Seattle's museum stores raise holiday gift giving to an art form

Seattle has many unique museums with interesting exhibits, so it's not surprising that their stores have unique and interesting gift items. This holiday season, combine a shopping trip with a visit to one of the city's educational attractions to find a meaningful, local gift.

The gift shop at the Museum of History and Industry is chock-full of regional gift ideas, especially for book lovers. I spied books on Skid Road, Doc Maynard and women in Pacific Northwest history for around $20; a 2009 Vanishing Seattle calendar ($13.99) based on the Clark Humphrey book of the same name; and a cute kids' book called Larry Gets Lost in Seattle ($16.95) that captures the best sights in the city.

MOHAI is home to more than 1.5 million historical images, many of which would make a great gift for someone who waxes nostalgic over our changing city. Reprints are created from the original negative, not from a digital scan, and are available for $15 for an 8-by-10 image (larger sizes are also available).

The Frye is Seattle's free fine arts museum, with an excellent collection of late 19th and early 20th century art. The gift shop is small, but full of delightful items perfect for Hanukkah gifts or stocking stuffers: a bowl filled with small porcelain balls stamped with letters and initials ($2 each), a chic white ceramic owl pitcher ($12.95), a twig-handled magnifying glass ($22) and a plush owl pin from Schmancy ($12).

The shop also carries books, note cards and products meant to inspire budding young artists, and holds Explore the Drawer sales where old book inventory is reduced by 25 to 75 percent.

The Seattle Art Museum is the grand dame of local museums and out of its recent expansion hatched a beautiful museum store that is impeccably merchandised with gorgeous displays.

On a recent visit I was impressed by contemporary Northwest Native art using traditional techniques (from $40 for a small cedar basket to $1,700 for a gorgeous Eagle Moon mask); thrilled to see jewelry by local designers Jill Renae and Regina Chang (from $58); amused by a $400 yellow-and-black fabric pumpkin; and captivated by a delicately blown glass sake pitcher studded with translucent dots ($23).

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