Saturday, October 5 was a special day for Jacob and Astrid Proctor, as they held the grand opening for the new location of their unique business, the Katy Rock Shop. Formerly located at 535 Pin Oak Blvd. across from Katy’s First Baptist Church, the business has moved to 821 Avenue C in Katy, just off the downtown square in old Katy.

Owner Astrid Proctor says that Katy Rock Shop was first established by Bruce and Carol Huff in 2012 on the outskirts of historic Katy, and that she and husband Jacob assumed operation of the business in 2019, beginning as the Gem Mining Activity and Events back in 2022.

“Gem mining has become an exciting development for families looking for a wholesome outdoor activity that includes a learning experience,” said Astrid in an interview with the Katy Times. “The best part is -- you keep everything you find!”

Jacob became interested in rocks as he grew up listening to his father's stories about his adventures while mapping in Tanzania and Madagascar during his youth. Father and son would spend time together hounding for fossils and minerals wherever they traveled to, creating adventures and fond memories that later spawned the desire to explore and prospect for minerals with Astrid all over Brazil.

Astrid, also a degreed geologist is from Brazil, likewise derived inspiration from her father, an experienced mountaineer and outdoor enthusiast. Astrid said that their house was littered with crystals gathered and bought across the country. Both Jacob and Astrid together enabled the passion of rock collecting to flourish and spread into the Katy Rock Shop where they determined there was a market in the local area.

The shop’s customers are families, young adults, people interested in gem mining and outdoor diversion for an hour or two. “Many people are into the metaphysical properties of rocks, and we often cater to interior decorators as they explore for larger pieces that make a statement,” she said.

“Rocks capture the 'awe' in us, from the young to the old,” said Astrid. “We all look and marvel at nature's beauty with the same childish look of awe. Houston and Katy are filled with kids and adults, whom many of which are geoscientists. Houston as we know, is the energy capital of the world and geoscience is important to many of us and the education for geoscience can create a lot of awe and wonder for kids while they are figuring out their own life paths.”

The shop carries a variety of rocks, Astrid said. “The Katy Rock Shop is known for the broad diversity of minerals, crystals and gifts that we sell. Our most common compliment is that we have so many inexpensive rocks for the budding enthusiast and jaw dropping exotic minerals for the collector.”

Astrid says that the shop is organized with price tiers, making it easy to find beauty for any budget. “We have hundreds of specimens in our ‘under $25.00 dollar’ category, hundreds in the $25.00-$50.00 [group], and dozens from $50.00 to $100.00.” The new location also includes an entire display room called "the vault" with exotic minerals over $100.00. the display room contains five

display cabinets and over 125 miniature lights to accent the colors and symmetry in the minerals. “We also have a UV room that is designed to bring out the beautiful fluorescent colors some rocks exhibit,“ she said.

There are unusual pieces available at the shop as well, Astrid said. “We have s beautiful outdoor decor garden for customers to relax in or buy large pieces. It is in this area we offer a 'spindle top' shaped petrified wood root from a palm tree that lived in the Houston area 25,000,000 million years ago.”

The most sought-after items come from the Katy Rock Shop’s collection of unique specimens from Brazil. Because Astrid and Jacob spent five years prospecting and building a network of miners in that country, they import from the mines now and bring unusual specimens that are not typically available at other rock shops. They also obtain specimens from Arkansas, Texas, Colorado and New Mexico, sourcing rocks, minerals, gift items and fossils from other miners that they trade with. In addition, the couple are often contacted by people who wish to donate, trade, or sometimes sell their rocks or collections, Astrid said.

The Katy Rock Shop has over 35 titles of lapidary books, reference books, children's books and guidebooks for rock hounding in the Texas to Southern United States area, the couple said.

For more information on the Katy Rock Shop – including the calendar of events, recent news and their online store which features items not available in the shop -- visit katyrockshop.com.