With an ever-changing view of Kachemak Bay and the surrounding landscape from her store windows on the Homer Spit, artist Olga Amaral welcomes locals and visitors to Diamond Ridge Gallery & Gifts on the Homer Spit.
Located on the Homer Shores boardwalk, Amaral’s walls and shelves are filled with paintings, prints, pottery, glasswork, Native Alaskan mammoth ivory and other carvings, jewelry, masks, wearable art, photography, fiber arts, metalwork, and other handmade pieces. Melding these original works of art with merchandise like clothing, ornaments, key chains, commercial jewelry and more, her shop offers a range of items, a little something for everyone, from art to tchotchkes.
An artist herself, her watercolor and acrylic paintings grace one wall, with subject matters that include boats, landscapes, marine life, wildlife and the occasional abstract. Of her entire inventory, about 25% of the work is her own. Forty percent is work by other artists she has invited into the gallery and supported through the years — wooden earrings by George Overpeck, beaded earrings and rings by Martha Murray, paintings and prints by Donna Martin, Jan Peyton and Lynda Reed, woodwork by Ted Heuer, glasswork by Sandra Thompson and Carol and Dave Christy, photography by Joanne Thordarson and Don Pitcher, pottery by several artists, and more.
“I’m always looking for items to add to my selection and I’m very particular about what I bring in,” Amaral said. “I have to love what I sell, so everything in my store are items I truly enjoy. Initially I had no idea what people would want, but now I have return customers from all over the state, the United States and the world, which is very exciting and helped me know what customers might be looking for. Some come in and just like to browse, while others come in looking for very specific items, like a sweatshirt for themselves or earrings for a loved one.”
On a shelf next to her register is a case filled with Alaska Mint medallions from the Alaska Mint Company.
“My husband happened upon these, and we appreciate the quality of the materials and so I can really sell them because I’m so enthused about them,” she said.
Sometimes Amaral goes in search of artists whose work she might carry and other times they find her — like a young woman from the Aleutian Islands who stopped in a couple of weeks ago wearing earrings she’d made.
“Her earrings are just beautiful and we chatted about her making a few different sizes and styles,” Amaral said. “She’s only 17, but wants to be an entrepreneur and begin with her jewelry and I think that is really admirable and exciting. I’ll be carrying her work next year.”
Through the 11 years that she’s been in business, Amaral has seen more and more people come into her store, contributing to her success as a small business owner. She attributes this increase in numbers to several things — improvements to the boardwalk made by the owners, larger cruise ships coming into port, and nationwide publicity about Alaska and Homer through, for example, reality shows and Alaskans who made Homer their vacation destination during 2020 when they were unable to take flights to other places.
Amaral tracks the number of people who come into her store and has determined that in the past years, 20% of the traffic are Alaskans and the remainder are from other places. And of those who walk through her doors, about 10-15% purchase something.
With Homer’s tourist season continuing to expand, Amaral opens in mid-April, often with customers wanting to shop while she is still putting inventory out and the doors are closed, but the lights are on.
“If my lights are on, people think I’m open and that’s just fine with me,” she said.
Amaral is delighted to be able to use her space to show her own work and that of others. Born in Portugal, Amaral and her family immigrated to the United States in 1967. Prior to moving to Homer in 2009, she and her husband, David Groesbeck, lived in California, where she taught for 30 years. After she retired, Groesbeck bought her a set of paints and pencils, encouraging her to explore her creativity, something she had wanted to pursue but which had been on the back burner during her career.
Upon moving to Homer, she took a watercolor class through Homer Art & Frame.
“That was the beginning for me,” she said. “I had the time and the interest and (was) surrounded by inspiration.”
Working in watercolors, acrylics and alcohol inks, Amaral paints landscapes, waterscapes and portraits. She has exhibited and sold her work at the Art Shop Gallery, Fireweed Gallery, where she is also a member of the Kachemak Bay Watercolor Society, and Ptarmigan Arts. She has also painted several commission pieces for locals and people living outside of Alaska, including paintings of boats, pets and portraits.
Eager to sell her work locally beyond the galleries, in 2013 the couple purchased the small storefront on the boardwalk, formerly home to a fishing charter business, and opened their doors in 2014. Named for Diamond Ridge, the area of Homer where they live and where Amaral’s home studio is, her first summer found her interacting with customers while she was still putting inventory on the shelves, her doors open for fresh air. That first summer, she set up an easel and her paints and painted while customers browsed her inventory, which was comprised of her paintings and prints.
When friends heard about her business venture, they brought their handmade items in to supplement her own work, including hats, aprons, potholders and towels. When numerous customers inquired about jewelry, which she was not yet carrying, she started making jewelry.
“I quickly realized how time-consuming jewelry is and that I didn’t have the time to make as much as I’d need to have on hand,” she said.
Amaral began looking into commercially available jewelry and added that to her gallery. Then she happened upon the idea of making her own designs to put on T-shirts, hoodies and mugs, which she did and continues to create. Then she decided that she wanted to support other artists and include their work in her store.
Adding more and more inventory, the couple expanded the original small storefront into the large space that it is today. Amaral credits her husband for his years of love, support and encouragement.
“David encourages me to do anything I’m interested in doing,” Amaral said. “And art was certainly a part of that. He’s the one who found this building for sale and he planted the seed for this venture by encouraging me to go for it. He’s been by my side the entire time, whether it’s making dinners because I don’t get home until late, lugging boxes of merchandise between our home and the shop or making trips to Anchorage to pick up inventory. On the creative side, when I’m working on a painting, he’s the first one I’ll it show it to, to get his input. He’s not an artist himself, but he loves art and has collected art for years. We’ve been married for more than 40 years and he’s my best critic and my best supporter. Every day, he does whatever it takes to support my art and this business.”
The couple’s daughter, Jennifer, set up the businesses inventory system, and with Amaral the only employee, she is grateful for the ease and efficiency with which that side of the business was set up to meet her needs. In this way, Diamond Ridge Gallery & Gifts is truly a family business.
Amaral enjoys what she does and is grateful for the opportunity to go to work and open her doors every day, all summer long.
“It’s exciting to interact with my artists and all sorts of people and from all over the world,” she said. “It’s fun to sell a piece of art and to go out and search for items to have in my store. I love this and I’ll keep doing it for as long as I can.”
Diamond Ridge Gallery & Gifts is open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days a week on the Homer Shores Boardwalk on the Homer Spit, 4025 Homer Spit Road #3. Find the business online at diamondridgeart.com, where Amaral can be contacted for commission work, or find her on Facebook at Diamond Ridge Art Studio.
Paintings by Olga Amaral, photographed on Wednesday, July 31, 2024, are on display in her business, the Diamond Ridge Gallery & Gifts, located on the Homer Shores Boardwalk in Homer, Alaska. Photo by Christina Whiting
The interior of Diamond Ridge Gallery & Gifts, located on the Homer Spit, is photographed on Wednesday, July 31, 2024, in Homer, Alaska. Photo by Christina Whiting
Handmade art is photographed on display on Wednesday, July 31, 2024, at Diamond Ridge Gallery & Gifts, owned by Olga Amaral and located on the Homer Shores boardwalk on the Homer Spit in Homer, Alaska. Photo by Christina Whiting
Olga Amaral (right), owner of Diamond Ridge Gallery & Gifts on the Homer Spit, shows Oregon visitor Cameron Kerr a gift item in the store on Wednesday, July 31, 2024, in Homer, Alaska. Photo by Christina Whiting
