Heart of the Island

This store has every beach themed house décor item you could want and more! From large to small signs like «the beach is where my heart is.» To beautiful panoramas or giftcards. One of my favorite buys was a breathtaking framed shadow box with a seafoam green background and shells/​starfish together to form a heart. Even having little block letters spelling «love». Perfect gift for my friend!
After attending the sawdust festival and seeing the normal prices for this type of art, their items are affordable and almost a steal! Such great quality – their workers too! Sweetest elderly women work there who make the experience so enjoyable! Even gave me a free tote bag for buying two items.
This place is a must go for you beach lovers

I visited this store in May of this year. I bought some wonderful paintings for my lake house and had them shipped home to Michigan. I wish I could remember the name of the lady that waited on me because she was wonderful. If and when I ever go back I will stop in for sure. Until then I will shop their website !

We came here to balboa island for the Christmas lights to see the well lit neighborhoods. We came across this store and has such great novelty gifts. It doesn’t have to be a Christmas gift, it can be a great gift for any occasion.

Super cute beach themed boutique store! They have art, frames, candles, cards, and really really cute hone décor. They support all of the local balboa/​Newport artists. Prices seem reasonable and the items seem to be high quality. I am in the process of decorating one room in my house with a nautical/​beach theme and when I’m looking for the final finishing pieces I am going to come back here for sure!

We visited the gallery last year during our honeymoon stay on the island and left with two lovely pieces of art that remind us of our fond memories there. We bought a large panoramic print on canvas of the Balboa pier at sunset. It’s beautiful, and because it was our honeymoon, the owner gave us a modest break on the price to make it more affordable for us. We also bought a small pre-​matted print of the ferry. When we bought it, we planned to return the next year to pick up two more to complete a trio we envisioned for our stairwell.
Long story short, we won’t be able to make the trip as we hoped, but I called the gallery to ask if I could order two more in the series by that artist and have them shipped. The owner was amazing! She took cell phone pictures and texted them to me so I could choose, and I was able to pay by phone. They are shipping tomorrow. So, so, so cool! Seriously, she went way out of her way for me, and I appreciate that so much! Plus, I have officially pulled off the coolest 1^st anniversary gift for my husband. (We are both sentimental softies, if you can’t tell.)
The art here is all local — mostly Balboa Island, Newport Beach, Huntington Beach, etc. — and all beautiful. You can buy prints pre-​matted or completely framed. If you’re looking for a souvenier, skip the «I *heart* the OC» shot glass and come here! Seriously, please support this business. I absolutely adore it!