Hidden Gem: 'Aquamarine' Gift Shop Relocates On Haight St.

Hidden Gem: 'Aquamarine' Gift Shop Relocates On Haight St.Photo: Camden Avery/Hoodline
Camden Avery
Published on July 06, 2017

Seven months after clothier Ducks In A Row departed the northwest corner of Haight and Ashbury (1510 Haight St.), Nepalese gift shop Aquamarine has moved a few hundred feet east to take over the space.

The shop, which features handicrafts of all sorts but focuses primarily on singing bowls, opened in its new location late last week, said owner Rajeesh Shrestha.

The shop's main focus continues to be singing bowls. | photo: Camden Avery/hoodline

The move was dictated by a number of factors, he said, from a new landlord at the shop's old location (1352 Haight St.) to the damage protracted street construction had done to foot traffic and daily business.

And while signage has yet to be updated, customers will recognize a familiar array of blown-glass bulbs hanging in the window.

Previously a popular vendor at music festivals, Shrestha is as well known for his customer service skills as he is for his shop's selections. Posting on Yelp, one Australian tourist wrote, "If I was a woman, I would demand this guy have my babies. That's how ace he was."

There is an abundance of Tibetan and Nepalese gift shops in the Upper Haight, but Aquamarine is one of the true mainstays. The shop has been in business for almost 20 years, Shrestha said, initially under the ownership of his cousin and, for the past decade, under his own.