What materials are used to make your products?
Almost all of our products are made from rocks and minerals. The exception to this are the paintings. They are inspired by the rocks and minerals.
Where do you get your products?
Our products are from all over the world. We have been fortunate over the years to acquire some wonderful contacts in the world of rocks and minerals and are therefore able to import interesting and unusual products from many different countries. If you are interested in knowing where the product you are buying is from and we have not noted it in the description, please ask and we will be happy to let you know.
Is your product food safe?
We do not recommend using our products for food and suggest you use them only for decorative purposes.
How should I clean my product?
In general, most of our decorative items can be cleaned using a mild soapy water solution. Don't let items sit in water, rinse off and dry them immediately. Use a soft cloth to dry items. We suggest this because oil and other cleaners may attract dust and the soft cloth will help prevent any scratching of the finished surface. This procedure does not apply to the fine collector mineral specimens that we sell.
My child is interested in collecting minerals. Can you recommend the best way to get started?
We suggest starting with some of the more common minerals such as calcite, pyrite, fluorite, amethyst and citrine. Make sure to only buy minerals that come with a label showing the name of the mineral and where it was found. If your child gets really involved in this hobby it will become important as their collections starts to grow. We also recommend getting a couple of books that explore the background of how minerals form and how they are used in our daily lives, as well as a book with specific information about each mineral. This will encourage the learning process and also help your child better relate to what they are collecting.
How do you recommend starting a mineral collection?
Collectors all collect for different reasons. What you decide to collect will depend on why you started collecting in the first place. Many people will choose a particular type of thing to collect and others will just start for fun with no particular direction in mind. For those you interested in choosing a way to collect, here are some examples that may help you choose a direction for your collection.
- the type of mineral (i.e., only collect calcites or quartzes),
- only collect purple or blue minerals
- only collect minerals in a certain crystal habit (i.e., cubic or hexagonal)
- only collect minerals in a certain form (i.e., botryoidal or acicular)
- only collect minerals from a certain location (i.e., India or China) or,
- only collect what you think is beautiful
As you can see, there are many ways to collect. Always remember, however, no matter which you choose, it's important to buy minerals that are labeled properly with their name and the location where they were found. To see more about our ideas on collecting visit our blog.
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