Founded in 1989, the private company now operates 80 stores in the United States, four in Canada, and three in Britain. It plans to open another eight to 10 stores a year, said Brad Johnson, its president. The company specializes in art reproductions and works with museums to recreate items from their collections and special exhibits. Pat Geis, the manager of The Museum Company store in Garden State Plaza, said customers often come in seeking replicas of items they've seen in blockbuster exhibits here or in travels abroad. Items from the Monet exhibit were extremely popular, she said.
Shoppers say they like the unusual and artistic offerings such stores carry.
Patti Mistrick of Pompton Lakes said she is a regular shopper at The Museum Company. Parache figured she could find more artistic items there, and she liked the store. The Museum Company's Johnson said museums have become more astute at marketing themselves to their public, and that that has raised demand for art-derived gifts. The marketing apparently is working. According to a study released last month by the National Endowment for the Arts, participation in the arts rose between 1992 and 1997, with half of all Americans attending or joining an arts activity last year, compared with 41 percent in 1992.