Joanies Rocks During Covid-19

The rock season didn’t get off to a rocky season it got off to no season, Despite a great March buying trip to Tucson, the rock world has died the covid19 death of non-assembly.

No shows, and little desire to do a lot of mixing. The solution for Joanies Rocks will be to eventually conduct appointment only sales from home, (meaning backyard and garage, Joanie insists not the house – and masks required) But not for a while yet.

The backyard is beginning to take shape but is a ways from completed and will probably be in perpetual evolution for some time. Earl is incorporating many of his rocks into his backyards landscape to show the possibilities and as a market place for better accent rocks strategically placed for show and sale. The early focus this year has been on the elevated garden beds, which are beginning to take shape. Now his attention is shifting to get the rockier aspects of business underway in the new normal.

The first step has been to get a representative sample of the inventory on display at Plantiques. The Plantique Garden Center at 5152 Hiwatha is perhaps the city of Minneapolis’s least easy to find nook in the wall locally owned gift and garden oasis. I challenge you to find a more out of the way shop, but the journey is well worth the effort.

A huge hole in the street immediately outside the storefront main entrance should not frighten you away. parking can be a bit awkward, but the streets are safe and the neighborhood friendly.

Hours can be irregular, but lately Samantha is there every Thurdsay, Friday and Saturday from 10 to 3.

Joanies rocks have on display some Labradorite, Malachite, Dendritic Sandstone, Face wands, lapis lazuli, a wide variety of hand-carved soapstone critters, including frogs, dogs, and skulls. An angel or two as well. Some Raw Amethyst from Canada, Geodes from Iowa, Rose Quartz from the Black Hills, and Petrified Wood from the Baisch Dinosaur Digs near Glendive Montant are also on display along with several trays of tumbled stones and crystals including pyrite cubes, orange selenite, bumblebee jasper, Petoskey Stones, carved hearts, Botswana Agates, Wordstones and more.

In the near future Joanies rocks will be adding some all natural stone bracelets to the display.

Eventually, we may open up the backyard adn garage for an open house or perhaps a spring and fall rock weekend. We are kind of hoping some of the shows return but also a bit aprenensive as to whether or not we want to be doing them.

pots, seeds, more..

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.

Cinnabar Page Added to Joanies Rocks Website

Joanies Rocks added a new page to its “Retail Rocks” tab on its main website. http://joaniesrocks.com/retail-rocks/cinnabar-a-mercury-ore-with-allure/

Cinnabar or HgS, Mercury Sulfide is the principal source of Mercury and has been widely used over the centuries. When crushed the fine powder was used to create vermillion pigment which was widely used in many different cultures. Its distinctive red color have attracted creative minds in many ways including its use in cosmetics and lipsticks, and rouges. However, such use has largely stopped due to recognition of the severe toxic nature of the Mercury which affects the nerves among other bodily tissues.

Most cinnabar is found in masses, and seldom as pure crystals.

Cinnabar Mass – Image found on Pinterest

Due to its toxic nature, it is seldom used in metaphysical healing practices except by experienced practitioners. Most people are warned away. However, when found in rare crystal format, it can be used carefully as the crystals are usually safely ensconced in a matrix rock which can be handled.

The most common way people hear of and see cinnabar is in the form known as China Red Lacquer. Even today you can find newer pieces from China that appear to be Cinnabar but are not true cinnabar. However, older items most definitely can and do contain mercury and exist in antique shops and museums around the world.

Folklore associates the stone with the production of wealth and has earned the nickname “the Merchants Stone.” Believers feel the stone helps draw prosperity to its owner and is also said to be a powerful tool to trigger mystic vision and help boost communication and brilliant thinking.

It is said to be useful in bringing all the chakras into line and can alleviate dread and bitterness.

Despite the toxic issue, it is a popular stone, especially if you can find crystals due to its color and perhaps even because of the implied danger.

The key thing to remember is to avoid handling the material with your bare skin, and especially avoid heating it, as heat can release mercury vapor. With proper precautions, it is a nice addition to any mineral collectors accumulations.

Earl’s father acquired a number of cinnabar crystals several decades ago from China. From that initial group, less than a dozen crystal items remain, although most have two or more crystals on each piece of matrix.

Cinnabar Crystal A
Cinnabar Crystal
Cinnabar Crystal B
Cinnabar Crystal
Cinnabar Crystal C
Cinnabar Crystal
Cinnabar Crystal D
Cinnabar Crystal
Cinnabar Crystal E
Cinnabar Crystal
Cinnabar Crystal F
Cinnabar Crystal
Cinnabar Crystal G
Cinnabar Crystal
Cinnabar Crystal H
Cinnabar Crystal
Cinnabar Crystal I
Cinnabar Crystal
Cinnabar Crystal J

Samples A-D are $100 each, and all of the rest are $80 each postpaid anywhere in the US. If interested, email enetwal@gmail.com and advise of your choice or choices. I will let you know if the item is still available and will suggest payment options. We tend to prefer Paypal as it offers both parties protection.

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

Swedish Blue Captured Our Fantasy

Swedish Blue Jewelry – Handmade in Sweden from Swedish Rock and Silver

When we were in Denver this past September, we met a couple from Sweden who are silversmiths and worked with a stone they called Swedish Blue.

The stone is also known locally as Bergslagsten, which basically means it came from the slag pile of the medieval foundry in Bergslagen Sweden.

The slag gets its color from the impurities in the ores being processed at the foundry and is this case tended to be the blue color of Sweden.

The stone is then cut with attention being paid to the color variations in the stone itself. A practiced eye and skill can bring out the best aspect of any particular piece. After the stone is cut and polished it is framed with silver by my Swedish silversmith’s, resulting in a handsome piece of jewelry that speaks to and of Sweden, past, and present.

In the photo, you will see at the upper left a “not for sale” sample of the Swedish Blue slag, before cutting. Note the color variations that flow through the body of the stone. These variations are selected and enhanced by the stone cutter and then framed in silver.

There are four rings, priced at $81 each for three and $69 for the fourth.

There is one triangular pendant priced at $90

Then a set of four larger oval pendants followed by three more smaller ovals. The prices should be clear on the photo but ate from left to right, $90, $132, $120, $117, with all three smaller ovals at $60 each.

We are considering consigning this material to others for the holiday season, as we do not have any scheduled shows until Spring. If perchance one or more of the items are calling out to you – call out to us via email to enetwal at gmail.com. Let Earl know you saw it here first on the blog and you will get 10% off.

But hurry, it may be all gone in an instant if we decide to consign.

For more information:

https://www.swedishbluejewelry.com/

https://www.swedishbluejewelry.com/about-the-stone

https://www.gemexi.com/gemstones/swedish-blue-slag

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.

Anoka County Gem & Mineral Club Holds Benefit Auction to Support Scholarship

The program for the May 3rd, 2019 meeting of the Anoka County Gem & Mineral Club was a live auction of items donated and bid upon by members. Proceeds of the auction will be used to support an ongoing scholarship the club has sponsored on behalf of a Geology student at the University of Wisconsin River Falls.

The goal for the night was to raise at least $1200. Based on the number of lots offered and the spirited bidding, we suspect that the goal was met, but we have not heard the official count as of this post.

Anoka County Gem & Mineral Club Meeting May 3, 2019
Anoka County Gem & Mineral Club

Wayne Nelson served as auctioneer and did a fine job, keeping the process moving and stimulating bidding.

Auction items
Some of the items in the auction

Joanies Rocks donated a large specimen of Amethyst and a Metal detector as shown on the picture above.

The club takes the summer months off and will meet next on Friday September 6th at the Robbinsdale United church of Christ. 4200 Lake Road in Robbinsdale, MN The meetings start at 6:30 PM and visitors are always welcome. Parking is in the rear of the church and the meeting is in the basement which is directly accessible from the parking lot.

While the club will not meet during the summer, it will help promote a Rock Swap on Saturday June 15, 2019 This event is open to the public and occurs in the Parking Lot of the United Methodist Church 16 2nd Ave SE in Osseo, MN The hours of the event are from 10 to 2

Keokuk 2019 Geode Hunting

We traveled to Keokuk Iowa with other members of the Minnesota Mineral Club on April 12th for our second trip to the Keokuk area hunting for Geodes. We made the same trip with the club last year, which was marked by a major unexpected late season blizzard on the day of our return. This year, the blizzard was on the 11th and 12th, so we actually enjoyed getting out of town although the first 200 miles of the trip were very windy.

We stayed at the Super 8 in Keokuk, which was more than adequate and reasonably priced. We left at 6:00 AM to arrive by noon, with a scheduled 1PM rally of participants to hit our first target site, Vickers Geodes.

Due to our prior arrangements, Vickers had prepared a section of their location for some good old fashioned rock pick work, which most club members seemed to enjoy and find fruitful. I preferred to walk the creek area on the theory that the spring high water would have dislodged many geodes and in fact I found quite a few along the banks of the creek.

I mostly filled a five gallon bucket, and was happy to pay Vickers $25 for my winnings.

The next day we caravaned to a private farm in Missouri where the club has visited before. Owned by an Amish couple, we followed them in their buggy to an area adjacent to the Fox river which runs through their property. A large sandbar was accessible by wading in the swiftly flowing water a bit more than knee deep. Once on the bar, we were able to find geodes virtually everywhere we looked.

I also took the time to wade to a further down river shore line which was also very productive. There I spied two huge geodes in the middle of the river and was able to roll them to shore.

I used a garden hoe to assist in picking up geodes and it is here shown to help give a size to the large geodes I found


I used a 5 prong claw type garden hoe as my “picker” which save a lot of bending over. It also served as an effective cane which came in handy negotiating terrain and current. If I had one tip for other geode hunters it would be to get one of these. Much cheaper than the scoops advertised in rock and lapidary mags.

I managed to accumulate two five gallon buckets of geodes in relatively quick order, making an effort to stick to geodes of baseball size or larger, and many of softball size. Again, we benefited by being first pickers on the site after the winter and subsequent spring high water.

Amos let some of the youngsters on the trip ride in the buggy which they enjoyed.

Amos and his wife Laura were wonderful hosts and helped us move our heavy full buckets up the steep bank to where our cars were waiting. Laura had made plates of cinnamon rolls that were warm and delicious and just the thing to reboot our energy levels after our geode hunting efforts.

Many of us then went to Wild Cat park in Hamilton Il, where we found another good source of geodes after about a half mile hike in the lower portion of the park. I settled for just a half bucket here as I am a wimp and didn’t relish the idea of hauling a full bucket back the 1/2 mile trek. The best part of this location is that it is free and open to the public.

That evening we all headed to Vera’s a restaurant next to the Super 8. We had a great time visiting with one another and recounting our day together.

We were still waiting for another half dozen of our group to join us when this photo was taken.

The next day we started at Woody’s rock shop in Hamilton, which is open by appointment. There we found more geodes and other attractions. He had a table to broken Geodes that were available at $40 for a five gallon pail or 3 pails for $100. I picked up a pail’s worth, but was disappointed that the selection was not as nice as it was last year. Not to complain though – still a good deal from a dealer who mines tons of geodes year around. Most of which he sells at shows around the country.

Our final stop was at Jacobs Geodes.

Here we worked a cliff. I had tried to walk the creek through Jacobs but had enough of cold feet and did not find the picking very encouraging the first half mile or so. Perhaps it had already been scoured. So I joined the group at the cliff.

There I took a position and hammered away at a mud and shale section which produced a lot of marble to walnut sized geodes. I soon learned that they tended to cluster in layers and with experience was pretty good at knowing when there would be multiples. Before too long though, my arm tired and I was geode satiated. By now it was noon, and time to up and head back for the six hour trip home.

My total take on the trip came to just shy of 5 five gallon buckets of geodes plus those I bought from Woodys. Next step will be to crank up my lapidary saw and discover what’s inside.