About Us // What now???

Welcome!

GM Rock Shop is/was a small hobby business located in the heart of the Saskatchewan prairies, 15 minutes north east of Saskatoon. 

Originally GM Rock Shop was started in 2020 to provide a way to supply myself & other local hobbyists with affordable & easily accessed supplies for tumbling rocks.  I am passionate about helping people do the things they love,  and sharing my knowledge was amazing.  I have met some exceptional people who I consider friends and I've gotten to see a lot of beautiful lapidary.  Awesome!!! 

As for the end of the shop?

There were many factors. 

After Covid, prices went up quite quickly, supplies became harder to get and postage is now through the roof.  A box that used to cost $27 to ship now costs $43.  Rocks aren't light.   Another supplier decided to raise their prices almost double and hope that I wouldn't notice until after the order arrived.  Lortone declined to grant me a distribution account unless I opened a physical location and ordering from existing distributors wasn't guaranteed to keep the shop regularly stocked without a lot of headache. 

 I struggled with what to do about the shop for a long time.  I really did.  I loved running the shop and talking rocks with people, looking for new specimens and building my knowledge.

Unfortunately in the midst of my decision making process, I had a person ask a question which I have answered, thoroughly (both on the blog and later via email).  This person was not satisfied but chose not to communicate that to me until after they tried to show up on my front door step, unannounced. This was NOT appreciated.  PERIOD.

 Now, if you’ve ever looked around my site or even spoken to me in person about the shop,  you’re probably aware I do the bulk of my business online.  I don’t have a retail shop open to the public where you can come browse.  

Occasionally I may sell to a client in-person in a limited, “appointment only” basis, but the arrangements are always conducted over the phone or email beforehand.  GM Rock Shop is a one woman show (with an occasional man to lift begrudgingly lift Very Heavy Things or be The Voice of Reason) — there are literally no staff but me.  And since my day job has me dealing with people for 8 hours a day, every day, non-stop (no exaggeration)? Well, you can guess how I felt about that interaction.  

  

 It's not all sour grapes, I promise.  I still have some supplies and plenty of rocks, so please, feel free to reach out if you need anything, or even if you just want to talk rocks.   I will miss interacting with all the wonderful people I've met through the shop and the lapidary hobby. You really made it worth it and SO fun!  I’m still involved but in a smaller scale so reach out if I can help you, just make sure you email before showing up on my doorstep.  

Who knows, maybe a few years down the line when things settle down, we'll be back....

 - Mel