Gift shop owner finds strength, peace in work

TALKEETNA -- At the end of Talkeetna's main road, just before the camping area, sits a small log building with a collection of birdhouses hanging in the tree out front. Like most Talkeetna businesses, the shop doesn't open until 9 a.m., but unlike some of the other gift shops, The Raven's Perch is open all year long.

"I've got a strong local following," said Gina Rice, owner of the shop. "You make friends in a place like this, and they tell all their friends."

Rice, who was raised in Anchorage but followed her mother to Talkeetna in 1978, had no idea that she even had the kind of personality to run a small town gift shop. But this once-nurse said that over the years she realized it was something she wanted to do.

"You reach a point in your life where you think, gosh, I can do lots of things," she said. "It's like it opened up something in me that I didn't know I could do: I can visit with people I don't know!"

Rice worked at another gift shop in Talkeetna for a couple of years, but when she decided to open her own she said she was a little worried about how she would find unique inventory for her store.

"Once I got started, I realized artists know other artists," Rice said. "That's how most of my Native products were introduced."

Rice represents around 40 artists in her tiny shop, most products are Alaskan-made, but she does carry some non-Alaska goodies that struck her as beautiful.

"I try to keep some nice things for the ladies in town," she said. "They don't care if it wasn't made here, and I'm in business for them, too."

Rice said everything in the store is for sale except the birdhouses -- those are her own private collection. She said that some days she doesn't open until 10 a.m., and other days she stays later than 6 p.m. She enjoys the slowed time of a place like Talkeetna, being surrounded by beautiful pieces of art and watching the people walk through town via her store's window. While Rice keeps a carefree attitude about her business, she said her key to success has been to treat each customer that walks into her store like a long-lost friend.

"You make them feel welcome," she said. "You don't just ask them what's in their wallet."