A total of 23 museums submitted 42 products and product lines to this year's competition. Entries ranged from pins and handmade jewelry to board games, seed kits and a bread-baking kit.

"This year's entries showed that a good museum souvenir is not simply an item bearing a museum's logo. The best products convey the museum's story, are practical and well-made and allow visitors to take the museum experience home with them," said Kristi Paatsi, a board member of the Estonian Museum Association and organizer of the EMMA competition. "The jury was particularly pleased to see many smaller and regional museums taking part in the competition, as well as local makers and museum staff themselves being involved in creating the products."

The Estonian Health Museum's "Jutud tagataskust" ("Tales in Your Back Pocket") conversation cards, which won first place and a €1,000 prize, are connected to the exhibition "Hüvasti, noorus!" ("Goodbye, Youth!"). The jury praised the cards' innovative format, distinctive character and professional execution. The conversation cards were created primarily to provide companionship for older people, but in today's social media-centered world, they can help people of any age start and sustain a conversation.

Second place and a €600 prize went to the Estonian Open Air Museum's series of insect brooches, "Eesti Vabaõhumuuseumi kutsumata külalised" ("Uninvited Guests of the Estonian Open Air Museum"). The handmade wooden brooches depict some of the greatest enemies of the Estonian Open Air Museum's prized assets: wood-destroying pests ranging from the deathwatch beetle to the house longhorn beetle. The jury highlighted the souvenirs' strong connection to the museum and distinctive execution. The brooches were hand-painted by Estonian Open Air Museum conservator Marike Laht.

Third place and a €400 prize went to Iisaku Kihelkonna Museum's "tutiviht," a traditional bundled whisk. According to the jury, it is a clever and distinctive souvenir with a strong connection to the museum's permanent exhibition and the potential to appeal to both Estonian and international museum visitors.

The €500 Museum Card (Muuseumikaart) product development prize went to Tallinn City Museum's "Legend Chocolate." QR codes on the chocolate packaging allow customers to listen to Tallinn legends in three languages. The jury praised the product's thoughtful presentation, the involvement of a designer and its inventive approach to connecting a physical souvenir with stories told by the museum.

In addition to the award-winning souvenirs, the jury gave special mention to Kondas Center's handmade "Maasikas ja tigu" ("Strawberry and Snail") board game, TYPA Printing and Paper Art Center's stationery set featuring historic lead type symbols and washed sheep's wool from the Center of Rural Curiosity. The latter was highlighted as a good example of how a museum can give existing material a new and practical use.

According to the jury, the strengths of this year's entries included drawing on museums' identities and stories from their collections, involving local producers and craftspeople and paying attention to reuse. At the same time, the jury urged museums to take a more comprehensive approach to products' visual presentation, packaging and choice of materials: A sustainable product should also come in environmentally friendly packaging.

EMMA is Estonia's biennial museum souvenir competition and has been held since 2009. The competition aims to recognize museums' product development efforts and encourage them to draw on their collections, exhibitions and stories to create new, high-quality and contemporary products.

--

Follow ERR News on Facebook and X and never miss an update!