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Barnard Store Opens in The Diana Center
BY J. COLLINS, February 15, 2010
Barnard News Center
The Barnard Store reopened on February 2 in its brand new home, a sleek 650-square-foot retail space in the lobby of the Diana Center. The state-of-the-art building houses Barnard’s art history, architecture, and visual arts departments, as well as administrative offices and the Student Government Association.
There’s plenty of wall space in the new store to display Barnard memorabilia—from sweatshirts and hats to bears and mugs—and new products such as school supplies and charcoal, paints, pencils and canvas to serve the art students in the building. “It looks like, dare I say, a real store,” said Breanna Bartley ’10, an ethnomusicology major from Pasadena, Calif., who serves as the store’s student manager.
Since it was founded many years ago, the store has been an entirely student-run enterprise. Housed in the Sulzberger annex for the past six years, the store’s move to the Diana Center marks the beginning of a new era. For the first time, a full-time manager, Celina Kelly ’09, who spent all four of her undergraduate years as the student manager, will handle operations. The store now keeps regular daytime business hours and be open on Saturdays, staffed by about 20 students.
Previously, student managers were responsible for everything: choosing and ordering stock, communicating with vendors, hiring and training staff, and day-to-day operations. “It could’ve been a full-time job then,” said Kelly, a Brooklyn native and English major. “I’m excited to be the first full-time manager because of what it means for the campus as well as for the student body,” said Kelly. “With all my time to devote to this endeavor, we can introduce top-notch merchandise to represent the Barnard woman.” In addition to custom-made Barnard items and New York City souvenirs, she plans to stock fair-trade items made by women around the world as well as the books by Barnard-affiliated authors.
To the store’s staff, the evolution into a professionally operated enterprise is a sign of how successful the student-led initiative has been. Kelly says she also wants to make sure students are learning the best possible way to run a retail operation and getting the most from their experience.
As for what student workers get out of it, Bartley says she appreciates having such a unique opportunity as an undergraduate. “I feel lucky that Barnard provided us with an opportunity to run a whole business,” she said. “You’re learning how to take charge and be a leader, but you’re also representing Barnard to the rest of the world and that’s a big responsibility.”
