Collector Spotlight: Monica Kitt
1) How many years have you been collecting and what started your passion?
I might be one of the least conventional collectors in YMC… my dad started collecting when I was away at college, and I’d randomly get pictures of these “rocks” and I totally didn’t get it. I moved to Shanghai for a few years after college, and during one of my trips back to the states, the family went on a vacation and I briefly met Rob Lavinsky in the airport when he flew in to drop off a rock and then fly straight back to Dallas. It seemed pretty bizarre at the time!
Rob was looking to amp up his China travels and my dad set up a meet up for us in Shanghai. I’m sure Rob didn’t want to deal with his client’s kid, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to spend a day with my dad’s “rock guy” but we got along well and I helped him with a few expos he did in China over the next year or two. In 2012, I moved back to the states and took a “regular” job in finance and pretty much hated the environment, and Rob kept asking me to help with shows (Tucson, then wanted me to go to China for 10 days…) and I told him I couldn’t take a 10 day vaca from my “real” job but I’d quit if he’d hire me. And here I am, 8+ years later, still with The Arkenstone.
Ok now to the real question… how long have I been collecting? Well. I have a secret stash of things in the office I love and don’t want to sell, so they just… hide with me for a little bit, until something new and shiny and pretty comes along I like more. I only have 2 specimens in my “permanent collection,” and the others are mostly on a rotating “loan” from The Arkenstone inventory. My little girl, Hannah, has a larger collection than I do, thanks to the generosity of multiple mineral friends, who gifted her several rare locality golds, cut gems, and even an imperial topaz (her birthstone) pendant.
2) What's the focus of your collection and has that changed through time? Why?
I’m not sure I have much of a true focus. With 20,000 sq ft of minerals floating around here, I’m always finding something new and cute I feel compelled to keep tucked away for a few months. I tend to stick with miniatures… maybe that’s because they’re easier to hide away without drawing attention.
3) What do you like to do outside of mineral collecting? (hobbies, job, music taste, etc).
My little 9-month old peanut is keeping me busy busy busy! Most of my “free time” these days involves keeping up with Hannah’s insatiable appetite for food and new activities while keeping Frozen songs on repeat and also online stalking all of the cute mineral and gem related baby clothes.
4. 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?
Working at The Arkenstone has given me the chance to visit TONS of shows. I’ve explored multiple in China (Shanghai, Chenzhou, Changsha, Hong Kong) several in Europe (Munich several times, SMAM) and of course, Tucson & Denver.
The Chinese shows provide the funniest and wildest stories. One year I went underground with Jack Schmitt, who literally walked on the moon, and I love the memory of going underground with someone who went so far above it. Rob and I had a client open a closed portion of the Great Wall for us to hike, and one year we had clients host a weird private modelling show for us during dinner? I don’t know. Its a better story in person. Ask me about it sometime. It involved a lot of baijiu (like the Japanese version of sake, but stronger and more pungent) and a very bad hangover the next day.
Munich is my favorite for the culture. I put on so much bread and beer weight at that show in such a short period of time while I fill up on pretzels and pints and heavy, delicious Bavarian food. I love that the show feels relaxed and so well organized!
And Tucson. What is there to say? Tucson is by far the most energetic of the shows for me. There’s so much to see and do, and so many people to visit!
5. If you could give any advice to someone new to the hobby, what would it be?
LEARN FIRST! It can be really tempting to jump in the hobby and treat it like Pokemon - “Gotta catch em all!” but I’ve seen so many collectors get SO many things at the beginning of their discovery of minerals, and when they start focusing in on what they really love, they realize they have a pile of things they don’t care about and 2-3 specimens they can’t live without.
That, and look for dealers who will help you stretch to the next level. Sometimes that means working out trades, or payment plans, or trying for discounts. My time with the company has taught me that people usually treasure the pieces that hurt a little bit to pay for much more than the ones they bought on a whim.
6. Is there anyone who has inspired you in this field? Do you look up to the collection of someone in particular?
I’ve been super lucky to be surrounded by a fantastic group of humans in the industry. My dad could retire, but he literally keeps working so he feels ok buying the next rock he falls in love with, and I think that passion is pretty amazing. While they collect as a couple, my mom is definitely more of the prospecting type than the “pretty on a shelf” type. She goes gold prospecting with a bunch of the “old guard” out in California and has all of her bins of tools, including multiple metal detectors, chemical kits, water guns, etc. We both love puzzles, and I think this is like one big outdoor puzzle for her to try to solve. And don’t even get me started on Rob, who types in his own language that only a few of us can fully decipher, mainly because he’s so busy loving the next rock that comes in the door to bother proofreading anything he types. He’s like the little engine that could, just chugging away at project after project, chasing the next big thing he can share with the rest of us.
7. What’s the “specimen that got away”?
I did a dumb thing. There’s this fluorite+pyrrhotite specimen that I just loved (included in my spotlight pics!) I sent Tom Campbell, part of the Arkenstone team, a video I took of it because I liked the piece. He then went to Rob and bought it. So now… it lives 40 feet away from me… in the case in his office. I told him he needs to leave it to me in his will.