The National Building Museum shop.
Photo: Kevin Allen
Whether it’s a C.E.O. or hundreds of attendees coming to Washington, guests always appreciate a little local hospitality. Here are ways to thank people for coming, entertain them, or simply help them get oriented.
Elika Hemphill, director of global events for Discovery Communications, usually finds gifts for visiting colleagues at Discovery’s online store. But when she’s looking for something with local flair, she goes to the National Building Museum gift shop. “They have a fantastic assortment of green products, a wonderful library, and everything modern and funky you could want for the home and office,” she says. The shop carries D.C.-specific items such as city guidebooks, neckties with a map of the city, and cards filled with origami foldouts of the city’s monuments.Martha Pheeny, director of marketing for DC magazine, likes to pamper guests upon arrival. She sends visiting executives to get spa treatments at SomaFit, which offers craniosacral and hot stone massages. “Their staff is great, the atmosphere is relaxing, and the complimentary use of the steam room and sauna is an added bonus,” she says.
For personalized trinkets, Smithsonian Young Benefactors director Katharine Reishman prefers the handmade European goods from the Georgetown boutique A Mano. “There are really wonderful people who work there,” she says. “The store is such a pleasure to visit.” The shop carries a range of imported tabletop items—from crystal stemware to linen cocktail napkins—as well as leather-bound notebooks and crystal ice buckets that can be emblazoned with a corporate logo.
Elika Hemphill, director of global events for Discovery Communications, usually finds gifts for visiting colleagues at Discovery’s online store. But when she’s looking for something with local flair, she goes to the National Building Museum gift shop. “They have a fantastic assortment of green products, a wonderful library, and everything modern and funky you could want for the home and office,” she says. The shop carries D.C.-specific items such as city guidebooks, neckties with a map of the city, and cards filled with origami foldouts of the city’s monuments.Martha Pheeny, director of marketing for DC magazine, likes to pamper guests upon arrival. She sends visiting executives to get spa treatments at SomaFit, which offers craniosacral and hot stone massages. “Their staff is great, the atmosphere is relaxing, and the complimentary use of the steam room and sauna is an added bonus,” she says.
For personalized trinkets, Smithsonian Young Benefactors director Katharine Reishman prefers the handmade European goods from the Georgetown boutique A Mano. “There are really wonderful people who work there,” she says. “The store is such a pleasure to visit.” The shop carries a range of imported tabletop items—from crystal stemware to linen cocktail napkins—as well as leather-bound notebooks and crystal ice buckets that can be emblazoned with a corporate logo.
