Agate Days 2020 Cancelled

Received the official news today along with a refund check for our table fees from the Carlton Conty Gem & Mineral Club. This would have been our third time there which is also the 3rd anniversary of our first ever show. I suspect the entire year is over in terms of show, although I know a few will persist.

The good folks who put on this show annually must really be disappointed, it has become a statewide attraction and a lot of fun. As a small dealer, I will always appreciate the opportunity events like this offer me a chance to grow my little business and knowledge. A great learning as well as business event to which I look forward to next July 17 & 18, 2021

Until then, Joanies Rocks will pursue other ways of making our wares available and acquiring new inventory.

One such venue is Plantique Garden Center 5152 Hiwataha Ave, the hardest to find such store in Minneapolis. There Joanies Rocks has some nice selections that otherwise would have been on the show circuit.

Plantiques hours can be quirky, but they are usually open Thursday, Friday & Saturday’s from 10-3. A major public works project has completely blocked the street in front of the store but street parking is available on either side. Safe friendly neighborhood.

We will eventually take orders off the website, and anyone so inclined is invited to contact us by email.

Anoka County Rock Show 2019

Our final show of the year was last weekend on home turf, in Crystal at the Crystal Community Center. It was nice to do a show without needing a hotel as well.

Tampa BaY Coral
Tampa Bay Coral is one of the items We Carry and Many Do Not. round jars by the Black tub containing coral as some of our Precious Opal Selections which we store in water.

While it was our maiden rock show at the community center, I am very familiar with the facility from my many years on the philatelic circuit. The Minnesota Stamp Expo is held there every July and I would set up a table specializing in Postal History.

But Rocks are the name of the game this millennium, and we sold some in crystal. Our largest individual sale included one of the rare WahWah Mountian Red Beryls we have in stock that came from my father’s old stock.

Also from his remaining inventory was a nice piece of white Australian Precious Opal.

On the other end of the scale, one healer was pleased to find that we carriers Pink Opal and Lavender Jade polished stones that she could use in her healing work.

Joanies Rocks at Anoka County Gem & MIneral Show 2019
We call our plastic boxes Michael’s Boxes as that is where we have found them. We use them to display a lot of different rocks in a small amount of space.

We had a lot of fun introducing our new jewelry line Swedish Blue and learned a bit about glass and foundries from our visitors. We recorded our first sales and anticipate doing well with it.

Swedish Blue Jewelry
Swedish Blue Jewelry

One of the things we like about rock shows is the people. A lot of knowledge circulates around the tables and as a wet behind the ears newer rock dealer I love learning as I go and my customers tend to be my best teachers.

Looking across the room as things slowed down on Sunday
We have a 100 or so cabs that my dad created many years ago. We are kind of proud of our display technique which makes it easier to see the individual cabs.
Our Bracelet Rack Got a Workout.
Amethyst, Rose Quartz and other Specimens Held Down The Corner Position
We always have some items for the kids as well as books to help our customers become more familiar with aspects of the hobby. Our Grab bags are pretty good deals for a youngster just getting interested in the hobby.
Joanies Rock’s Corner of the Universe

Show This Weekend Nov 23 & 24, 2019

On the way to this week’s show.

The new inventory is ready for an outing, this weekend at the Crystal Community Center for Saturday and Sundays annual show of the Anoka County Gem and Mineral Club.

We have some nice items to stuff aside for your favorite rock hound, so come and get a head start on your holiday shopping.

We will have amethyst, geodes, and many rough and polished rocks specimens as well as some jewelry worth checking out.

4800 Douglas Drive North in Crustal, MN

10Am to 5PM on Sat 10:00 AM – 4 PM on Sunday

New Inventory Added

New Show Inventory Displayed

Joanies Rocks have been investing in new inventory for our customers. As a fledgling business, we have a ways to go but are pleased to have had a successful buying trip to Denver this fall.

Among the new material is an enhanced selection of Labradorite, one of our most popular items, a nice selection of malachite free forms, our first assortment of Amazonite, and a wide range of Lapis Azuli. More unusual are a selection of Chrome Chalcedony from Kosovo and Red Crater Agate from Turkey.

We also expanded into Jewelry a bit with a number of very nice items from Sweden made of Swedish Blue, we also invested in a nice set of bracelets and even more unusual a selection of Onyx lamps.

Rock River Valley Geological Society Show

Having acquired new material we were eager to take it to market, and we did just that October 5th and 6th at the Rock River Valley Geological Society show in Jefferson Wisconsin.

Last year we shared one of their 6 table booths with another dealer. This year we went Big and took an entire booth and still had trouble fitting all of our new inventory on the expanded real estate.

The good news for our accountant is that we more than doubled our sales from our prior year base. People were so friendly and seemed to love our selections. That was truly gratifying.

One unusual thing was the fact that we had a better Sunday than Saturday, in contrast to our normal expectations of doing 2/3 of our sales on the first day. We also enjoyed the fact that we seemed to have a steady flow of people and sales from start to finish.

The Malachite and Labradorite free forms were among our best sellers, and we were pleased with both jewelry sales and carved animals, angels, skulls, etc. The one newer acquisition that did not do as well was our Lapis Azuli. I personally love Lapis’ deep blue color and hope this is just an aberration. Experience, limited as it may be, is that what sells at one show will languish at another and thankfully vice versa.

For example, at a late summer show in Frederick Wisconsin, we were quite successful selling Thompsonite from the North shore of Minnesota, and it didn’t get a second look in Jefferson.

Our “new” bracelet rack

Maximizing Rock Show Real Estate

As we develop our business, we have been investing is static items, such as new table cloths for the Jefferson show and additional lights. We also brought out for the first time a glass case to protect, honor and display our new Swedish Blue jewelry and some of our pricier items such as cinnabar crystals, Wah Wah Red Beryl and other better stones.

We picked up a bracelet stand during a rock swap in Eau Claire and put it to use in Jefferson. It was a great way to display a variety of items while taking up relatively little table space. While the rack in the photo above is still pretty sparse, we filled to four rounds quite well and were pleased with the sales generated.

Swedish Blue featured in our glass case.

Swedish Blue Jewelry

When we were on our September buying trip to Denver, we met a couple from Sweden. They are introducing “Swedish Blue” to the American market. They have displayed in Tucson and Denver and are the silversmiths complimenting this beautiful material.

The stone itself is actually slag glass, from recently discovered medieval Swedish glass factory long since forgotten. Joan hates referring to it as slag, as the word seems to be unjust when the end result is so pretty.

The prices for this material are a bit higher than anything we have dealt with before, so the jury is out regarding our wisdom in taking this step. However, we are confident that the workmanship, beauty, and artistry will propel future sales.

Amazonite

Another Denver find was Amazonite, with its pale blue-green luster. We met a miner from Colorado who had a nice selection and picked up a few samples that display the crystal. We have carried inexpensive tumble-polished stones in the past, but the raw crystal form appeals to me more. The general tumbled material is a somewhat poorer grade of stone, while the material from Colorado was much better. In hindsight, I wish we have acquired more of this material when we were in Denver.

The biggest lesson I learned about the buying trip was learned at the Jefferson show. We will need to replace what we sold, and although we still have a pretty deep lineup, it would be even better had we spent more time building a relationship with the Amazonite miner and others.

On our next buying trip, we will focus not just on getting good material but on developing a trusting relationship with sources to more expeditiously replenish inventory without the 13-hour car trip it took to get to Denver.