Summer 2026 at The Stone Circle

A wee update from the people who brought you “it’s all just quartz”.

<Contains one Amazon link but it's to my own books so not sure if that counts? Warning you anyway!>

We had a guest blog post this week which was lovely. But rather than take the week off from our own posts, I thought it would be a nice time to share a wee update.

It’s Just Me and the Crows

I feel like it is more important now than ever to stress that I am doing this alone these days. I opened Katriona’s Rocks on Etsy in 2019 and sold a few pieces. That became the Stone Circle in April 2021, and then Fox returned to Germany in the beginning of November 2021. Technically since then it has been me and whoever I can talk into helping. But mainly just me and the dog(s).

Going Full Time at The Stone Circle

Up until 2025 I was still a content writer full time. I come from a background of TEFL/English studies/media and writing, so the rock blog made more sense to me than selling the rocks did. As a writer they always tell you to find your niche. I guess this is mine. I get so lost in the blogs. I love it.

As of last summer, it became difficult to make money with writing. Between AI taking over my job on most websites and my mental health having a moment, it became impossible for me to maintain both full time jobs. I stopped content writing except for TSC and I don’t regret it. I feel like the Stone Circle only really works if I am doing it every day.

I love my job. The friends and followers of the pages have made it such a wonderful experience. I get to talk about my obsession all the time. People send me pics of cool rocks they found. Once in a while, they even send me the rocks! It’s brilliant. I have no complaints.

The Rock Blog

TSC has become a really popular place to learn about rock hunting in Scotland. It’s developed into a website where I can pass on what I learned the hard way when it comes to rockhounding.

We love taking guest post contributions to the blog. We don’t mind if you want to link to your site as long as your site isn’t contrary to ours. Learn more about guest posting here. We welcome new writers in particular who want to create a piece with a link to their further work. There are so few sites using human-written-articles these days, but I can guarantee that there will be no AI articles on my site.

I have a vendetta.

Buying and Selling Old Crystal Collections

I never thought that I would end up being a crystal seller, but here we are. In the latter months of 2025, I decided that another great way to make crystal selling ethical would be to only buy old collections and resell those pieces to people who would love them like their previous owners once had. Everyone wins. I do not regret the decision. The rocks will be here when we are not.

We are the rock redistribution system.

Our "Ya Wee Jobby" stickers are still my favourite product of the year so far! Get Yours Here!

I do want to remind people that it’s only me over here. The money I make from the rocks all goes into the business. Petrol is expensive, but so are all the other things like packaging materials, separate storage for finds and products, and spending your time researching when you should be doing markets but your health isn’t really up to it. I spend a lot of time kicking myself for not doing better or more. It’s the OCD.

Rockhounding isn’t Profitable

At the end of the day, this isn’t something you would choose to do if you could help it. I feel exactly the same way about the novels I write (insert shameless novel plug here). Collecting rocks is a compulsion for me, just like writing. Every nice piece I pick up releases that dopamine and makes me feel good. Every pic I share or video I make is for the sheer glee and love of it. Otherwise, I would have given up by 2022.

I had a man on Etsy message me a couple of years ago now. His message was not about anything I was selling. It just read that he was going to start doing what I did, go out and pick up rocks and sell them. I was nothing special. Anyone could do it. I used to get upset about these types of messages but now I reply to people that they should. They absolutely should. Because unless you are 1000% obsessed with the rocks you are hunting, you will crash out before you make a profit.

If you guys could see my accounts you’d understand… I only just broke even for this business in 2025. It took four years of me putting my own money into it for it to start coming out of the negative. I know this is TMI but I do have a point here. It’s about the collections.

We Receive Multiple Requests Each Day

When you approach us and ask to sell your collection, you are asking me as a person to put my own money into buying it in the hope that I will be able to sell it in the future. You’re not approaching a big business. I don’t have the hundreds of pounds that you may think your collection is worth.

I am very clear about what we are looking for in crystal collections. I feel that many people are wasting their time uploading pictures before they have read the information about what it is we want.

If you want us to buy your crystal collection, then please review the guidelines first. I have just realised that these guidelines are in a blog and not on the page itself so I will move them in the future, leave it with me.

<Quick note to say that I fixed this already before publishing this blog. You can now find a direct link to the guidelines on the page with the form on it>

Any Other News

Goals for this year include getting up north for some travel time and rock spotting, and training the new rock hound Cassy up to be a good stone selector. Stay tuned for new TikTok and YouTube videos, Insta pics, and of course, both pre-loved crystal collections and brand new Scottish rocks and minerals.

The new rock hound Cassy is a bit lazy. She does not agree that she is a working dog. However, she does pick up stones so training is underway.