College students Maggie Nestor and Cami Schachtele love rocks. And jewelry. And rocks that can be made into jewelry.
The pair, self-proclaimed rockhounds (amateur rock collectors), attended the Plant City Gem Show last weekend at the Sadye Gibbs Martin Community Center, hoping to score a bit of pink amethyst, labradorite or malachite to set in a piece of jewelry.
“I really like labradorite because of its flashes of color,” said Schachtele. “I’ve only been collecting rocks for a year but it’s such a fun hobby.”
For H & R Gem Show owner Jerri Heer, host of the show, what was once a hobby has become a career.
Her interest in rocks and gemstones began when she was homeschooling her three children. “There were so many different types and colors of rock specimens that I studied with my children and it was fascinating,” she said. “Nature made them all and that just amazed me.”
She started H & R Gem Shows to share her passion for jewelry, gemstones, rocks, minerals, beads, crystals and fossils with others. Thirty-three vendors from all over the country displayed their merchandise at the show, from Plant City’s Robbins Jewelry to Healing Nature based in Gig Harbor, WA.
“I tried to put together a diverse show with lots of different types of gems and rocks so that every visitor could find something intriguing,” said Heer.
One intriguing booth was operated by David Peters, owner of Leesburg-based Gettin’ Stoned. His display included various specimens of fossils, crystals and geodes picked up during his travels around the globe. Prices on his merchandise ranged anywhere from one dollar to a couple thousand dollars.
“Minerals are one of mother nature’s art forms,” said Peters. “It’s fascinating how they form.”
He was particularly proud of several dozen geodes he found in a creek while driving through Kentucky (he won’t divulge its exact location). Crack open the large brown hollow stones to discover an array of colorful crystals.
Robbins Jewelry, located at 814 W. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., was on hand with a variety of custom gold mountings, in addition to a huge selection of colored gemstones, so attendees could turn their treasures into one-of-a-kind jewelry pieces.
“We created personalized pieces for customers while they visited the show that they could take home with them the same day,” said owner Jimmy Robbins.
Heer also wanted her show to make a difference for the people affected by the hurricane. In that vain, twenty-five percent of the proceeds from the event, totaling $766.04, were donated to Team Rubicon, a veteran-led humanitarian organization sending volunteers to assist with Hurricane Ian relief operations.
For more information about H & R Gem Shows visit www.hrgemshows.com.