission.
There are illustrated icons used on a few of the products. What are they, and why did you pick them?
We of course included Frida Kahlo because NMWA holds the only Kahlo painting in Washington, D.C. We included the building because it is a historic landmark in D.C., and we wanted to celebrate the recent renovation. The hands represent our advocacy and the concept of working together. The rose is inspired by some of the historic still-life paintings in our collection.
Was there a piece in the collection that was particularly exciting, or challenging, to create?
The bandana was the hardest! We included more than 120 names of women artists from our collection. Our registrar provided an initial list and then our editor checked them for accuracy before this went into production. This is also the most celebratory item. It includes every element we wanted to highlight in this collection: our name, mission, founding year, address, and our collection artists. It can be used in a few ways: you can wear it, frame it, etc.
What do you hope people notice when they encounter the collection?
We hope they feel pride in the institution, mission, and what we have achieved across 40 years. From an internal perspective, we’re so busy that we often forget to reflect on everything we’ve accomplished, so it feels nice to launch something classic and inspired by these 40 years. NMWA is becoming an adult right now, and it is amazing to see what we’ve achieved, to take pride in what we’ve done and hope to continue doing for many years to come.
Visit us online to shop the capsule collection and other NMWA-branded products!