Melanie Anderson’s fascination with rocks started at a young age.
When she as growing up she always had a stone in her pocket that she’d picked up because it was a pretty shade or had an appealing texture.
Little did she know that in the future she would eventually find a market for something that was just a hobby.
Around a decade ago, she started making fountains, using things like quartz and amethyst, for herself and eventually friends and family.
She had been going through a time when she wasn’t feeling healthy and her energy was low.
She started reading about the healing qualities of the stones and found them to be healing to her. Soon others wanted her unique creations.
“I started just purely for fun for myself, just using rock and enjoying in my own home and I realized it was helpful for lots of people,” she said.
“So I offered it to friends and family and it grew and grew and just became this awesome place to hang out.”
Four years ago, she opened Vitality Crystals & Fountains Inc. at her home 5.7 km west of Bowden, along Hwy 587.
Her business is in two small log cabins by her home.
One of the buildings has pendants, bracelets and rings made of silver, with amber, rose quartz, turquoise and other semi-precious stones.
There are also polished stones and a variety of tiny animals carved out of stone, including elephants, pigs, bears and turtles.
Her other log cabin offers larger geodes, jade tea light holders and larger rock used to create her unique fountains.
“One of my favourite things is building fountains for people because each one is unique. It’s all about what that person needs and what energy they’re trying to create,” Anderson said.
She said dependent upon the rock, some stones bring peace, joy, serenity and protection.
“Lots of people are getting a deeper understanding or an appreciation for all the things that Mother Earth can provide us with and people are opening up to the idea and the understanding that stones carry an energy,” Anderson said.
“So lots of people are on a quest to find ways to feel better, to sleep better to be more serene and this is an avenue that can help and maybe it is something a little bit new for a lot of people, but the awareness on the healing property of stones is definitely growing.”
The rocks she offers are from all over the planet from places as far away as Brazil, Morocco, Mexico and Germany. The rarest variety of rock is moldavite, an olive green coloured stone believed to have been from a meteor shower or a meteor impact in the Czech Republic.
Anderson’s business was one of the many showcased this weekend as part of the Summertime Country Drive around Central Alberta.
The event features rural properties from a little north of Blackfalds to south of Didsbury and many points in between.
Everything from the Ellis Bird Farm and the Stephansson House Provincial Historic Site to Edgar Farms open their doors to the public to get to see everything their local part of the province has to offer.
Hundreds of people dropped by Anderson’s place on Saturday and she expected another couple of hundred on Sunday. People had the chance to not only to browse through her collection of merchandize, but also try their hand at cracking open a geode to see what sparkling mystery laid inside.
It’s the third year Anderson has taken part in the Country Drive and she said she likes the community aspect of it, with all of the farms and businesses working together. She also likes that it helps people to understand rural-based living better.
Anderson’s store is open from Thursday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. during her summer hours, which are from the May long weekend to Thanksgiving weekend or by appointment. She is open from Sunday to Wednesday in the winter.
sobrien@www.reddeeradvocate.com