Monthly Archives: June 2012

The “Mole” Rock

“THAT ROCK LOOKS LIKE A MOLE!” This is the comment Bonnie made when I bought a few rocks from the guy at the Boy Scout Camp.

The outside of the "Mole" looked very ordinary.

I am a long-time friend to the Ranger at a local BSA camp. I got a call the other night that one of his volunteers had a few rocks he wanted to sell. If I’m available, I will always look at rocks, especially from an inherited collection. Treasures are often found.

Bonnie was bored so we jumped in the truck and drove to the camp where we found George with a few rough rocks in his pickup bed. He had some good stuff, but much of his material was a duplicate to what I have already. I did find a few interesting pieces and after a bit of bargaining a mutual agreement was made.

The inside of the "Mole" was extraordinary, proving you really cannot judge a book by it's cover.

Much or the time I know exactly what I am buying, but not with the “mole” rock. I knew it was an agate, but had no idea what kind it was. As you can see there is no indication of what lurks inside of this “mole”. WHAT A SURPRISE when I cut this ugly rock in half.

It turned out to be a wonderful Botswana agate. I cut out a crystal section from the rock and ended up with perfect Botswana Agate of classic Grays and white. Making beautiful gemstone jewelry from a really bland rock is so satisfying! This should make a great piece of jewelry for the upcoming Celebration of Agates show in Minnesota.

Pretty nice for a "Mole" rock, don't you think?

So, blog fans, here is the Mole to Gemstone transformation.

New Business Cards

Our stylish new business card.

I just completed updating our business cards.

We love our current business cards, but wanted to step them up a notch or two. Our trademark logo of the snobbish woman with her nose in the air over our stylized red SAJ logo was not changed; just updated.

I changed our tagline to read “Specializing in masterful wire-wrapping of uncommonly rare gemstones from Michigan and throughout the world”. This slogan more reflects our philosophy of producing the highest quality jewelry made from gemstones both scarce and unique. Many people use the term “one of a kind”, so much so that it has become a cliche. Every rock is “one of a kind”, offering so many opportunities for the lapidarist and jewelry artist. The combination of cutting and polishing my own diverse rocks, as well as my meticulous wire-wrapping, make my jewelry unlike any other jewelry on the market. We know this is one of the things that keep people looking at and buying our semiprecious stone jewelry, again and again.

We have also added a business Facebook page, so of course we want people to “like us“.

I continue to custom cut and wire wrap stones others bring me. I especially love it when customers bring me assorted rocks or gems that their parents or grandparents have found in years past. Some of these have much more sentimental value than intrinsic value. No matter how plain these stones may be, I dress them up so they can be proudly worn.

What do you guys think of the new business card? See me at a show or order something off the website and I will give you one absolutely free!

“Rooting”

Bonnie is outside “rooting“.

Rooting is defined at this location as either gardening OR searching and cleaning the barn. I am fairly happy in my barn and can find at least half the things I need in it (this is a good percentage for a guy). Bonnie, on the other hand, feels compelled to enter my venue, namely the barn, and “straighten it up”. She often says things to me like: “Don’t you think you should neaten this barn up”, or “This barn is a mess”. I tell her that there are spiders in my barn, and she HATES spiders, but this seems not to work very well as a repellant. I mention that if she moves things I may not be able to find them, but again this seems not to work very well. I recall giving up on discouraging “rooting” in 2008 (the fall, I believe).

Rooting requires moving things, including buckets and rocks around. When this happens my percentage of being able to find things declines to about 40%.

I do not discourage this womanly behavior, as I know it makes her feel good, productive, and improves her well-being. She discovers new rocks and is happy moving things she has already moved on previous rootings (Word says this is not a verb, but I KNOW it is) Another advantage is she is not disturbing me while I watch NASCAR, Deadliest Catch, or Chopper (guy shows). I’m usually wire-wrapping jewelry out of some Michigan stones while I watch these shows, so you know how hard-working I am.

If Bonnie wheels a barrel up, it may be a good omen.

What is in this barrel of rocks that are covered with saw mud?

Today, after a good rooting session in the barn, she came up the driveway with a paper barrel in her wheelbarrow. I

A sample of the edge (about 2" thick) revealed interesting dendrites and pattern.

do not recall seeing this barrel for a number of years, but I can recall buying it about 10 years ago at a sale in Grand Rapids.

The Owyhee and one of the Brazilian Agates.

She found several nice Brazilian Agates and about a ten pond slab of Owyhee Picture Jasper, a better then average root. There are multiple types of Owyhee from Oregon and I am not an expert as to precisely what it all is, but it is all of interest, and makes wonderful pictured cabochons. I know this rough is at least 30 years old. I do not know whether this material is still available or not. Thus far I have not found any on line. If anyone knows exactly what this jasper is, let me know and I will edit this blog. There is probably much more Owyhee in the one slab then I can use in my lifetime.

This will be great lapidary and barter material, don't you think?

So, to sum this up I guess it pays to let your wife be happy in her “straightening and rooting” endeavors. Good things can sometimes come of this affliction.