FMF - Friends of Minerals Forum, discussion and message board

[BlueCapProductions]

When you hear the name, “The Collector’s Edge” most people’s minds immediately think of Sweet Home Rhodochrosites - the red Jell-O rocks that astound us. And all these people would be correct BUT, there’s A LOT more to the story.

In our 15th Episode of Mineral Talks LIVE, our show takes you LIVE into the headquarters of The Collector’s Edge in Golden, Colorado where we get to sit down with Bryan Lees, Steve Behling, Richard Jackson and Phil Persson for a true insider’s look at what’s going on at, “The Edge.”

From new Rhodochrosites out of the Detroit City Portal to some of their fantastic world-wide specimens, to historic pieces from Bryan Lee’s long mining career, to a visit inside their world-famous restoration lab, we do it all - and all right on the cusp of them opening up for the 2020 Denver Show.

If you want A BUNCH of eye-candy, a more complete understanding of what The Collector’s Edge does and even some cool historic stories, then you’re not going to want to miss this episode of Mineral Talks LIVE!

This episode originally aired on September 9, 2020.

Mineral Talks LIVE is a joint-venture effort put on by BlueCap Productions, the Mineralogical & Geological Museum at Harvard University and the Society of Mineral Museum Professionals (SMMP). This series was created as a response to the COVID-19 situation that has been greatly affecting the mineral world by isolating and separating us. Our goal is to bring a new venue where the mineral world can re-connect with each other during these difficult times.

[BlueCapProductions]

Episode 16 of Mineral Talks LIVE was a real treat to film.

Daniel Trinchillo, Founder of Fine Minerals International, has handled some of the greatest mineral treasures on the planet. In this exciting episode, Daniel sits down with us to talk...minerals.

Broadcasting LIVE from his home office, Daniel shares a bit of his own history, updates us on some of his projects - such as the legendary Pederneira Mine in Brazil - and shows us some of the killer minerals for which he is so well known.

Join us for a special, insider's talk with Daniel Trinchillo of Fine Minerals International.

This episode originally aired on September 16, 2020.

Mineral Talks LIVE is a joint-venture effort put on by BlueCap Productions, the Mineralogical & Geological Museum at Harvard University and the Society of Mineral Museum Professionals (SMMP). This series was created as a response to the COVID-19 situation that has been greatly affecting the mineral world by isolating and separating us. Our goal is to bring a new venue where the mineral world can re-connect with each other during these difficult times.

[BlueCapProductions]

Mineral Talks LIVE - Episode 17 - Jack Halpern; Private Collector, San Francisco, California, USA

This was a very special show for us here at Mineral Talks LIVE. Jack Halpern had just turned 100 years old in May of 2020 and we were MOST eager to get him on the show - not only to honor his age and personality, but also because he has an amazing mineral collection.

It wasn’t our typical show as we had to arrange to have Jack’s daughter, Jean, at the assisted living home, where Jack currently resides, as well as having Jack’s dear friend, Paul Geffner, at Jack’s house to show off the minerals. It also required that Paul’s friend Tim would be available to film Paul in addition to having Paul’s wife Lisa available at the assisted living home to help with the technical aspects of getting Jack online. So yeah, a lot of moving targets and schedules that had to be organized.

Nevertheless, we prevailed and are so happy to offer you this inside peek into the man, and collection, that is Jack Halpern.

This episode originally aired on September 23, 2020.

Mineral Talks LIVE is a joint-venture effort put on by BlueCap Productions, the Mineralogical & Geological Museum at Harvard University and the Society of Mineral Museum Professionals (SMMP). This series was created as a response to the COVID-19 situation that has been greatly affecting the mineral world by isolating and separating us. Our goal is to bring a new venue where the mineral world can re-connect with each other during these difficult times.

[BlueCapProductions]

For our 18th episode in our Mineral Talks LIVE series, we travel out to the East Coast and visit the hallowed halls of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. There, we enter into the famous Yale Peabody Museum to meet with with mineral Collections Manager Stefan Nicolescu.

Stefan then takes us on a tour of the fabulous David Friend Hall of Minerals before heading downstairs into the collections area where we get an exclusive, behind-the-scenes tour of the engine that makes this wonderful mineral museum tick. And this is all on the cusp of the museum shutting down for an extensive renovation.

This is another, not-to-be-missed episode of Mineral Talks LIVE and, next time you’re in New Haven, you’ll understand why a stop at the Peabody Museum (once it re-opens) is a MUST for any mineral lover.

This episode originally aired on September 30, 2020.

Mineral Talks LIVE is a joint-venture effort put on by BlueCap Productions, the Mineralogical & Geological Museum at Harvard University and the Society of Mineral Museum Professionals (SMMP). This series was created as a response to the COVID-19 situation that has been greatly affecting the mineral world by isolating and separating us. Our goal is to bring a new venue where the mineral world can re-connect with each other during these difficult times.

[Roy Starkey]

Hi Bryan

I just wanted to add that I think the Mineral Talks Live platform has been an inspirational venture on the part of yourself, Raquel and Eloise. It is now an essential 'fixture' in my week and that of many, many others across the world.

The initiative to embrace video-conferencing as a general usage tool by the community really kicked-off with the e-RMS Rochester Symposium that I was fortunate to be able to 'attend'. We followed that up about a month later with the 1st Virtual British Mineralogical Symposium which was hugely successful.

Only last month we also ran a very successful and enjoyable Virtual British Micromount Symposium using Zoom.

I have been running a weekly discussion group since the UK lockdown began in March for about a dozen mineralogical friends and there is a growing international pool of similar gatherings hosted, for example by Steve Sorrell in Australia.

We are all enormously grateful to you and your team, as well as the guests, for helping to brighten our week and for keeping mineralogical contact alive during these difficult days.

Well done indeed and let's hope that one day, before too long we'll all actually be able to meet up again and say "Hi!" in person.

Roy Starkey
England

[Peter Lemkin]

WOW! There were some great minerals and interesting persons and information in those shows. MORE SHOWS PLEASE! With a few exceptions, especially at the museum cases, the curator was moving too quickly past the minerals to focus on them....slow that down in future! In some shows I could see a favorite mineral that looked great, but was never gotten to. That can't be avoided, just saying it was a frustrating as enjoyable sometimes. I went to Yale and the mineral museum was a ten minute walk from my house. With my Yale ID I could get in for free and think I went about once per week. A lot of [if not all] museums are now closed, but probably would LOVE to have someone show off what their collection is like.....so do keep that in mind along with the private collections.
These shows so filled the need to see minerals I have been missing from the lack of shows now...and likely will last another 1-1.5 years! Keep em coming!

[BlueCapProductions]

Roy,

Thank you for your input and for your support. We're having such a wonderful time doing these programs!!

I'm encouraged by the fact that you're doing online symposiums too. We all need to do more things like this to keep our community connected during these times.

Are you also posting your symposiums on YouTube??

If so, can you forward me the URLs?

All the best!!

-Bryan

[BlueCapProductions]

It seems like we started this program only yesterday however, here we are at Episode 19. For this episode, we travel to the other side of the planet and sit down with Sami Makki from Matrix India out of Pune.

You can catch Sami at mineral shows around the world - and looking at these wonderful treasures from India, you know why. In this interview, Sami shares some videos of the work they do in the field before walking us through their showroom at their headquarters. Sami ends the tour by sharing some INCREDIBLE pieces from his personal collection that make us gasp.

Check out our interview with Sami Makki and then stop by and say hi to him at the next mineral show.

This episode originally aired on October 7, 2020.

Mineral Talks LIVE is a joint-venture effort put on by BlueCap Productions, the Mineralogical & Geological Museum at Harvard University and the Society of Mineral Museum Professionals (SMMP). This series was created as a response to the COVID-19 situation that has been greatly affecting the mineral world by isolating and separating us. Our goal is to bring a new venue where the mineral world can re-connect with each other during these difficult times.

[Roy Starkey]

Hi Bryan

I have sent you a PM

Best wishes

Roy

[BlueCapProductions]

Welcome to the 20th (!!!!!) episode of Mineral Talks LIVE!!!!

In this mind-blowing episode, we head out to New Mexico, USA to connect with Dr. Terry Wallace, the Director Emeritus of the Los Alamos National Laboratory. Ladies and Gentlemen, THAT"S the Home of the Atomic Bomb and for Dr. Wallace to the Director Emeritus of it, that means HE'S DA BOMB!!!

Terry shares with us some of his history of collecting, many of his FASCINATING perspectives on life, the universe and everything and, of course, some of his killer specimens from his personal collection.

If you love science. If you love minerals. And if you love Minerals Talks LIVE, this is THE show for you.

This episode originally aired on October 14, 2020.

Mineral Talks LIVE is a joint-venture effort put on by BlueCap Productions, the Mineralogical & Geological Museum at Harvard University and the Society of Mineral Museum Professionals (SMMP). This series was created as a response to the COVID-19 situation that has been greatly affecting the mineral world by isolating and separating us. Our goal is to bring a new venue where the mineral world can re-connect with each other during these difficult times.

[BlueCapProductions]

Mineral Talks LIVE - Episode 21 - Tama Higuchi; Mineral Artist, Dallas, Texas, USA
https://go.mineraltalkslive.com/Episode21

I think it’s safe to say that EVERYONE reading this description LOVES to look at beautiful minerals. Well, in this, our 21st Episode, we’re going to take a slightly different look at beautiful minerals - through the eyes of the artist.

Tama Higuchi is a 20-year old Graphic Artist living in Dallas, Texas, who took up painting minerals about one year ago. The results are absolutely stunning. Applying her skills in graphic design with her incredibly aesthetic taste in minerals, she has created some incredible mineral art that anyone would be proud to hang on their walls. And, ever the innovator, Tama is constantly searching out new techniques and materials to push her work to even higher levels.

Join us as we spend an hour with Tama while she shares her background, her perspective and her wonderful mineral art.

This episode originally aired on October 21, 2020.

Mineral Talks LIVE is a joint-venture effort put on by BlueCap Productions, the Mineralogical & Geological Museum at Harvard University and the Society of Mineral Museum Professionals (SMMP). This series was created as a response to the COVID-19 situation that has been greatly affecting the mineral world by isolating and separating us. Our goal is to bring a new venue where the mineral world can re-connect with each other during these difficult times.

[BlueCapProductions]

Mineral Talks LIVE - Episode 22 - Katherine Dunnell; Earth Science Technician, Royal Ontario Museum, Ontario, Canada
https://go.mineraltalkslive.com/Episode22

For our 22nd Episode of Mineral Talks LIVE, we head up to the Great White North and focus our attention on Ontario, Canada. There we can find Canada's largest museum - The Royal Ontario Museum - and we get to go inside the museum for a private tour with Earth Science Technician, Katherine Dunnell.

This interview goes a full 23 minutes over the one-hour mark because there are so many incredible things to see at the ROM, that the show just decided to keep rolling!!! Not only will you see some incredible minerals AND gemstones, but you'll also get an incredibly in-depth perspective on the thought and strategy behind the design of this museum that hosts over one million visitors per year.

So join us on our journey with Katherine Dunnell, who is every bit as fun as she is knowledgeable, as we explore the Royal Ontario Museum.

This episode originally aired on October 28, 2020.

Mineral Talks LIVE is a joint-venture effort put on by BlueCap Productions, the Mineralogical & Geological Museum at Harvard University and the Society of Mineral Museum Professionals (SMMP). This series was created as a response to the COVID-19 situation that has been greatly affecting the mineral world by isolating and separating us. Our goal is to bring a new venue where the mineral world can re-connect with each other during these difficult times.

[BlueCapProductions]

Mineral Talks LIVE - Episode 23 - Emanuele Marini; Founder, Nimeral Mineral Labs, Milano, Italy
https://go.mineraltalkslive.com/Episode23

For Episode 23 of Mineral Talks LIVE, we turn our lens back to Europe and settle down in Milano, Italy. There, we sit down and chat with Emanuele Marini, the Founder of Nimeral Mineral Labs.

In this fun and educational episode, Emanuele takes a specimen, fairly fresh from the ground, and walks us through the basic steps of trimming, cleaning and preparing it for a high-end display. You will certainly gasp at the before and after!!!

Emanuele also treats us to a bunch of other beautiful pieces that his lab has prepared AND we get a little surprise visit from a special guest.

So join us for an hour and a half of good times as we laugh, talk and learn our way through what it takes to bring a mineral specimen to market.

This episode originally aired on November 4, 2020.

Mineral Talks LIVE is a joint-venture effort put on by BlueCap Productions, the Mineralogical & Geological Museum at Harvard University and the Society of Mineral Museum Professionals (SMMP). This series was created as a response to the COVID-19 situation that has been greatly affecting the mineral world by isolating and separating us. Our goal is to bring a new venue where the mineral world can re-connect with each other during these difficult times.

[BlueCapProductions]

Mineral Talks LIVE - Episode 24 - Gail and Jim Spann - Private Collectors; Dallas, Texas, USA
https://go.MineralTalksLIVE.com/Episode24

There are only a handful of Husband/Wife mineral collecting teams out there (and no, we don’t understand why either) and this team, out of Rockwall, Texas - a suburb of Dallas - is key among them.

Gail and Jim Spann have amassed an absolutely incredible worldwide mineral collection nearly topping 14,000 specimens over the years. Known worldwide, their passion for minerals is matched by their exceptional hospitality and their desire to share.

For our 24th episode of Mineral Talks LIVE, we’re going to go straight into the home of Gail and Jim Spann as they share their vast collection with us and regale us with the stories behind the pieces. This is a true eye-candy wonderland for all levels of mineral collectors.

So sit back, grab a cool drink and join us as we go LIVE with Gail and Jim Spann.

This episode originally aired on November 11, 2020.

Mineral Talks LIVE is a joint-venture effort put on by BlueCap Productions, the Mineralogical & Geological Museum at Harvard University and the Society of Mineral Museum Professionals (SMMP). This series was created as a response to the COVID-19 situation that has been greatly affecting the mineral world by isolating and separating us. Our goal is to bring a new venue where the mineral world can re-connect with each other during these difficult times.

[Jordi Fabre]

The Mineral Talks LIVE is a very generous project that has allowed many collectors to feel together in these difficult moments around what we love the most: minerals.
However, if up to now they had done their job very well, now they have just made a terrible mistake, they have invited me to speak tomorrow Wednesday! 🙄⚒

If you are so crazy as to want to see it, you have to sign up here