Tuesday, May 27, 2014

The CraftStar Featured Artist: Rocks of Joy

The CraftStar Featured Artist:  Rocks of Joy








Rocks of Joy is my "Doing Business As" name.   I have two shops on TheCraftStar.com, Rocks of Joy and Memory Lane.


My name is Josey Doyle, and I live in Sherman, Texas.  My “pets” are a couple of house plants (which I talk to a lot) and two Beta fish aquariums filled with various crystals but no fish.

Quartz Crystal Point, Arkansas, Elestiated Aperture, Faden Line, Extra Large Quartz Point, Cabinet Size, 10 Inches, 12 Pounds


I have been a rock collector for almost 30 years.  In 2010, my ex-husband’s parents both passed away within six months of each other.  My ex-mother-in-law sold costume jewelry at a high-end department store in Dallas, TX.  When we cleaned out their house, we found over 4,000 pieces of jewelry, mostly costume jewelry.  Some of the jewelry was used but some had never been worn and still had original tags or packaging.  My ex-sister-in-law and my daughter picked out what they wanted, and I inherited a few pieces, but my ex-husband agreed to let me try to sell what was left. There was a lot left!
My knowledge of costume jewelry was very limited when I decided to sell the jewelry because I am allergic to plated metal (even nickel-free or hypo-allergic metal), so I never wore or bought costume jewelry.  I researched costume jewelry for over a year before I started to sell on another seller’s venue.  I also remembered some things my ex-mother and sister-in-law said about various brands of costume jewelry, like which brand of clip earrings are the most comfortable clips to wear.  Neither of my female ex-in-laws had pierced ears, so why either of them bought pierced earrings is a mystery to me.

Sale White Freshwater Oval Pearl Earrings


In 2011, I went to the Tucson Gem and Mineral show for the first time.  I bought sterling silver jewelry made with natural materials, various crystals, stone beads, cabochons, and gemstones, with the intent to start an online business and to sell at various live shows.  One of my goals was to start making stone bead sterling silver jewelry and, eventually, to learn to be a silversmith.  I also went to other gem and mineral shows in 2012 and purchased similar items for my business at those shows.

Agate Cabochon, 32.13ct, Freeform, Colorado


When I started selling online, I only listed jewelry from my ex-mother-in-law’s estate for the first year.  I started adding crystals, cabochons, and gemstones to my listings.  I have about 300 pieces of vintage jewelry to sell (some never used), and about 1,500 crystals, cabochons, and gemstones.  Many of the crystals and gemstones in my listings are stones I collected prior to 2011.

Aragonite Crystal Cluster, Mexico


During the years prior to 2011, I discovered tuning forks that are a higher frequency than quartz raises the vibration frequency of quartz when used near a piece of quartz.  I offer a “tune up” on any item I sell that is a variety of quartz or made with quartz.  I use four specific tuning forks of higher frequency than quartz.  However, which specific forks I use is a trade secret.  For people who are sensitive to the vibration of crystals, the increased vibration frequency can be sensed.  I only do the tune up on a piece of quartz if a customer requests it.  Otherwise, a quartz item is shipped without the tune up.


Aquamarine on Quartz, Brazil



I am also a retired massage therapist. I did professional massage therapy from 1992 until a complication from abdominal surgery forced me to quit in 2007.  The day after TheCraftStar asked me to be a Featured Artist, a friend suggested I do a line of gem essence massage oils.  I named that line Rock N Oil, as suggested by another friend.

Rock N Oil, Gem Essence Massage Oil, Debuts May 30, 2014



Rock N Oil will debut on TheCraftStar on May 30, 2014.  The line includes Clear Unscented, Amethyst Lavender, Rose Rose, and Smokey Patchouli.  The Clear Unscented oil contains essence of clear quartz.  The Amethyst Lavender oil contains essence of amethyst and French Lavender essential oil.  The Rose Rose oil contains essence of rose quartz and Bulgarian Rose Absolute oil.  The Smokey Patchouli oil contains essence of Smokey quartz and just a bit of dark Patchouli (so it isn’t too overwhelming).  The scented oils contain essential oils, not just the scent as may be used in candle or soap making, in avocado oil base.  Avocado oil is wonderful for the skin, especially dry skin.  It absorbs into the skin within 10-15 minutes, and doesn’t leave as much of an oily feeling as many other types of massage oil.  The quartz used for the essences has been tuned up with tuning forks, so it carries the higher vibration very subtly in the oil.

Golden Healer Quartz Crystal Cluster



Also offered is a Rock N Oil Custom Blend in which a customer can choose a custom blend of essential oils and gem essence.  Delivery time for custom blend orders will be 2 weeks until I have enough of a variety of essential oils to speed up delivery time, which will be stated in the Custom Blend listing.  Gem essences can include almost any stone alphabetically from Aegirine to Zoisite.  There are a few exceptions, as some stones are not suited for essences or elixirs. I  have a lot of stones, so I most likely already have the stone to make any type of gem essence a customer may request for a Custom Blend.

Moldavite, Tektite, Czech Republic, 5.29 grams, Rare


I love the great marketing ideas so far implemented by TheCraftStar management team.  I hope both of my stores eventually will do very well on TheCraftStar.  If the Rock N Oil does well, I will add a line of gem essence lotion, and possibly a line of gem essence organic lip balm too.  Later this year, I will also debut my line of sterling silver stone bead jewelry.  In 2015, I plan to take classes to learn to be a silver smith. I am very excited about my new career as a business owner, and I look forward to being a seller on TheCraftStar for many years!


Marketing is very important for any business, small or large. The most effective marketing tool for me, so far, has been word of mouth and collections on seller’s venues.

Green Turquoise Flower Heavy Sterling Silver Y Necklace



What are your 2 favorite items from other shops on TheCraftStar?

I love the work of yankeegirlart because I love paintings of flowers.  She sold my favorite work of hers, hooray!  My second favorite is this one: 

Art, Fine Art-Watercolor Painting of Blue Morning Glories



I also love the work of Island Girl Expressions because I love the ocean. This is my favorite from her shop: 

Silver Skinny Legged Starfish Necklace



Thank you very much for asking me to be a Featured Artist.  Also, thank you to everyone at TheCraftStar for offering an outstanding seller’s venue for Handcrafted, Hand Made, and Vintage small business owners!  You all do terrific work!

Follow Josey!

I am still trying to figure out all the options for social networking, since I haven’t used it much prior to joining TheCraftStar.


I need to do a lot of work on that page!

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