The Short Version

Rubble Rock and Gem is Canada’s largest mineral and fossil Shop. We have 6000 ft2 of rocks, from tumbles, palm stones, and crystals for kids, to high end mineral specimens for serious collectors. We have rare and unique items, as well as all the common classics. If you want home decor that requires you to reinforce your floor to handle the weight—we have those larger-than-life crystals too.

It's like a museum, but you get to buy things to take home!

Store Organization

Be sure to sneak a peek into the owner’s lapidary and metalsmithing shop, as well as take in our fluorescents room. The entire store is sorted by the scientific Dana mineral families, with fossils sorted by animal kingdom. Our tool section has a fantastic assortment of lapidary tools to accompany several aisles of rough rock available for lapidaries.

Sources

Since 2018, we have had a fantastic relationship with several gem cutters in India, employing them exclusively to cut and supply Rubble Rock with thousands of unique gemstones for jewelry. 

On average, we import about 60,000 lbs per year of crystals and fossils—averaging a pallet a week. We always have something new, and if it is your first time visiting us—we definitely have rocks you’ve never even heard of before. Whether you are looking for retail or wholesale, come learn something new and shop the coolest rock shop in town.

This is for those of you that want to know the in-depth story of Rubble Rock and Gem Ltd. To know it, you’ll have to get to know me. I’m Adam—the owner of Rubble Rock and Gem.

In the beginning...

It all started a long, long time ago… in a village far away, past the trees, in a land called Vanderhoof, BC. 

As a kid, I would fill my pockets with stones at the local creeks. I loved just “spending time with rocks.” To this day, I can’t tell you why. I was so young that I don't remember when I realized I was fascinated by them. Having no rational reason for loving rocks so much is the beautiful part to me! I have a natural affinity towards them—that to this day can’t be explained—and need not be explained. “I.Just.Like.Rocks.”

As a kid I had a rock tumbler, and I’d sort and display all my rocks nicely. I was the only one in my family interested in them. I yearned to go dig them, but like most parents, mine had no idea where to take me. I got to see two different home lapidary set ups when I was younger, through family acquaintances. Both times I was gifted with agates and stones that had been cut open or into slabs. What was inside fascinated me. I still remember looking at my father’s handheld wood saw and being perplexed as to how it cut through a rock. 

Eventually, hormones took over and puberty made me give up rocks and chase other things.

It wasn’t until I moved to Vancouver later in life that I got seriously involved, hooked, dedicated, addicted, and called to rocks again.

My girlfriend at the time didn’t approve of my “minimalist” home decor. I went to a local rock shop to buy some fossils to spruce up the place. While shopping, I eavesdropped on a conversation about local lapidary clubs. What? Apparently, there were groups of people you could join who liked rocks, would take you digging, and show you how to use machines to cut them! I joined.

The first club meeting I went to at the Hastings Rockhounds will stick with me forever. They called the meeting to order using a rock hammer as a gavel. I also remember talking to an older gentleman who explained to me that “he rented the apartment next door just for his rocks.” I thought this was absurd—as, apparently, did his wife. However, as my story continues, and you learn of the warehouses I’ve rented for mine… he will seem less crazy in comparison.

The club was an hour-and-a-half bus ride away. I had humble beginnings: days when I hitchhiked to get to the annual rock camp outs, mused endlessly over a $20 rock purchase… I began with lapidary, cutting cabochons at the club. I loved it. It was not so much an exercise of skill, but an exercise of patience and attentiveness—a meditation. I soon took on new shapes and styles as I went onto freeforming. Only months after cutting my first cabochon in 2014, I decided to try silversmithing. My original thought was “Isn’t making jewelry for girls?” but I was in a “yes-man” stage of my life where I was trying anything and everything. I took the stone club’s Saturday silversmithing course and within 6 months—they had me teaching it.

On those hour-and-a-half bus rides multiple times each week, I read books about silversmithing and lapidary. I was also a full-time student, so in a way, I was learning an additional trade while attaining my degrees. I found that books written in the last century were best—when people had to innovate, and problem solve independently. There was much more “story” to the lessons, and I learned to respect how much thought they put into developing their craft/trade. 

Now, you may be reading this and asking yourself why any of my artisanal practices matter in relation to my business. Bear with me because they have everything to do with it. I feel that a big part of my story that will go unwritten is how unfathomably hard I worked and still work to make Rubble Rock and Gem a success. Blood, sweat, broken bones, overseas hospitalizations, responsibilities, financial stress, sacrificing loves & relationships—I relate to Adam Sandler’s stressful movie “Uncut Gems” more than you will ever know. And I can also relate to life coaches and motivational speakers at a level I think few others do.

Personal trials and tribulations aside, let’s get back to our topic.

My First “Studio”

I set up a home studio, and continued smithing late into the nights, still while attending school and local club drop-ins and functions. I joined the board of directors for the lapidary club. Then I joined other local lapidary clubs, and their boards as well. When younger, I was a real go-getter; I took on leadership roles at school and volunteered at all kinds of Non-Government Organization’s and Not For Profit’s. These extracurricular activities earned invitations to leadership summits and workshops around Canada. I learned a lot about activism and strategizing from these events. Because my second degree was philosophy, I formulated a belief system, ethical compass, and confidence in myself to conduct myself in business with integrity and to manage employees in my business.

So, back in late 2015 I had made about 100 rings. I was addicted to the art process... which to me was a process of self-discovery. Rocks romanced me, filled me with passion. I hated the idea of turning my hobby into a business. But alas, I had made so much jewellery that I needed to. I had days where I’d wear 10 rings, several pendants… I even had stones sewn into my clothes, attached to my pockets, on my shoelaces. I could no longer run to catch up to the bus or I’d sound like a wind chime, I had so many accessories dangling off me. It was time to sell some.

Marketing as a Newbie

Here I am at my very first rock and gem show/market selling what I made. If you look closely, you’ll see I lacked finesse in my display’s presentation. I’ve learned a few things since then. Business and the concepts of marketing, advertising, accounting, workplace culture, etc… all of that came later. First, I was an artisan.

Like any monkey who watches another and emulates what they do, I took the ideas I liked from other people’s tables and displays and adapted them to be mine. I even came up with some new ideas that others copied! But… I didn’t have much success over that year of selling jewelry at various local markets. The competition was challenging. My jewelry really wasn't anything special back then. Plus, I was competing with overseas labor making designs that were similar in skill and appearance to mine. I shared the illusion of many artisans as we started out, that my jewelry “was valuable [because it mattered to me].”

I took two years off from trying to sell jewellery. I took a day job. But! I did not quit making things. In fact, I delved deeper, I studied dyeing and forgotten techniques, I read more books, I experimented, and spent any money I made on jewelry-making tools. In my life I have met many people who told me they are artists. A few of them were very humbled when they saw how much I had invested in tools and materials compared to their half-filled sketch book they worked on a couple days while high at Wreck Beach.

When I’d invested $3,000, I asked myself: “Is this just a phase, am I going to turn around and sell all this stuff on Craigslist?” I thought, “No, I really like this.” Thirty thousand dollars later in tools and materials, I asked myself the same thing. A milestone for me was when I realized that my “yes man” stage of trying various things had led me to find my passion, my “calling.” Through a process of elimination, I realised that despite other people’s opinions, financial state, age, or anything… this was what I loved. I wanted to be involved in stones for the rest of my life whether anyone else was or not.

The 2 years I took to hone my skills led me to feel accomplished as a jeweler and lapidary. I felt that as an artisanal jeweler, my designs were pulling ahead of the rest. It was time to start selling again.

To India

My father passed. Don’t feel bad, everyone’s does, and I wasn’t close to mine anymore. I was okay with it, and he left me a small inheritance. It wasn’t enough to buy a house in Vancouver, but enough to invest in what I loved.

To me, this affirmed that I was happy with my life choices. When I came into “free money” I didn’t change anything, I just delved deeper into what I was already doing.

The money funded a trip to India, to the gem-cutting capital of the world—Jaipur, Rajasthan. There my eyes were opened about jewelry even more. Seeing the mass production side of the industry changed the way I looked at jewelry forever. Up to that point, I had been surrounded by either [financially] unsuccessful artists—or artists who were just trying to support their hobby. They were individual artists, not companies. I attended a gem show 2 days after I returned from India. I displayed what I had brought back and made more money at that show than I had at any show before. 

Time to Get Serious! 

I really wanted to try to succeed, to make a go of it. But… continuing to work out of my apartment wasn’t going to cut it. I needed to make noise, use dangerous chemicals, create dust and messes. The machine shop that was actually a living room already had my landlord livid. 

I contemplated renting a space, but all the art studios I applied to were not “stable.” The building may or may not be torn down in 6 months, there were no facilities on the premises, etc.  After exploring some more, I decided to rent my own workshop. I could renovate it with the rest of my inheritance and sublease the back of it to other artisans to help cover the rent.

I signed the lease in March 2018, only a few months after I had returned from India. I decided to save money and build walls myself. I learned to pull electrical with Craigslist electricians and even how to plumb and run water to all my machines—and then I learned about Stop Work orders and city building permit rules and applications. It turns out architects and accredited tradespeople must do this kind of work. And I had to legally resolve the issue on the City’s timeline, or I would lose everything. 

I knew I didn’t know everything about starting a new business, and I was willing to learn. But I was rapidly getting battered and bruised financially. I felt like I’d jumped into piranha-infested waters. Everyone was taking a bite out of me. Security upgrades, architects, property tax, rubbish disposal, fire extinguishers… etc. Thank God my renovations were estimated at $50K because if I scrounged, I’d have just enough.

The final bill from the reno’s came in at $100k. I didn’t have it. I was just an artist trying to build a workshop where I could chase my dreams. The City of Vancouver’s 10-month delay in their permit application and approval process didn’t help, either. I never understood why people wanted to bomb buildings until I had to deal with the City of Vancouver’s building and development office. They were the biggest barrier to my happiness and business success. I will forever be bitter about that.

I was no stranger to challenging work, having stayed up late many nights to create, being a full-time student, and learning my trades on the side. In fact, I built such a work ethic that I am, to this day, a workaholic. My conscience gnaws away at me if I don’t put in 12 hours a day—and I love it. I continued to work even harder, pushing 16-hour days to stay afloat. I was cutting stones for the jewelry industry and repairing jewelry. I sacrificed love and relationships. Apparently, women feel undervalued when one only shows up late at night to see them. I’d explain it was because I needed to work, but many didn’t understand. Many people don’t “get” how committed I am to my goals and dreams. Nothing else matters to me. It has caused alienation and even ostracization. But I am in love with what I do. I do not see a family or kids or any of that in my future. I plan to achieve goals bigger than most can even contemplate. I want to exist on a logistics level that others can’t organize. My goals can only be achieved through demanding work and no other means. I will achieve them; motivated perhaps to earn others’ admiration, but more just to discover what I can accomplish in my life. 

I conquered the city of Vancouver’s barricade of BS. I paid off my renovations and began amassing crystals and fossils from global gem shows. Let me explain this shift in focus towards inventory.

Bigger Dreams

I only wanted a workshop, but the warehouse I rented had a front office with large windows and free parking out front. I thought, “Well, I have to store my rocks somewhere.” I’d be there working every day anyways, so I’d just play shopkeeper if someone came in to buy something. I figured it was an investment with minimal risk to “store” my rocks on display in the front area.

What I had in the beginning was all rough rock, just for me to cut and process. I had a few crystals from small estates I’d bought out. But it was eclectic and very esoteric. Customers would come in and ask, “Crystals—do you have “crystals?” “What about crystals, got any crystals?” and so on. It doesn’t take a business genius to give customers what they want. When I drove to the Denver gem show in late 2018 for the first time, I still wasn’t even into crystals. I drove and dug along the way.

(I’ve been to over 200 mines and dig sites since joining the rock club in 2014. I’ve recently taken to making videos about them for YouTube, and plan to continue adding to the library there. Many of the videos have GPS coordinates that you can feed into Google maps and find yourself.)

Anyways, I slept in my car for that gem show, upright in the driver’s seat, because there were stones everywhere else in the vehicle. Packed to the brim, I brought them all back, and sure enough they sold—fast. I went to Tucson next, and that was where I fell in love with crystals. Vendors in the special club display were exhibiting minerals in the 8-figure (USD) range. Imagine a soccer field’s worth of mineral displays and the cheapest rock there is US$30K! The aesthetics, composition, presentation, silhouettes, colours—all of it—grabbed my attention. Remember, I came into the industry from a production side, making gemstones for jewelry, so mineralogy was an altogether new subject. I learned fast; talking to people at other major USA shows like the one in Quartzite. Now I had become a mineral collector! 

The Pandemic

Business was finally starting to turn a modest profit, and I was getting excited for it. I went from hating accounting to loving it. It’s amazing how fun accounting can be when the numbers are green instead of red. Then, COVID19 hit.

Being innovative, I invested in Google and Facebook ads. I used money that would have gone towards booth fees at the rock and gem shows where I had been vending at on weekends to supplement my income. For those of you who remember the old, hidden-away shop, you’ll know it wasn't easy to find. You may also understand why, now: it was only ever meant to be a workshop. Thank you to everyone who supported me back then, and your continued support now.

Google ads and Facebook ads created an influx of customers at my storefront. In fact, I was selling and buying so much, I had to gut a storage room for additional showroom space! We were selling online, doing live sales, and I had to hire employees so I had time to eat, sleep, and create. 

I don’t long for much in my life other than reaching my goals and ambitions. A fancy car, a nice watch, elegant clothes—they are all lost on me. As I said before, I will be happy when I achieve something money cannot buy and what only hard work can. All the money I was making went right back into the business. I was buying in bulk because I knew I had 20 years or more to sell the stones. They don’t expire and I already knew I wanted to be in the rock and gem world the rest of my life. As much as I wanted to keep focusing on my jewelry and artisanal designs, the storefront and trading in crystals and fossils consumed my days. Fortunately, I was earning enough money to keep me focused on it. 

I went from that romantic, hitchhiking artist, to doing about 7,000 transactions during the first year of COVID. That’s 7,000 people: some ecstatic, some indifferent, and some grumpy. My job as owner and manager of the business was to manage all the grumpy ones, to deal with the confrontations and those tasks that my employees couldn’t manage. My staff were getting the praise in the storefront. Many customers assumed one of them owned the store, since they were the face at the front and always older than me. When COVID hit, I was just 30 years old. And my company now employed 7 people. 

Being an Owner and an Employer

This is the responsibility side of what I’ve put into my business. Having to make payroll for employees who relied on me so they could pay their bills was a serious responsibility. Moderating my temperament, and keeping my composure when employees complained at work, is probably a lot like being a parent to a child who doesn’t see or appreciate your efforts in keeping them housed, fed, clothed, and safe. As the boss, I’m always the bad guy when an employee has shown up late, missed shifts, or is coming to work high and performing poorly. Responsibility for the employees, in conjunction with my philosophy program at school means I must discipline people in ways that are effective, while not damaging our workplace relationships. It’s a big responsibility, especially for the youngest person on the corporate payroll (me). Honestly, I often struggle with finding empathy for people who aren’t communicating fairly, proactively, and responsibly. 

Owning and growing Rubble Rock and Gem Ltd requires many people. With fewer than 10 people on the payroll, business would plateau. Managing the personnel is a big part of my business now, and I am still learning leadership skills. When I interact with metal and stone, the material doesn’t have bad days. It doesn’t take things out of proportion, manipulate truths, exaggerate circumstances, or flat-out lie. Stone and metal I can master, but dealing with employees is a two-way relationship. The greatest challenge in my current workplace is not being omnipotent over people in the same way as I am over my materials.

I started this story saying you need to know Adam, me, the owner, to understand what Rubble Rock and Gem is. To summarize the story thus far: I am an artist with a dream. I have been learning business management, mineralogy, advertising, marketing, building development, corporate tax laws, etc., as I go, all while trying to retain passion for what I love to do: create.

Every workplace has some wonderful and less-than-wonderful things about it. I do what I love, and it makes the bad days and situations surmountable. The mountains are just mole hills or speed bumps because I am fixated on my larger [tunnel] vision for the company and the will to attain it. 

Growing Pains

By late 2021, we were having trouble walking into our storage rooms. The sub-leased art studios hidden at the back of my warehouse were converted into storage rooms each time an artisan chose to move out. I had so much rock in boxes, and we were spending so much time restocking the small storefront, that I realized it was time to expand. In 2021, I sold over 200,000 rocks locally through wholesale and retail. As I lay awake in bed some nights, I thought about the impact I was having on the rock and gem community in Metro Vancouver and realized—it was significant! I needed a larger location that could accommodate the giant Rubble Rock and Gem had become.

But that meant having to face Vancouver city’s building and development office again. Those civil servants, evil incarnate, who had cost me tens of thousands of dollars of wasted money in the past for things such as misinterpreting sound architect drawings, poor employee transitions at the City, and even forcing me to upgrade to a wheelchair-accessible washroom in a building that wasn’t wheelchair-accessible! I never wanted to go through that or the financial hardship, ever again. I remember sitting alone in the stairwell of my old warehouse after my initial renovations without even enough money to put gas in my car and overdue on over 60k in debt. The stress level of that was another form of gravity.

In late 2021 I pulled the trigger on another lease, for a second warehouse. Renovations began—5 months later (thanks to Vancouver’s building and development office). I leased a 6000 ft2 space in one of the most expensive cities in the world, and began renovating it at the end of COVID, when lumber, steel and other construction materials inflated up to 4 times more. And can you say, “supply chain issues?” But we had to start, because rent cost more than waiting.

We laid flooring, built walls, picked fantastic lighting, etc., and transformed the space from a cement shell into an airconditioned storefront that would wow people.

We opened the new space June 2022, and with the increased visibility have attracted even more customers than I thought possible. It’s amazing how much Vancouver likes rocks.

And on into the future...

Rubble Rock and Gem is something special. Within it, you can see my passion for providing everyone with a really engaging shopping experience. The store is sorted by chemical composition. I’ve built a workshop so others can see the stone-cutting tools that are so foreign and coveted. It is one of the greatest rock and gem shops in Canada—perhaps, in the world—and it did not come easy. 

For those of you who do appreciate what I have built and provided, I thank you for your support. I am just starting to feel proud, finally. Many of you have voiced your appreciation for the store and I am still learning how to take the compliments. I have many more big plans for Rubble Rock including focussing more on my jewelry line and building a large jewelry brand. (I plan to open a factory in Thailand for this). The old storefront will become a classroom for drop-in and scheduled courses. We have recently, excitingly, become major distributors for BC Jade. Give me a couple more years of hard and sustained work to bring those three goals to stable fruition. Then I’ll be on to even more great things—perhaps a second location?

Rubble Rock and Gem has been featured on several blogs and media outlets. Click on the button below to view them.