Collector Spotlight: Ashley Palafox
1. How many years have you been collecting and what started your passion?
I've been collecting more seriously for about six years now, but like many of us I was fascinated by minerals as a kid and had a childhood rock collection. What started my passion was frequent trips to the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles (NHMLA) with my dad as a kid. I was so fortunate to grow up near such an incredible collection and gravitated to it immediately. Every time we'd visit the museum, I would spend the majority of my time captivated by the gem and mineral hall. My dad, seeing this, started taking me to local lapidary shops and along with him to the metaphysical stores he was interested in, so I got some more exposure to polished stones. Polished material no longer interests me much, but this exposure definitely helped feed a curiosity for rocks and minerals.
Years later, when I got my first job where I wasn't just barely scraping by, I celebrated by indulging in a relatively expensive mineral I saw in a curiosity shop in San Francisco. It was a cavansite on stilbite, and the color and composition just floored me. I was transported back to my initial fascination with minerals, and now that I had a bit of disposable income and had "broken the seal" by buying something that cost more than a few bucks, well, it was all downhill from there.
2. What's the focus of your collection and has that changed through time? Why?
Smithsonite and fluorite are my primary suites, but I don't limit myself entirely to them.
I tend to like colorful miniatures and will buy what catches my eye if it's in my budget. About 30% of my collection comprises smithsonites, and another 25% is made up of fluorite, and these are the two species I'm most likely seriously consider.
The focus has definitely changed over time for me, in that there is a focus (or two) now where previously there were none. I've tried to narrow down my scope a bit, but not so much that I "have to" pass up something that I otherwise love because it doesn't fit into a prescribed category.
3. What do you like to do outside of mineral collecting? (hobbies, job, music taste, etc).
For work, I supervise a histology lab (we do prognostic testing for cancer patients), and I'm really thankful to be in a field that is both interesting to me and helpful to others. I love science in general, and biological sciences and medicine specifically. I trained in optical and fluorescence microscopy, something I haven't yet applied to geological specimens, though I'd like to!
I live with my husband and our two cats, Ghost and Frida, in a house that's been mistaken for a used bookstore (we have 12,000 books all together-- the collecting gene runs strong in this household). So, I love reading (mostly non-fiction), music, comics, cats, and food. I've been vegan for two decades and actually have my own published cookbook. I owned a bakery in a past life (ten years ago) and now just bake for fun.
4. What's your favorite species? Why?
Ok, I see this is my opportunity to wax poetic about smithsonite. Smithsonite was my favorite mineral species before I knew I had a favorite mineral species. At some point I realized it was the one I gravitated to over all others and found myself buying the most of.
Here's what I love about it: There's so much variation in appearance-- form, color and luster. I love botryoidal minerals in general. I know to some they just look "lumpy", but when I see a botryoidal smithsonite it reminds me of a cloud (and I'll admit that when I see a cloud, sometimes it reminds me of smithsonite). Also, the fact that smithsonite doesn't form large crystals often makes pieces like the ones
we see from Tsumeb all the more impressive and special. And who can resist a crisp rhomb or a striking scalenohedron? I also think it's fun to collect a species that's produced quality specimens from every inhabited continent.
5. Have you been to any shows? If so, what's your favorite part of them? If not, are there any particular ones you would want to experience one day?
Yes! This past year was my first time attending Tucson, though I'd dreamed of it since learning about the show when I first got back into minerals. I was very lucky as a part of YMC to be able to put in a Collector Spotlight case and actually show some of my favorite pieces off in public for the first time. My favorite part of that whole experience was honestly getting to meet everyone, including lots of people who I knew from the internet and not yet in real life, and just being so completely saturated and surrounded by this incredible hobby, beautiful rocks, and amazing people for a week. The experience totally exceeded my expectations of it, even if I did have to individually open, unwrap, and rewrap every specimen in my carry-on at the airport on the way there.
I've also attended smaller local shows here in the Bay Area, and what I love about them is the chance to see so many species, localities, and finds represented in person. I buy a lot online, but there is something to be said for holding a piece in your hand as you consider adding it to your collection.
I intended to make it to Denver this year, but of course the Covid situation thwarted that plan. I'd absolutely love to attend Munich and Sainte-Marie-Aux-Mines in the future (one of these years!).
6. Is there a piece/pieces in your collection you’ll never let go of, which and why?
One piece I'll never give up is the one I call the "Kelly Queen". You can see it front and center in my TGMS case. This is a smithsonite from the Kelly Mine in New Mexico, and I love it for its perfect color and excellent 3D form. I had been waiting for my ideal smithsonite for some time, lusting after one that was pretty far out of my budget. Luckily the same dealer who had that one for sale was able to matchmake my union with this one, which I love just as much and was able to afford. It was the first time I really stretched my budget, even with it being a good deal, but I knew I wasn't going to find a better one any time soon and that I had to go for it. Now it sits proudly in my display case, radiating that
lovely blue color and drawing the attention of anyone who walks by, as it will do forever.
7. What are some unexpected things you’ve learned about mineral collecting and/or the mineral community since joining YMC?
I've learned so much from YMC! The first important lesson for me was how many people there are around the world who are interested in and dedicated to this very niche thing. I've said before that it was a comfort and a bit of a revelation to find a massive group of people who are nerds in the same way as me. I've also learned a ton about collecting, from cataloging tools, to provenance and mineral collecting history, as well as just how diverse people's tastes and philosophies are. Participating in this group has shown me that my interest in minerals can be more than just a hobby-- or maybe that the scope of this hobby is a lot greater than I had given it credit for. There is room to learn about science, aesthetics, display creation, communication, mentorship, teamwork, and how much we can get done (not to mention how much fun we can have) when we put our collective efforts toward keeping this community alive and growing.