Visits to museums, art galleries, archaeological excavations and the many wonders of the national cultural heritage (there are more than 6,000 places listed by the Ministry of Culture) often end up in a large, well-decorated room near the exit. It is the last stop that sums up the pleasure of the visit and offers the opportunity for you to remember it for a long time by buying an art history book or a product inspired by the collections you have just admired. Whereas in the past there was only the bookshop or a shop offering books, brochures, postcards, posters and other printed items, in recent decades, the gift shop, full of the most diverse merchandise, has become prevalent. Launched by the MoMa and immediately taken up by the Louvre and the British Museum, today the gift shop is present in many cultural institutions and public and private collections because its importance is clear: to keep the emotion of an encounter with a work of art alive, to prolong the admiration of it by appreciating its details and colours, to preserve a memory that becomes a concrete object.

Museum merchandising has evolved greatly and is no longer a simple reproduction of an artistic subject on an everyday object. Design, creativity and taste provide a range of beautiful and useful products, some traditional like tableware others with a technical slant like smartphone covers. A huge range that appeals to visitors of all ages and nationalities.

Bic has long offered its range of customisable writing instruments and articles to international museums: 'The winning aspects of our proposal,' says Mario Bertino, sales manager Italy of Bic Graphic Europe - are the quality, the certifications, the made in Europe, the low minimums and the speed of production, which allow our customers to quickly replenish stocks and to change graphics frequently, especially in the case of temporary exhibitions".

With its cultural heritage, Italy, despite the rigidity of a market in the hands of a few bookshop operators, has long been trying to bridge the gap with its cousins across the Alps (mainly the Louvre) and with museums across the Channel and overseas. "After the pandemic," emphasises Luca Renzoni, owner of Professional Pins (a Customize brand), which makes customised pins and magnets - the sector has experienced a considerable boost. In 2022, we introduced new formats, sizes and finishes of magnets dedicated to the museum sector, which we produced more than 300,000 pieces for. Our strengths are direct and rapid production made in Italy and the use of high-quality materials.

In order to meet the high standards required by customers, there are suppliers who place particular emphasis on sustainability. Among them is Sadesigna company that has long collaborated with museums that want to distinguish themselves with creative gadgets where the eco-friendliness of the materials goes hand in hand with the uniqueness and durability of the product. Or again Arboswhich supplies several museums with exercise books, notebooks and other customised objects made of recycled materials from paper, leather, plastic and fabric: 'The objective,' says Barbara Lago, sales & marketing manager of Arbos - is to bring sustainability into museum merchandising, for a public that is particularly attentive not only to culture but also to environmental issues".

The bookshop sector also provides printers with ideas for innovation and new creative inspiration. This is the case of Di Natalewhich has been in the paper industry for almost 100 years and creates custom-made paper products for exhibitions and museums (notes, diaries, small travel or desk accessories) by innovating printing techniques and supports - coated or uncoated, embossed or soft-touch papers - to give full emphasis to images and colours.

For Modulstudio the challenge is to create beautiful objects that can be used every day: "Visitors shopping in museum bookshops," says Gianfranco Genga, art director of Modulstudio - are not looking for something useless, but something that can actually be used: our proposals are appreciated not only for their cultural value, but also for their versatility.