Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery (BMAG) is putting the best of Brum on display at Great Western Arcade, with a special pop-up shop ready for the festive season. Open until 28 December, the store boasts some of the museums’ finest products; from books and beauty products, to homeware and household essentials.
The BMAG Christmas Gift Shop is a selection of hand-picked products that make the perfect gifts for colleagues, friends, loved ones… or even just yourself!
Lovers of Brum can indulge in fantastic homewares from local interior experts More By Design, with the eye-catching Brum Multi Tube Light and patriotic Birmingham Cityscape cushions. There’s also a beautiful City of Birmingham sketch if your walls need bringing to life.
If you have a food lover on your Christmas list, pick up the Birmingham Cook Book; a celebration of the best food and drink from the city with 35 recipes that will impress any dinner guest. You can also add to any budding chef’s larder with honey and freshly milled flour from Sarehole Mill, one of Birmingham Museums Trust’s heritage sites, based just six miles from GWA.
If you’ve got to cater for a sweet tooth – or just fancy treating yourself – pick up Birmingham Museums’ own products; from the City of Drum Clotted Cream Shortbread and Clotted Cream Fudge, to Chocolate Chip Biscuits and Oats & Honey Cookies. There are even Mississipi and Rocky Road lollies, as well as Sea Salted Caramel, Eton Mess and Fudge Crunch bars.
For art lovers, there’s also a taste of the gallery on offer, with a selection of products inspired by the collection including umbrellas, and address books. As well as William Morris hand creams, soaps and gift sets. You can even make bathtime fun with a Penda Anglo Saxon Duck.
Alex Nicholson-Evans, Commercial Director for Birmingham Museums Trust, said:
“Every year we welcomes hundreds of thousands of visitors through our doors to see the awe-inspiring collection that sits within BMAG. I am so excited that Great Western Arcade has given us an opportunity to bring some of this culture and a taste of our collection to the arcade. It’s already known as the home of unique retail and we hope to add to this by showcasing and selling the work of local artists and businesses, as well as bespoke products of our own.
“What’s more, by shopping with us, you’re helping us to care for the museum collection and continue to offer amazing education programmes to local schools. We’re a charity and all profits from our shops go to Birmingham Museums Trust!”
The BMAG Christmas Gift Shop joins a number of tenants joining GWA for the festive season, including Provide, which has returned for a two-month stint in the arcade.
Provide is the first port of call for anyone wanting to celebrate our great city, with a selection of quirky cards and gifts created by independent, Birmingham brands. Running until 31 December, the ‘Best of Brum’ shop will also feature Provide’s signature own clothing and accessories, as well as products by exciting young design talent.
“GWA is all about celebrating the pioneers of retail – the brave people who are turning their back on the monotony of the high street and offering something unique and different,” said James Roberts, Centre Manager at GWA.
“I am delighted to welcome Provide back, after their pop-up last year, and we really are thrilled to be hosting BMAG’s first pop-up store. This is quite unique concept in the museum sector – only really done regularly by the ‘big boys’ in London like the V&A,” he concluded.
Joining BMAG and Provide is Birmingham Children’s Hospital, which also returns to the arcade with its festive offering of cards and gifts that help raise money for the hospital.