Review of Accent on Nature Gift Shop and Museum in Columbus, Ohio

Accent on Nature, an amazing gift shop on Grandview Avenue in Columbus, Ohio, might be more recognizable as Accent on Wild Birds, which used to be the store's name for several years until a recent change. This gift shop specializes in items for nature lovers and is unlike any other store in Columbus, Ohio. Walking around in Accent on Nature can make one a little claustrophobic, but for someone who loves many things in and about nature, it's possible to spend over and hour browsing through Accent on Nature.

Accent on Nature on Grandview Avenue in Columbus, Ohio was called Accent on Wild Birds for so long because they have so many bird-lover gifts and other useful items. If you walk to the garage-like section in the back of the store, there are hundreds of unique items for the backyard, including art glass bird and hummingbird feeders, some of which are crafted by local artists. In this back area there are also a lot of different wind chimes, one set of which is about 7 feet long, making a deep gorgeous ring. In this back area are tons of bags of different bird food, each suited to unique birds of the area. Although I'm not sure on the reason for the name change, I'm guessing it might be because the Accent on Wild Birds was far too limiting. In fact, almost 75% of the store (which is larger than it looks from its storefront on Grandview Avenue in Columbus, Ohio) is comprised of things other than bird-related merchandise. The main attraction of the store are the rocks and seashells as well as the unique international gift items and bead and jewelry selection at Accent on Nature.

Accent on Nature (formerly Accent on Wild Birds) is something of a museum in many respects with it large collection of fossils, local and internationally-gathered rocks, stones, and precious gems, as well as its large selection of sea shells, large and small. They have giant pieces of ancient rock with full fossilized remains of lizards and other creatures as well as several other larger rocks with the fossils of bugs, leafs, and other matter. Accent on Nature also has many precious and semi-precious gemstones on display, some of which are behind cases and others that you can pick up and hold in your hand. The collection of sea shells at Accent on Nature on Grandview Avenue in Columbus, Ohio is on par with what you'd find at a seaside resort somewhere. Accent on Nature has everything from giant conch shells to miniature pearl-like shells. As you can imagine, this is a great place for anyone who likes geology or simply enjoys rocks, stones, and shells and if you can manage to keep your child's hands in sight at all times (there are many things that are very expensive and very breakable) it's a great place to bring younger children to show them the wonders of nature. I bring my niece in (she's 10) anytime she's in town and we walk around for an hour. Accent on Nature on Grandview Avenue in Columbus, Ohio really is like a museum. A free one!

My niece always goes directly for the jewelry and bead selection at Accent on Nature and this is her favorite shop in all of Columbus, Ohio for beads. Everything there is hippie-ish but very interesting and fun, if not a wee bit overpriced. In addition to these attractions are also the framed and preserved giant butterflies, cockroaches, tarantulas, and other freakish insects from around the globe but talk about expensive!

So, it's clear that Accent on Nature is a fun place to go and look around, but I swear, anytime I've been in there I've been horribly disappointed by the staff. They are usually ultra-hip high school kids (probably from the upscale surrounding neighborhood) and they never know anything about any of the displayed items. Don't ever bother asking them questions and the owner is never there for backup. I have never had the employees at Accent on Nature be anything but flippant and bored with me or my questions and once, after I needed to have something taken off my total, I got a heavy sigh, dirty look, and an admonishment for "keeping others waiting" when the only person behind me was my wife. This is something so apparent each time I go in there-the "too cool to wait on you" attitude, that I don't usually buy anything anymore, I just look. Accent on Nature is a great museum and a great way to kill an hour on Grandview Avenue.