Old Sturbridge Village Gift Shops and Retail Reimagined Under New Leadership

For Immediate Release:

April 12, 2021

Media Contact:

Daniel Friel

Director of Public Relations

dfriel@osv.org

C: 774-200-7788

Old Sturbridge Village Gift Shops and Retail Reimagined

Under New Leadership

Ellen Taviano, former GM of Retail for Winterthur Museum, appointed as new Director

Sturbridge M.A. – Old Sturbridge Village (OSV) has announced a new Director of Retail Operations and Gift Shops, Ellen Taviano, to oversee the Village’s retail division. With a focus on elevating and enhancing the visitor experience, Old Sturbridge Village has recently taken back management over their retail operations after outsourcing the division for many years.

Ellen Taviano has an accomplished retail career spanning over thirty-five years. Having graduated from the University of Maryland with a Bachelor of Science degree in Textile Marketing, Taviano started her retail career at Bloomingdale’s in Manhattan. She went on to work for Woodward & Lothrop, Inc., John Wannamakers, and most recently Winterthur Museum in Delaware, where she served as General Manager of Retail and Licensed Products for over twenty-four years. At Winterthur, Ellen managed two stores consisting of over 4,000 square feet of retail space, launched an online store that yielded over $150,000 in annual revenue, and is credited with product exclusivity and excellence in customer service.

“I see a tremendous amount of opportunity for the retail division and gift shops of Old Sturbridge Village," said President and CEO, Jim Donahue. "I believe Ellen Taviano brings the perfect mix of experience, passion, and drive to the position and will reimagine how we carry out retail to further enhance the experience for our visitors.”

Taviano has a wealth of ideas for Old Sturbridge Village, including launching a robust online store later this year. "Providing access to not only our on-site visitors but to our fans across the country is one of my top priorities," explained Taviano. "The Village offers so many unique items that you can't get anywhere else – particularly our Village Wares created by our craftspeople.” Taviano’s vision to increase Village-made goods includes working with Old Sturbridge Village's potters to reintroduce colors that haven’t previously been available in the Village stores and selecting a wider variety of tinware which is very popular with patrons. Specialty food items, such as jams, jellies, and preserves are being developed with unique ingredients like rhubarb and quince often found in “receipts” from the 1830s. (Receipts are known as recipes in modern language.) As the retail division undergoes its transformation, all items will be sold out of Miner Grant which is located on the Village common within the museum. Plans for a larger store with public access are also in the works, along with pop-up stores throughout the Village for visitors to purchase exclusive products.

With an upcoming kick-off to the 75^th anniversary in June, Old Sturbridge Village is committed to sharing history in new and relevant ways through programming, promotion, education, and now retail.

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MEDIA

For b-roll, images, and interview requests, please contact Daniel Friel, Director of Public Relations at dfriel@osv.org.

About Old Sturbridge Village

Old Sturbridge Village, first opened to the public in 1946, is one of the country's oldest and largest living history museums, celebrating life in early New England from 1790-1840. It is the largest living history museum in the Northeast. Each year, more than 250,000 visitors interact with costumed historians, experience up-close demonstrations of early American trades, and meet heritage breed farm animals. Situated on 200 scenic acres, the Village is a collection of more than 40 historic buildings - including homes, meetinghouses, trade shops, working farms, restaurants, shops and three water-powered mills.

Located just off the Massachusetts Turnpike and Routes I-84 and 20 in Sturbridge, Mass., Old Sturbridge Village is open year-round, but days and hours vary seasonally. For details, visit https://www.osv.org/plan-your-visit/.

Old Sturbridge Village is the managing partner of Coggeshall Farm Museum in Bristol, R.I. Members at OSV receive reciprocal membership at Coggeshall Farm Museum.

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