Rocks, gems and jewelry offered at annual Mineral Society sale
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Members of the Idaho Falls Gem and Mineral Society have been working hard to collect rocks, clean them up and make all kinds of items for the 12th Annual Membership Sale on Saturday, Oct. 7. The sale will be held at the Bonneville County Fairgrounds, just south of the Sandy Downs on Woodruff Avenue, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
“We will have everything dealing with lapidary items for sale by our club members,” said Monique Lake, chairwoman of the sale. “We will have 38 members with booths selling rough, slabbed or finished jewelry and other handicrafts. We will also have two demonstrators who will present new tools and techniques dealing with lapidary.”
Some members’ booths will feature mostly rocks they have collected in Idaho, while other booths will feature rocks and materials from worldwide providers. Some members will offer high-end jewelry set in silver, while others will feature stand-along stones and slabs for other artists working on their own jewelry.
One of the demonstrations will be Chris Anderson from Lion Drop Forge tools, which makes tools for working with stone and silversmithing. The other one will be Maha Smith Weeks, who will be demonstrating how important enameling is in the lapidary world. Both will be offering workshops a couple of days after the sale for members of the club.
“Last year, we had about 1,000 individuals attend the Member’s Sale,” commented Lake. “This year, we could double or triple that number, because also there will also be a gun show that weekend that will draw a lot of people who should attend both events.”
The Lewis Clark Traders, LLC, will be holding their 32nd Annual Gun Show, also at the Bonneville County Fairgrounds. Their show will be on Saturday and Sunday, a day longer than the rock sale.
This year, there will not be a raffle but there will be a drawing for those who attend. There will also have an ATM at the show along with food venders. Lake told me Kettle Corn, Angie’s Queen Bean and Rose Marie’s Gluten Free truck will be set up outside the sale. She also said the Bonneville 4-H group will have concessions near the gun show.
It will be a great place to start your Christmas shopping for that special someone who is always hard to buy for. Two of my favorite rock artisans, Dick and Judy Morris from Magic Valley, will have their booth there and are always a delight to visit with. They are two of the most knowledgeable people on Idaho rocks as well as talented jewelers.
The sale will be a good place to get started as most of the members with booths will help you get started, especially if you have been a closet rock collector in the past.
Since the weather has cooled down, I have been spending about two days each week traipsing around the mountains, hunting for some rare and interesting rocks. The weather patterns have been cooperative for me, as I usually hunt on Tuesday and Wednesday and the heavy rain storms over the weekends continually wash out new material.
Also, I have found new material just by walking a quarter of a mile further or hiking a new ridge near my favorite collecting area. The crisp fall mornings followed by the cool afternoon breezes, make chasing rocks a healthy and enjoyable activity.
Good Luck and stay safe in all your fall activities.