Collector Spotlight: Shanice OM
1. How many years have you been collecting and what started your passion?
I’ve actually been collecting, more or less, my entire life but in completely different ways throughout. When I was around 6 I went on a big family holiday to Lands End in Cornwall, England. I decided two things on that trip; first, my favourite colour, which was the ocean blue of the water as we made our way from Lands End to the Isle of Scilly on a ferry (I wasn’t sea sick!). The second was that I loved rocks. I remember being mesmerised by a sea of colourful rocks on the beach - greens, reds, oranges, blues – and completely falling in love. Now I have some understanding of geology, I’m not entirely sure blue rocks were just chilling on a sandy Cornwall beach, but I certainly plan to go back soon to find out! I’ve been collecting ever since then. As a teenager I subscribed to a rock magazine that gave you a different specimen with each issue. As I got older I would collect in a more ad hoc way, grabbing a new specimen whenever I was near a rock shop. Now I’m in my late twenties (and thanks to some disposable income!) it’s developed into a more systematic (and obsessive) hobby where I’m trying to understand science, history and art through mineralogy.
2. What’s the focus of your collection and has that changed through time? Why?
At the moment I exclusively collect English fluorite and other English minerals in their association with fluorite. In the past I’ve collected anything that’s looked nice, from rocks and minerals to fossils. But I think there’s something quite magical about a single mineral species that shows up in so many unique ways on what is, let’s be honest, such a tiny island. Fluorite from Cornwall can display such wildly different crystal formation, colours and habits than, say, Fluorite from the North Pennines. There is so much that I’m discovering about the history of these little pieces. For example, when the lead markets crashed in the 1800s destitute miners from English lead mines (where a lot of my fluorite specimens came from) migrated to the Americas, New Zealand and Australia. It just so happens I’m writing a book about the history of British colonies in this exact period and I find it fascinating how minerals can represent and connect different points in history in this way. This is why I’m huge on provenance; I very much want to know the micro and macro histories behind each piece.
3. What do you like to do outside of mineral collecting? (hobbies, job, music taste, etc).
I work in Learning and Development and my other passion, aside from minerals, is politics. I really enjoy keeping these two worlds separate, and love having a part of my life that feels much more magical, relaxed and uplifting than the grimness of the real world. But it is fascinating how mineral history also draws you into political history. Just off the top of my head, migration from the crash of the lead market, the industrial revolution (which was powered by local coal, lead and iron mining) and the destruction of the coal industry in the 80s – all of these questions lead you to some quite fundamental moments in English political history.
4. Where do you see yourself as a collector in 5,10 or 20 years?
I would love to open up my home to local children interested in geology. I have always lived in big cities and know that where I’ve grown up children don’t often get the opportunity to discover the joy of minerals on their doorstep. But first this would require a slightly bigger home, better display furniture and a bigger collection so it’s some time away!
5. What is your favorite/dream specimen outside of your collection? Why?
Rotherhope Fell is one of the English localities that really encapsulates the unity of art, history and science in mineral collecting. It produced some of the most outstandingly beautiful fluorite specimens England has produced – some of which I’ve had the pleasure of seeing in the Natural History Museum of London. It was a locality frequented by collecting giants such as Sir Arthur Russell - many of the major pieces out there came from his collection. I haven’t yet found a good specimen from this locality for myself, and it’s so rare that I might not ever, but the hunt for one keeps the passion going!
6. What’s your favorite locality? Why?
At the moment it’s a toss-up between Heights Mine/Quarry and Florence Mine. Although these mines produced quite different fluorite specimens, I love them both for similar reasons. Heights produced a staggering colour spectrum of fluorite: greens, blues, turquoise, greys, purples, colourless, even yellows. Some have stunning day light fluorescence and zoning. Heights also produced lovely combinations with galena, quartz and calcium carbonate minerals. Florence Mine produced fewer colours but is famous for the Cumbrian blues which varied from pale sky blue to electric sea blue. They came with an incredible array of mineral combinations: kidney ore, specularite, baryte, quartz, Eisenkisel, smokies, calcite, aragonite, dolomite and it’s common for pieces to have 3, 4 or 5 minerals on one specimen!
7. If you could change anything regarding this hobby, what would that be?
I do feel uneasy about how expensive the hobby is becoming. I’m lucky to be able to collect decent quality specimens but if I had my way I’d want to ensure the hobby was not gate kept by wealth! This is one of the reasons why communities like this are great, where we can share the joy without barriers.