Michael Higdon, Retail Manager, National Building Museum
By Vicki Matranga
Design Programs + Services
Retailers and media looking for trend-setting, high design products at the 2014 International Home + Housewares Show head for Discover Design in South Building. The inspiring Discover Design Gallery,accessible to buyers and media, features products submitted for the Global Innovation Award (gia) for Design.
Specialty retailers, editors at influential websites and print publications, trendspotters and independent designers serve as Discover Design judges. They review exhibitors’ entries to choose six products as finalists, three of which will be honored as Global Honorees. They also select three companies as gia finalists for best product collection; one will be named the Global Honoree.
Let’s get acquainted with some of the industry experts who will determine the winners of the Show’s gia product awards. Today we are speaking with Michael Higdon, Retail Manager of the giftshop in the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. The Museum educates the public about architecture, engineering, urban planning and design through outstanding exhibitions and programming. The Museum is housed in the grand former Pension Bureau Building, which was constructed in the 1880s and is one of America’s most dramatic public interiors. One of its current exhibitions, House & Home, explores the history of the American home and how it reflects cultural and technological changes. So it is very timely for Michael to serve as a judge for the home products in Discover Design.
Michael, tell us a bit about yourself.
I began my career in retail while working my way through college at Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn., where I received a BS degree in psychology and social work with a minor in finance and administration. I moved to Washington, D.C. in the mid-1980s after spending five years in social work in Nashville. I returned to my retail roots in D.C. when I went to work at Williams-Sonoma. I left Williams-Sonoma to work for the New York-based, high-tech, design-oriented home furnishing and accessories retailer D. F. Sanders & Co at their Washington, D.C. store. After D. F. Sanders, I spent nine years working in the U.S. hotel division of the British retailer W. H. Smith.
Before joining the National Building Museum as Retail Manager, I worked for Hillwood Estate Museum and Gardens, the U. S. Capitol Historical Society and the Parks and History Association. I am very active in the Museum Store Association on both regional and national levels. I currently serve as secretary on the national board of the Museum Store Association.
Your store carries such a great variety of beautiful and fun products. I love to shop there each time I’m in D.C!
Thank you! The Museum Shop at the National Building Museum is recognized as one of the best museum stores in the area. It received the nationally known Niche magazine “Top Retailer” award for Best Museum Store and has been recognized by major publications and blogs such as the Washington Post and National Geographic Traveler’s Intelligent Travel as D.C.’s best museum store. I am an avid collector of art and have a large collection of fun and whimsical watches. I would attribute my drive for locating just the “right” items for the Museum Shop to a passion for product design.
*Photo by Kevin Allen
What’s the most fun for you in your job?
Perhaps the funnest part of my job is having the opportunity to buy for the store. Our shop is very different from most museum stores because we are not constrained by our mission or collection. The mission of the National Building Museum is to educate the public on the built environment through telling the stories of architecture, engineering, urban planning and design. The design process encompasses every aspect of what humans create for themselves. In telling those stories you have to tell the full story of the design and all the disciplines it embodies—from product design, graphic design, fashion design, interior design, and architecture design as well as the influences that have helped shape our world. For example, look at the influence the Art Nouveau period had on the world or the impact of the Arts and Crafts period.
How many years have you been coming to the International Home + Housewares Show?
In the past it was every couple of years or so as funding would allow, but that never seemed to be enough so I have been trying to make sure that I attend every year.
*Photo by Kevin Allen
What are you looking forward to seeing at the Show?
Because I am serving as a judge I will be anxious to see those products that piqued my interest during the online judging process. Also, seeing the new items and attending some of the cooking demonstrations, seminars and the gia Awards.
Will you be searching for specific items to carry in your store?
Anything and everything….I am very diligent about combing the shows looking for product so I go with an open mind. Of course this doesn’t mean that I want to have a plan for what I am looking for either. You never know what you can find that will be that new item but you always know what you need.
Are you especially interested in any specific trends and products that fit those trends?
Last year we launched a new component of our store featuring “American Design” so I will be looking for new products to further expand its successful debut. This is a strong area of sales for us since we are located in the nation’s capital and given our international tourist market.
What do you find exciting and inspirational at our Show?
The magnitude of products at the Show and wealth of opportunities that exist for me to weave the products and people who create those product into the work that we do at the museum. I enjoy finding people whose work allows me to tell a story that is unique to the built environment. It’s exciting to promote the accomplishments and the work that it took to achieve the success in creating, manufacturing, and bringing to market an idea or dream.
How does Discover Design enhance the Show experience for buyers?
Discover Design is an opportunity for buyers to be introduced to a group of individuals and companies that influence the industry through the work that they have created. Buyers see work showcased within Discover Design that is new and innovative. We can find and stay at the forefront of some of the trends that may be influencing consumers in the future.
What do you see as consumers’ biggest concerns regarding housewares products?
Consumers have become far more sophisticated in their interests and talents and are increasingly concerned with higher quality goods at an affordable price to feed their sophistication and experience. Consumers have become more aware of their environment and the relationship they have with that environment and they are seeking out items to define their surroundings.
What are some of today’s challenges that retailers face in the housewares market?
Navigating the global economy that has been created by the information access that consumers have at their fingertips.
What attractions, locations or stores do you visit while you are in Chicago?
Always at the top of my list is the Chicago Architecture Foundation store—this is a must do for me because there are many stores across the country that focus on architecture. Also, the shop at the Museum of Contemporary Art. I don’t have much time to get away from the Show but when I do I try to visit a variety of stores. I am particularly fond of vintage home shops and any place that has architectural remnants. I try to make it to Posh and Material Possessions when I am in town. I usually make it to Bloomingdale’s Home Store because I love how they reclaimed the space of the old Medinah Temple.
Thank you, Michael, for sharing your enthusiasm for design and for our Show. Happy to hear that you so enjoy coming to Chicago. Our city is renowned for its historic and contemporary architecture and product design, and we hope you’ll have a chance to explore!
Learn more about the National Building Museum www.nbm.org and its shop at www.nbmshop.org
National Building Museum 401 F Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20001
Visit Discover Design and See the Products Chosen by the Judges
In these final weeks before the Show, our blog introduces Discover Design and Design Debut exhibitors to give you a glimpse of the inspirations, influences and ideas that go into creating the exciting products that you’ll see in March at McCormick Place.
Discover Design is the premier design destination at the International Home + Housewares Show. Located in the South Building, the invitation-only category features more than 100 exhibitors from around the world. Companies driven by innovation and design present distinctive products and collections in Tabletop, Gift, Textiles and Home Décor categories. Learn more about Discover Design exhibitors and their products by visiting www.housewares.org/discoverdesign.
