WHY BUY HERE?
- Ethically Mined, with a majority of this inventory having been purchased directly from the individual miner, owner of the land, or through a middle party that purchases from local artisans looking for buyers
- Ethically Sourced, including limiting the number of items purchased and avoiding certain products from some countries
- Ethical business practices, with people as the priority, following laws and regulations as they pertain to legitimate business
- Honest and trustworthy store owner, high standards for her own behaviour, words, and choices; meeting people in the public and conversing with them so that they can know who they are buying from
- Courageous store owner, speaking aloud about industry errors and omissions and bearing the consequences
- Priority on providing correct mineralogical information and properly labelled and identified mineral specimens
- Innovative and inspirational – with many imitating Dawn’s business practices, inventory choices, and even the words that she chooses to communicate with!
- Knowledge and experience of more than 30 years as a collector and healer
- Well researched articles with scientific information
- Designated as a Master of Crystology
- Providing opportunities for wholesale
- Providing healing services for those in need
- Providing educational resources and classes
Read more below about owner and operator Dawn Markus and how she started in this industry:
About Dawn Markus, MC, RP, CM
Master of Crystology, Reiki Practitioner, Certified Mediator for Conflict Resolution
Dawn Markus has been a crystal and mineral collector since childhood, starting with marbles in pre-K ages. With her first job in musical theatre at the age of 18, she eventually found her way to Edmonton with a show run in 1990. It was there that Dawn was told by a fellow cast member, “You have to go to this store.” “What store?”, Dawn replied. “Why do I have to go to this store?” He said, “I’m not going to tell you why you have to go to it, just go to it.”
So on the next day off, Dawn headed to Ascendant Books in downtown Edmonton. She purchased her first crystals and specimens, which she still utilizes to this day. Shortly thereafter, she was directed to Green’s Lapidary in Calgary. Green’s had a lot of mineral specimens for learning, as they supplied to schools for the geology and mineral curriculum. This was exactly the basis Dawn needed to grow her ability in accurately identifying stones. Dawn’s ability to identify stone types has really grown over the many years of hands-on learning and seeing the number of specimens she has come across BEFORE the internet.
Dawn started healing herself and others with crystals in 1990, starting out with natural crystals and mineral specimens together with her reference book “Love is in the Earth Book” by Melody. Dawn worked on her own energy and developing her intuition more than memorizing metaphysical attributes. She used the book as a reference when a specific need would arise, seeking out new stones if they were not already in her collection.
Following her natural instincts as a healer, she provided many gift crystals to those in need around her. A memorable moment was when a fellow cast member, 6 feet 4 inches tall in stature, was hospitalized with circulation challenges. Dawn gave him her newly purchased pink quartz cluster pendant for its properties to help with circulation. He was initially skeptical, but later attributed part of his recovery to the energy of the little crystals. Little did Dawn know that this was actually a very rare item, something she then looked for and finally found 25 years later at the Regina Prairie Rock and Gem Club Show. Dawn’s father accompanied her to his first rock show ever! Due to financial constraints, Dawn only allowed herself to shop for this one item. Dawn’s dear Tato sadly passed away 8 months later. Dawn opened Crystal Rockin Mineral Shop on the four month anniversary of his death, September 17, 2016, and at the same rock show! She also now has a gorgeous pink quartz specimen, which will be posted soon (after more products lol)
In her early years of collecting, Dawn started to ask each vendor how the crystals came out of the ground, and who took them out of the ground. Most would not answer, remaining quiet. Some would just “harumph” and that was it. Seriously, they said nothing – suppose it was the ‘elephant in the room’. In her true naivety, Dawn simply thought they didn’t know… A couple vendors even got mad at her for raising the issue at all, attitudes they continue to express to this day.
Dawn became recognized in various shops of Alberta and Saskatchewan that she frequented. She received strange looks at first when asked the owner of the shop if she could walk around with the stone while looking around. They were curious and seemed to follow and watch, as this was unusual and no one else was doing this. Whatever they were thinking, it seems that Dawn was the first person to do this in a retail setting. Green’s Lapidary came to know that this was just part of Dawn’s intuitive process in full view. Nowadays, many people like to hold their items prior to purchase.
So, after this initial stone, Dawn would shop for another 2 to 4 hours while gathering crystals and minerals, calculating her budget as she browsed. Finally, she would come to bring all of her items to the till and ring them through. This final number was ALWAYS above budget, so Dawn would then move to the side and sort through her crystals and minerals AGAIN to fit her budget, having saved for up to two years at a time to then invest in crystals with all of it. Memorable purchases from the Green’s Lapidary family estate inventory (that they started to slowly sell one piece at a time) were: the rutilated smokey quartz sphere in Dawn’s banner graphic, and, a perfect blue tiger eye sphere. Memorable items that were regretfull missed (but the owner obviously loves) a two foot long clear single yellow selenite crystal, and, a perfectly formed manifestation crystal inside a cut and polished diamond shaped fist-size quartz. (sigh)
There was a point in around the 2000’s that Dawn started to intensely examine the difference between ‘want’ and ‘need’ when it came to acquiring stones. She decided to stop buying crystals and just work with what she had. That changed when she was in Atlantis 2000 one day. The owner Jon took her into the stock room and showed her his new pieces of Diamantina Quartz wands. The one she chose shook her arm, an experience that has never happened again quite to that same degree. It was the first time in a long time that Dawn did not ask how or who took it out of the ground and left in an almost stupor that day. That was in 2000. This tool was very useful, allowing Dawn to open up to what she had been repressing and release her debut CD of original music in 2005.
It was shortly thereafter that Dawn started to ‘allow’ polished items into her collection. This is how it happened:
Dawn was singing at Bushwakker’s with her band and during a set break, she sat down next to a woman at the bar. They started chatting and discovering that they shared many interests. Healthy living and natural healing, and crystals: It turned out that this woman was a gemstone sphere collector. She did not utilize these stones, and Dawn encouraged her to examine this and consider using them to heal others. Dawn’s mind about only raw and natural was about to change forever:
The most remarkable spheres in this woman’s collection were 1. a large deep blue apatite sphere, and, 2. a gorgeous lapis lazuli sphere that resembled our Earth! From that moment, Dawn started to collect spheres. Eventually other polished items came to their home with her. And so it was, so it still is. Dawn always had in mind that she wanted to acquire a lapis sphere that resembled the Earth, and finally found it in March of 2018!! (All good things come to those who wait!) Palmstones continue to be a favourite tool for handling during leisure times.
Around 2011, everything changed. Dawn found a great vendor and bought $1500 worth of crystals from him in only three weeks! THEN, he had the nerve to become annoyed and complain aloud, saying, “You’re buying all my best stuff!” It was somewhat insulting! Dawn decided then and there that she would no longer buy from him and looked elsewhere to purchase stones. Thank goodness she did! She was able to locate a small family run business in Africa and asked them if they would sell to her as private collector. They did, and these items were beautiful with amazing energy. It was 4 years later, in September of 2015, that she saw the large natural citrine clusters of large crystals and exclaimed aloud excitedly, “I HAVE TO MAKE THIS AVAILABLE TO PEOPLE!”. Dawn then spent the entire year from September 2015 in acquiring her massive inventory with the intention of providing what was NOT available on the market at that time. She was also very lucky to purchase items from estate sales, even a few from the collection of Bruce Cairncross! Her husband watched her inventory grow and started to ask, “Um, are you actually going to SELL any of these?!?”
Crystal Rockin Mineral Shop opened in September of 2016 with 100% of stock from this one family source. This beautiful inventory was either mined by the owners themselves, inherited from collections and estate sales, or purchased from African citizens who brought the stones they had mined (and often hand polished) to offer for purchase. This process supports local individuals and small families who live where the minerals are coming from and cuts down on the violation to people, families, and natural environments.
In joining the industry and doing shows with up to 100 other vendors at a time, Dawn has learned a lot about business, collectors, the metaphysical industry, and her own self. When she realized that there were key stone types that customers were looking for and she did not have, she did purchase them from other vendors in limited quantity and with continued regard for sourcing. However, she has now decided not to make any more purchases until her 10,000+ piece inventory has been 50% sold.
As of 2021, Dawn now claims a minimum of 96% ethically mined and sourced (since a few items were purchased from other vendors and their history was not divulged). Another effort to be ethically sourced is by LIMITING QUANTITIES in favour of hand selecting every item. You will find over 500 mineral types, but not everything “under the sun or in a cave”. This greatly decreases the violation of people and environments for the sake of healing crystals. As Dawn has said repeatedly:
It makes no sense to violate people and land over there
in order to heal people over here.
Dawn markus
This webstore is now YOUR option.
“I am a very honest and straight up person, and I know what I am talking about. I also put people before product, often to my own business detriment (yes, I have heard all kinds of responses saying that isn’t very business like of me, but I cannot accept any other way to live.)”
“This store is a reflection of my own beliefs as a collector and as a healer.”
– Dawn Markus, MC, RP, CM
