Born from
a tin box
of stones.

Treasure in a tin can? The weight of the old cookie tin led me to peek inside, and what I found changed my life.

The tin belonged to my mom, Becky Blain — founder of Extraordinary Stone out of Loveland, Ohio. Unlike her many other collections, this massive trove of colored stones spoke directly to my inner child. I didn't know what to do with them at first. But the more I looked at them, the more I wanted to share them with the world as her legacy. Her brilliance in patronizing a master facet artist — and her desire to leave them for me — makes me feel deeply loved and grateful.

But where was the artist? A collection of this magnitude requires authenticated provenance. My persistence led me to lapidary facet artist and paleontologist Ron Ruschman. Becky met him more than thirty years ago at Ed's Rock Shop in Blue Ash, Ohio. She bought select faceted stones from Ron, amassing a collection of more than sixty gemstones. When I finally tracked Ron down, he began to fill in the missing pieces.

Now he is a friend. He still cuts stones, and he has recently supplied me with rare gems from his network of American Mineral Treasures (AMT) mines — more than 40 recognized gemstone mines in the United States. Now that is provenance.

Today, I run a rock-art experience lounge and jewelry-craft makerspace where I crack geodes, share jewelry-making courses, and build fluorescent rock installations. I work with all-natural, ethically sourced stones with character that sets them apart. My mom called them extraordinary stones — and so they are.

Mom collected what she loved, and I must have inherited that from her. Finding that tin can brought me full circle. So I gave myself permission to do what she did: find beautiful stones and share them with people who love them.