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By Dave Waisman
Mineral Collectors-Proclaim Your Passion
I am writing to the many of us who have a true passion for collecting minerals, as I know you do.
Over the years our hobby has not grown, and in fact, has diminished in strength. With few stand-out exceptions, the days of strong, active, local clubs, easy access to collecting sites and a rock shop in every town along the road are over, and we must be more creative in order to “spread the word” about our hobby.
I have many ideas to promote our hobby, and ask you to listen to one, and then, if you are interested, contribute in your own way to further this concept.
Please put pencil to paper and express in a short essay (any length actually) why you collect minerals. Write whatever you like so others not familiar with our interest can feel the passion in your story, but please tell how mineral collecting has made your life more interesting and indeed, better.
These short essays will be potentially powerful and hopefully intriguing to those that read them. They can be printed in various forums or publications and presented in certain ways and places that will spark interest in others. We don’t want to just preach to the choir, so to speak, although those already in the hobby would be very interested to hear our stories, but we need to get this message to those who would read the story and find interest and be excited to learn more.
Certainly many collectors of minerals today are individuals who’s lives have interesting stories to tell without the added aspect of their mineral collections, and, of course, this will make the “why I collect minerals” stories all that much more compelling. You are one of those people and your story is important to tell.
So, please consider contributing to this project. Write an essay and send me your work. This is just the start of this concept, but we must start to tell our story.
I will work to create a website dedicated to the “Why Collect Minerals” theme and post the writings on the site. Other media publications will be sought out where our writings can be placed, such as other natural history related publications, geology or mining industry journals, related hobby magazines, popular scientific magazines or in museum newsletters, to name a few.
I have been exploring this concept with my show publicist and she is working on a press release that can be sent to various publications. I will fill you in on this facet of the project later as the effort progresses.
This is just the beginning, but we must start somewhere and continue to tell our story to those who do not know it. It is my observation that many of the serious collectors today are those who were intrigued in their childhood or were collectors of something in the Natural History realm when they were younger, who today revisit the mineral hobby as professional adults and become mineral collectors. We must spark their interest again. We must make more of them and having them read your story and others like it is a good start.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Please send your contributions to:
Dave@FineMineralShow.com
Or
Dave Waisman
Fine Mineral Show
Post Office Box 8543
Spokane, WA 99203
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