Seller Story: Pittsboro, IN

“The FROGS shop was in business for 4 years. My boys named it. They were 10 and 12 when we bought the business, and we had to move inventory into the space. If you know brothers, they tend to have disagreements, so I told them that if they behaved during the move and didn’t fight, they could name the store. I kind of forgot about it, and then as the movers were driving away they said “We want to call it FROGS: Fossil, Rock, or Gemstone Store.” I looked at them like, “You’ve got to be kidding,” but a deal’s a deal.

When people see the rock they like — they know it instantly. The thing I used to really enjoy about the shop was when someone would find something that really made them happy and light up. I heard a woman scream one day when she found a 12 inch ammonite, which she’d been looking for since a trip to Arizona 20 years ago. She never thought she’d see it again.

I know very few people who don’t like amethyst and malachite, and a lot of people like quartz because it’s clear and pleasing to the eye, there’s nothing to distract you. We also sold a lot of spheres, or crystal balls, as we’d call them. One woman came in and said “I have to have one of these! Everybody’s always asking me questions and I say, ‘Well, let me go consult my crystal ball. Now I’ve got one.’”- Lorrain, owner

Where did you find your inventory?

They come from all over the world. There are a lot of Shiva Lingams on our site, which are only found in the Narmada River in India. After they go through the Temple of Doom in Indiana Jones, Indy’s holding the stone and says: “We did all of this for a rock?” That’s the Shiva Lingam.

From an interior design perspective, what can people do with rocks?

There are as many things to do with rocks as there are with furniture! You can use them to decorate a space or you can use them for function. I sold a lot of granite mortar and pestles.

What’s one of the most exciting pieces?

The Kuan Yin statue. She was carved out of a block of white marble and ended up weighing 993 lbs — half of the initial stone. In the Buddhist tradition, she’s the goddess of compassion and mercy who refused to go to heaven because she wanted to stay on earth and help people with their problems.

A lot of rocks are associated with energies. For someone who’s curious about them, what are 3 good rocks for starting a collection?

Amethyst, rose quartz and clear quartz. They’re good for lots of different things and can help neutralize. We’ve had children come into the store who weren’t very verbal, but they start chatting away. The rocks open something up in them that no one else does.

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