On July 3rd of 2026,i was contracted to play 45 minutes of original acoustic guitar pieces as entertainment for an event being hosted at the Northwest Nature store.Upon my arrival,i set up my folding chair and began my set.Within a minute or two,my employer(not Nature Store employees)materialized out of the rather large crowd,gave me my fee,plus a geneous bonus,and said ,"Do your thing Brother Harry",and disappeared back into the crowd.I began to play again when i noticed a group of several kids(12-13 yrs.old?)setting up musical equipment 30'or so away from my location.All of these kids were openly staring at me with dirty looks on their faces.At a loss,i kept playing acoustic guitar as i was being paid to do.After a minute or so,one of the kids started playing an electric/acoustic guitar and i immediately began playing complimentary,tasteful,leads in an appropriate walking minor scale,rather than continue with my piece,so as not to be dissonant or discordant with a fellow musicians efforts.(even if it was some inexperienced kid,as i am a consumate professional with 40 years experience under my belt).At that point i noticed an adult that seemed to be involved with the kids,also giving me extremely dirty looks as i continued to do my job.As this man approached me staring sourly,i addressed him in a friendly and professional manor,informing him i would be happy to just play accompanying acoustic guitar to whatever the kids were going to play so as not to be a distraction or source of disonance.This male adult cut me off mid sentance by informing me in a menacing bullying manor that ,"UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES ARE YOU TO PLAY ANYTHING WHEN THE KIDS ARE PLAYING".Shocked at his rude aggressive and Highly unprofessional attitude,i calmly began to inform him i was not some random busker,but instead was a paid professional there to do a job.Mr.Luz(i found out his name later),cut me off again with the same statement regarding my purpose at the event.Luz walked off to his car,and within a minute was back,standing over me,telling me again not to play while this kid was playing,to which i responded,"What are you going to do dude,beat me up?!"Luz smirked and replied,"No ,but you are not going to play".Throughout this entire interaction,all 3 or 4 of these kids are watching this,still with looks of disdain and hostility on their faces.o told him again i had been paid to be there,tried to ask him if he knew my employers for the event,all to no avail.He said "I dont care",and walked back to where the kids were at.Instead of causing a scene and potentially embarrassing both myself,and my employers,i packed up my guitar and went home.I informed my employer via text what had happened and they assured me Mr.Luz would be addressed.Well,i come to find out this fellow Felipe Luz runs an organization called Gateway Music Collective in which he is supposedly teaching these children how to become professional musicians!?If you are a parent of any of these kids he is "mentoring"you should know that this person is a complete and total bigot,not to mention a garbage teacher of musicians etticate,whom is poisoning young minds with misdirected unprofessional behaviour! I myself,am a veteran pro musician with credentials that include writing music sound tracks for Sony Music Corp. Playstation video games,National touring credits,and Internationally released album music writers credits for a world famous punk rock band from L.A. as well as an ASCAP'd published songwriter.But because i am 55 yrs. old,with a bleached 10" tall spiked mohawk,am covered from neck to fingernails in 30 yr. old lousy tattoo work,and have teeth that look like a beat up picket fence with boards missing,this "teacher"of other peoples children felt it was ok to bully,menace,embarrass,and humiliate a fellow musician IN FRONT OF SAID CHILDREN,because he was too ignorant to even ask or listen to anything i said.Instead he set an example for these kids,that judging a person by their physical appearance is perfectly ok,and furthermore,looking different equals a lesser person whether they are a fellow musician or not.MR. LUZ YOU ARE TEACHING OTHER PEOPLES KIDS TO BE BIGOTED,HATEFUL,AND IGNORANT,AND I FULLY EXPECT A PUBLIC APOLOGY FROM YOU BEFORE I CAN BE FREE OF THE HUMILIATION YOU CAUSED ME WHILE I WAS TRYING TO DO MY JOB.To do anything less only furthers your lack of professionalism. read more

Nice little shop not far from the inn we are staying at while visiting Ashland this week. They have many gift items and trinkets, plus some impressive statuary and fountains. Staff is extremely friendly and helpful. We browsed for almost an hour, and both the girls bought things for themselves - like Shashibo shape shifting boxes ($21.95 each), stuffed toys and animal figurines. We will be back later in the week to buy gifts for friends and family. read more

Northwest Nature Shop - Shop as seen from Oak Street. - Toy Stores Near Me - Ashland, Oregon

This store is so lovely. They have a variety of birdseeds suitable for the local bird population, a wide variety of bird feeders, and some really lovely outdoor decorations along side some really cute nature themed items. This is a really great spot to stop by if you're looking for some garden items and you want to support a local business read more

Great place to browse for a gift, field guide books, interesting kid's gifts, birding, and more. My granddaughter turned 8, needed an interesting gift. Bought a cute mood ring, books and they wrapped it! Customer service! Stop by for bird seeds, bird feeder, rocks, lanterns, books, kite, compass, they offer so much! read more

The Northwest Nature Shop is a family owned and operated natural history store. They sell products that help adults and children learn about nature and science, including Natural history books and maps, bird feeding products and gifts for the home and garden. I was first here back in the late 1980s and visited again when I was back in Ashland recently. It's a fun place to play with the science toys and gifts or see the latest technology in squirrel-proof feeders. I also like the front porch of this house store and the nooks and crannies within. read more

Northwest Nature Shop - Toy Stores Near Me - Ashland, Oregon

Love this store for shopping local! I came in because I was looking for some gifts to bring to my friends two kiddos and found some fun parachute men and an awesome book. I enjoyed browsing the variety of books. The shop provides complimentary gift wrapping and staff were very friendly and helpful. read more

I generally don't write reviews. However, in this case I have to give a "shout out" to the Northwest Nature Shop. They are one of the best vendors that I have run across. Not only do they have a great inventory of products; their prices are competitive, and they are both super knowledgeable and extremely helpful. I recently needed a Screech Owl House for installation on a particular date. After explaining the situation to them, they answered my product questions, found a suitably priced carrier and sent it out to me post haste. I could have purchased the Owl House from Amazon, but the Northwest Nature Shop price was better, and the customer service was invaluable. Why would anyone purchase from Amazon when you can get equivalent or better pricing along with superior service; all from a small local business? You can bet that I'll be buying more stuff from the Northwest Nature Shop. I only wish that I lived closer to Ashland so I could visit the shop in person. Support local/small businesses!!! read more

We stop by here every time we go to Ashland. There are so many interesting products to look at. My favorite are the patio chimes that we bought for the deck. read more

This store has at least three major sections: educational toys, Outdoor guides and maps, such as birding books and where-to-hike books, and finally supplies for birders: binoculars, field guides, feeders and seed. The staff are knowledgeable and friendly. I haves covered a large section of my garage wall with topographical maps of Southwest Oregon and Northwest California from the shop. You will also find her some outdoor guide books by local authors that are sold no where else or in very few other stores. read more

This is our absolute favorite local shop to support! They have all the fun toys, art supplies and best priced rocks and crystals to choose from. They have everything you need to trick our your ninja or slack line and all the stocking stuffers you could possibly imagine! read more

Local customer, went looking for some binocs. Terrance was the best. So helpful, friendly and knowledgeable about binocs! Left with an awesome pair and a great neighborly, friendly feeling! Great selection of product and Terrance was so helpful and the store is such a great environment. But.. what's up with the Buddlea out front?! Other than that, 5 stars! Thank you- and the daphne smelled amazing! read more

Nice store. Friendly folks. Worth the visit. Cool rocks. Great games. Interesting hike/camping stuff.

This is an exceptional small gift and outdoor shop. They have the best map selection of any place I visit. This latest visit I found the perfect bird feeder for a friend. Staff is friendly and helpful. read more

One of my favorite retail stores in Ashland with a focus on nature. Great place to find gifts for friends and relatives. Friendly staff. Incredible selection in a wide range of areas including books, bird feeders, children toys & games, maps, nature art, jewelry and lots more. read more

This shop has the coolest stuff. I could spend hours looking at the books and gemstones, and they sell large bags of bird food for just a few bucks (they're on the porch). On top of that, every time I've visited this store I've experienced excellent customer service, and that is a rarity for Ashland. The staff at Northwest is always friendly and helpful. read more

The staff at the Northwest Nature Shop are all awesome and friendly. Great place to get information about local trails, hikes, etc. Awesome selection of maps. This is a store that is easy to spend a lot of time in. read more

Best shoppe in town! Great selection of gifts and all kinds of goodies. Great family run staff and the events they have are bar none! We love this place, it makes living in Ashland that much more fun :) read more

This shop is WONDERFUL! The staff is friendly, helpful and knowledgeable about their inventory. I could literally spend hours looking at all the nature and science items neatly organized. Honestly, just a pure treat to visit this shop. It is the most comprehensive nature store I have seen. There are so many great books, toys and goodies for young ones to inspire their love of the natural world! Plus, i always find lovely treasures for my garden :)I Can't say enough good things about Northwest Nature Shop!!!! read more

Great shop for getting gifts. They have things to suit just about any adult or kid. Free giftwrapping too.

Great products and friendly staff (based upon my phone conversation with them) but be careful ordering from them online. The communication isn't great, and they botched my order. Fortunately, the man said he'd send the missing pieces straight away; nonetheless, this shouldn't have happened in the first place. read more

My go-to place for gifts for friends & family of all ages. Sometimes I know what I'll buy, other times I browse. Sometimes I ask the staff for suggestions, and they always come up with something very cool that is perfect for the receiver, and everyone has loved their gifts so far. Of course, I purchase something for myself every now and then, too, and there is plenty to tempt me! Love supporting this little, local business. They have amazing customer service, and I really appreciate that! read more