My Story

A fascination and relationship with rocks started early in my life when I was about 6 years old. I was always picking up something and bringing it home, which was not amusing for my mother.

My first real experience with tumbled rocks came at the age of nine when a neighbour gave me a handful of polished semi-precious stones, mostly agates. This, looking back now, was a pivotal point in my relationship with stones. The colours and patterns captured my imagination and a permanent connection with these little treasures was formed.

All through my formative years of school, summer vacations, music classes, and the normal course of every child's life, I had a constant interest in everything connected with rocks, from geology to stone cutting. Through these years I amassed a sizable collection of tumbled, polished, faceted, rough crystals and mineral specimens. Of course I also acquired a nice collection of jewelry as well.

I progressed through university and further post-secondary education to work as a computer programmer. All the while I was educating myself about the gems and minerals I had collected. I started to build a library of reference materials almost as large as my stone collection itself.

In 1991 when I migrated from Ontario to Vancouver, BC, where I started my formal education in Gemmology, my collection of rocks weighed in at over 1400 pounds and that did not include my reference materials. At this point, after two completed Gemmology Degrees, and almost two decades, my collection is no longer capable of being measured as a single entity. With every new addition my knowledge, and life with rocks continues to grow.