Category Archives: Celebration of Agates

Celebration of Agates Ends

The Celebration of Agate sadly ended today with a time consuming breakdown of all our displays, and carefully putting our jewelry away for the upcoming trip and shows in the U.P.

Aerial view of the show.

Bonnie making a sale.

Wonderful display by Rock of Ages.

Rock of Ages agates.

The last day of the show added a good quantity of Fordite to my stash and three pounds of flawless Lake Superior Agates for jewelry in the future. On the whole this trip was worthwhile. Our jewelry was a show hit!

We met many rock people and remember a couple from Connecticut that plan their vacations around rock related activities. They were headed to the Kewenaw and I suggested they check in at the Seaman Museum and see if they can still register for a hunt or two in the Copper Country Mineral Retreat next week. We expect to see them on the rock pile.

The Celebration of Agates was a successful show with seminars, specimens, jewelry, and lots of learning opportunities. If you have never been to a rock show yet, be sure to attend one in your area this year!

Polka-dot Agate

Spanish Pyrite shown by the Geode Gallery

Costigan's rough rock.

A wonderful wood display.

Great marbles!

Worlds Largest Lake Superior Agate

Panera Bread is a great place to have coffee, a pecan roll, and to blog. Everyone likes my blog from Minnesota, and I really appreciate it. People at the Agate Show from all over have told me they follow my blog–how nice!

Wild Crazy Lace

Lakers like this are all over here; like they are a common occurence.

More Lakers over a pound.

MORE!

The excitement was high at the Celebration of Agate Show today. We talked to people that just came to the show on a lark and could not believe what they saw.

World Record Agates appeared at Scott Wolter's booth today.

The excitement today was I saw loads of Lakers again that I had not seen before, including both the world record Lake Superior Agate and the world record Fairburn Agate.

How about these north shore Thomsonites?

The show attendance was around 1100 today. I had good fun just talking to rockhounds from around the U.S.

Tepee Canyon Agates

I’m just going to show you some of the amazing things I saw today, I hope you do not get bored with great agates.

You would think Fairburn Agates were common looking at this display!

Celebration of Agates-A Giant Venue

Taken from the running track above the show.

Nice assortment of Petrified wood.

lind

The Celebration of Agates opened at noon with a rush of customers standing in line anticipating all the goodies enclosed in this giant gym. All the dealers here were invited to participate, so the best agate dealers from around the world are here, especially popular are the Lake Superior Agates, the State Stone of Minnesota.

Kentucky Agate-gotta love the red & black.

One of Scott Wolter's Lakers. This one maybe three pounds?

The Lindbergh Center is huge! There’s a 1/8 mile track around the top of this facility. All the display cases are filled with wonderful agate displays. The tables are piled heavily with rock goodies, rough, slabs, jewelry, and specimens. If you have the cash you can score big time. I am actually blogging from the show as the crowds have thinned at 6:15pm. The show closes at 7pm, and I believe that the big crowds will come tomorrow.

More huge Wolter' Lakers.

The only things I captured today were a slab of Luna Agate, a small Moroccan Agate, and a new pinpoint metal detector. I am sitting across from Scott Wolter’s booth, and he is busy signing his wonderful books on Lake Superior Agates and his new book on the Kensington Ruin Stones.

Scott brought probably the most fantastic Lake Superior Agate collection in the world. He has filled three cases with BIG agates. Picture all of them over a pound, with one named the “Bowling Ball Agate”, that is as big as a bowling ball at 15 pounds!

Brian Costigan's rock pile.

The display cases were arranged down the center of the Lindbergh Center. They were all wonderful and amazing.Other Lake Superior Agates were displayed by Brian Costigan and others. Bonnie and I took photos for you.

Crazy Crazy Lace.

Enjoy the pictures, if you can’t be here!

Luna Agate.

Our display of (from right) Arizona Green Petrified Woos, Peanut Wood from Australia, and Thunder Bay Seam Agate.

Bob & Jeff Anderson next to their massive agate shopping center.

Miles of rough rock.

Gene Mueller's Agua Nueva Agate.

Lake Superior Agate Jewelry

lsa-on-bench

Attendees at the Celebration of Agates Show in Hopkins Minnesota will be happy to see my Lake Superior Agate Jewelry.

Since 1969 the Lake Superior Agate has been the Minnesota State Stone. Glaciers deposited Lake Superior Agates throughout Minnesota, as well as south as far as Kansas.
Many of you know that Laker’s are my favorite gemstone. I am amazed at the variety of colors, types, and patterns. No two are ever alike.

The multi-pattern was amazing on this Laker.

Moons and stripes. I liked this one.

The trick is finding those extremely rare flawless, or nearly flawless Lake Superior Agates to use in my jewelry. Remember Laker’s moved vast distances from bedrock in the Keweenaw area. Most of them were ripped from bedrock. Lake Superior Agates are also tumbled on the Lake Superior shoreline. It is really amazing that any Laker’s can be found that are not cracked.

Three Lake Superior Agates were selected from my stash of slices, cut into cabochons, and hurried to my workbench. These were all distinctively different, as you can see.

An unusual ledge agate.

Each agate talked to me, and I was able to make some exceedingly fine pendants, don’t you think? Let me know which one you like best. I sell many Lake Superior Agate Pendants to Minnesotans. I expect when they see these agates, and well over 100 more Lake Superior Agate Pendants, this jewelry will make them ecstatic!

Pietersite-On The Workbench

Pietersite was on the workbench at the Ludington Art Show. I happened upon a great cabochon while digging through my cases at home, and decided if things were slow (they were), I would demonstrate next to the booth.

It's difficult to see the 3D pattern on Pietersite.

It is always nice to work in the fresh air.

This Pietersite came from the one vendor I deal with, (the mine-owners) in Tucson. If you want more information on Pietersite go to my blog (March 13, 2011). http://www.snobappealjewelry.com/blog/?p=1062

The finished product turned out great.

I loved the reds and browns in this piece. The Holographic depth of Pietersite can only be viewed in person, and is pretty incredible. I think it came out pretty amazing considering I was working freestyle. I may post this up on the web later today.

Let me know what you think.

Here’s a bonus; I made this remarkable Lake Superior Eye Agate also. This one will go to the Celebration of Agates Show.

eye-agate

Celebration of Agates Jewelry

I have been working on several cabochons for the upcoming Celebration of Agates Show at Hopkins, Minnesota in July. There is a lot of buzz about this show already, and it is building up to be a well-attended and exciting event. I will be exhibiting at this special rock show, and

Amazing Royal Imperial Jasper enhanced with a Mystic Topaz.

Sea Scene Jasper. I think this is quite tranquil.

Ocean Scene Agate is quite tranquil to look at. This wonderful rock is from British Columbia.

am striving to bring some unusual agates to this show as well as many unique Lake Superior Agates and other rare stones.

Lets just have some fun and see some of the stone jewelry I have made thus far. Which is your favorite?

Chevron Amethyst

Great colors in this Kentucky Agate!

My favorite-The Lake Superior Agate in classic "Candy Stripe".

Agate/Drusy with Calcite. WOW!

A Celebration of Agates

Before and after

We were pleased when we received an invitation to sell our agate jewelry at the Celebration of Agates Show at the Lindbergh Center at Hopkins High School in Minnetonka, Minnesota.

The show is July 26-29 2012, and is likely to be the largest celebration of agates ever. There will be displays, sales, and seminars. Check this all out at http://www.minnesotamineralclub.org/2012show.htm

Everyone interested in my favorite agate (Lake Superior) or any other species of agate has to get to this show.

More about this later.

I’ll see you there!