Fire Opal

Fire Opal is my mothers favorite store, she asks me to take her there every time she visits from New Jersey. For Christmas, my husband, my Dad, and my son all got her gift certificates. I called ahead to check that they would be open the day after Christmas so I could bring her in to spend her loot before putting them on the LimoLiner and I was assured they would be. When I went in to buy the gift certificates, it turns out they hadn’t been able to staff that day and were not going to be able to open. I was disappointed but understanding. By the time they finished the beautiful wrapping job on the gift certificates, one of their wonderful staff members, Dani, had volunteered to come in just for us to shop before my mom headed home! I insisted it wasn’t necessary and they insisted back, and that is exactly what happened! Dani met us, my mom bought a lovely dress, and it was so wonderful! Truly above and beyond the call of duty. This bit of kindness and generosity will be forever remembered by my whole family, and I have relayed the story to anyone who will listen. Fire Opal earned a family of lifelong patrons. Thank you so much!

Fun shop with interesting jewelry, clothing, accessories, and some home products (candlesticks, hand carved wooden serving bowls, etc.), made by small independent designers and artists. The jewelry in particular is fun and interesting. Prices vary greatly based on the particular designer (who presumably set their own prices), but if you’re looking for a gift you’ll find a wide variety of nice, unique items ranging from about $ 25 – 200 (very few options for less, some for more).
Service is good; my husband bought me a cool pair of copper earrings that I brought in when they began to tarnish and the salesperson did a quick polish at no charge.
Inventory doesn’t seem to turn over much, so it’s fun to browse once or twice, but now I just do a quick search for new styles and am on my way.

This is one of my favorite spots for gifts or clothing for myself. While pieces are expensive, there is excellent price to quality ratio and the items are exquisite. The customer service is outstanding and I like supporting a small business that showcases the work of mainly American artists. I have a three year old and he is always welcome there – not what you might expect from such a high end establishment. The owner and her employees are gracious, warm, knowledgeable and there is never any pressure to purchase.

Ohh how I want everything in this store! Unfortunately I can’t afford to buy it all. The owner (or at least I assume she’s the owner) is always so kind to me, allows me space and time to browse, and has helped me choose gifts on more than one occasion. A+!

Fire Opal is a great place to find interesting gift or fun piece of clothing or home adornment. The big draw is their selection of jewelry. I have gone in here and found a lot of great gifts for family and friends here.
While prices tend to be on the high side, I have found some quality pieces that have been under $ 50, even $ 40. But I suggest that you go in here if you are looking for a gift for someone what like unique artisan pieces as Fire Opal has a wide variety of styles and prices.

Ok, I didn’t buy anything, but I wanted to review the spot as we had excellent customer service.
The jewelry is gorgeous — unfortunately a bit out of price range for today. However, the range of lovely items from local and small artists is wonderful and priced well depending on the artist.
I’d love to visit again as this is a great little spot.

Anyone who has ever watched me having to make a decision even as trivial as what flavor ice cream to get can imagine what an excruciating process it must have been for me to choose a wedding ring. Once I saw the selection at Fire Opal, I decided to look no further — the designs were just what I was looking for… elegant and unusual with an organic look.
I even narrowed it down to an artist, and a couple of designs. But deciding those final details (yellow gold or rose? one diamond or two? or a different ring altogether??) took 4 separate visits, each over an hour long, involving me putting the same three or four rings on over and over and over again, staring at my hand, trying really hard to replicate the experience of wearing the ring for decades. It was surely enough to drive any shopkeeper crazy, but Sue displayed infinite patience, always smiling, offering her opinion when I looked like I was stuck, and giving me space when I just needed to stare. I FINALLY decided, and I love the ring.

Went to the store because it seemed cool. The lady that worked there, I’m pretty sure she was the manager, was beyond rude, and kept looking at me as if I was annoying her with my presence.
The stuff was nice, but nothing I haven’t seen before.
Would never go back.

Stores that sell handcrafts by talented artists and artisans are VERY hard to find in the Boston area — especially ones that sell items as nice as those at Fire Opal. I never tire of perusing the selections here and feel I’m always given excellent advice when I ask for it. Yes, the prices in this place are high compared to what you’ll find at a large chain store, but when you purchase items at Fire Opal, you’re not just buying jewelry or housewares — you’re buying ART. In the process you’re helping to support the artists and artisans creating those pieces, AND you’re supporting a locally owned business.

A great selection of interesting pieces of jewelry, household hand crafted items (pottery bowls, silver serving pieces, etc) and wearable art type clothing. Everything here is unique and well selected but very expensive.
I love to shop (and browse) at artsy small shops so I know that these items tend to be on the expensive side but Fire and Ice is charging over the top prices. I saw a bracelet I loved and wrote down the artist name then went to her web site and found other stores she was selling her work to. I made a few calls and bought the bracelet for 40% less than Fire Opal was selling it for from a store in NYC (40% less was including the higher tax than MA, shipping and insurance). Delightful store to to browse but they need to lower their prices before I can buy from them.

I was intrigued by several of the jewelry and pottery pieces in the window, so I wandered into Fire Opal to look around. It is a very unique store, that’s for sure. Some of the jewelry items were just so cool and unique– not like anything as far as design that I’d seen before. And, the pottery was so cool. Very nice, and well done, patterns. Saw several pieces that I really wanted!
There’s the rub though– the prices were sky high on everything. The smallest piece of pottery we found (which would have been for a dip or honey perhaps) was $ 44. Yikes. The jewelry was way up there in price too. If you’re looking for a memorable piece as a gift, then maybe, but if you’re just spending the day shopping like I was then the prices were way out of my range. It’s too bad because they had beautiful items.
Service was fine. The woman said hello and then left us alone. I like that! Although, I was very tempted and wanted to see something up close from under the glass counter and she never even looked my way. Maybe she figured I wasn’t going to be a buyer. Sometimes you can’t win– people all over you or not enough attention. I’m glad she didn’t come over because at the price the item was, I would have had a case of buyer’s remorse for sure.

Pretentious and sometimes Bitchy. I don’t feel comfortable there and I know a few people who were treated very badly by the owner.

Interesting place to browse for gifts, but so many things are seriously overpriced. I was in there yesterday and spotted some decent necklaces and great earrings, but was a little put off by the $ 36 tank tops. Seriously. As Alice K. said, this is probably a cool spot to go to if you’re looking for a one-​of-​a-​kind gift, but I would not stop in regularly.

Great stores (there’s also one on Centre St. in Jamaica Plain) with fabulous jewelry, fascinating bags, interesting textiles, and all sorts of home décor that makes me want to redecorate every time I go in.
I bought a necklace in December that, sadly, broke in May. It is my favorite necklace, I wear it almost every day. The owners have been wonderful and are doing all that they can to ensure that the artist fixes it to my specifications (we had one mishap where she fixed it, and it looked totally different). This is the kind of stellar customer service that I expect from a merchant.

Small, artsy and unique. This is a perfect place to buy lovely, interesting and random things. Most items are one-​of-​a-​kind things from nearby artists. If you’re a student, steel yourself for the strong possibility of desiring things that you can’t afford and content yourself with some earrings. :)