Hancher gift shop buyers want ‘wow’ and ‘different’

IOWA CITY - After being moved by a musical performance at Hancher Auditorium, you might be moved to buy a necklace with a piano pendant to remember the experience.

At least that's the hope of Jane Downer, a longtime buyer for the Hancher Auditorium Showcase - also known as the gift shop.

Right now, Downer, of Iowa City, is trying to get her hands on 'Trombone Shorty,” a 2016 Caldecott Honor Book for children by Troy 'Trombone Shorty” Andrews, a New Orleans jazz musician who is to perform a free concert at Hancher on Sept. 16.

'We're looking for ‘wow' and ‘different,' ” Downer said about the items to be sold when the new $176 million Hancher opens in the fall.

The 2016 season is the first Hancher is hosting on site since 2008, when the Iowa River destroyed the University of Iowa's premier performing arts venue. The showcase, positioned just inside the Hancher front entrance, features well-lit white shelves and rolling display cases designed to highlight gifts ranging from $2 to $250.

Those shelves and cases soon are to be filled with items Downer, Linda Bergdale and Vicki Jennings - all volunteer buyers - have picked out at massive gift shows in New York, Atlanta and Dallas.

'Everybody says ‘Oh, I'd love to do that. It's so much fun,' ” Downer said. 'It's work.”

The trio spent several busy weekends seeking handmade items, jewelry and other unique gifts you aren't likely to find at the mall.

Some of the new items include an umbrella, black on the outside, with artist Dale Chihuly's vibrant colors on the inside; a Lucite collar-style necklace in black and gold; and a puzzle that comes in a train-shaped box with wheels that actually roll.

Not only does the Hancher showcase have a different inventory than most retailers, but a different mission. The store is staffed by volunteers and the profits go to education.

From 1999 to 2008, the showcase provided about $250,000 to Hancher educational programs, including school visits all over Iowa by Hancher artists and performers, Downer said.

Downer, the wife of Bob Downer, an Iowa City attorney who served on the Iowa Board of Regents from 2003 to 2015, has enjoyed putting her stamp on showcase inventory for many years, but is glad new buyers can add their tastes to the mix.

'I tell Linda and Vicki, ‘You need to buy things you know your friends would buy,' ” Downer said. The showcase buyers are part of the Hancher Guild, a group of volunteers who distribute programs at performances, give tours and act as 'goodwill ambassadors for the performing arts,” according to university officials.

Once Hancher opens in September, showcase hours are from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Wednesdays and on Thursday evenings when the cafe is open to the public, Downer said. The showcase is to have expanded holiday hours in November and December.