Meet Corinne Heffron of Dark Desert Minerals in Queen Creek

Today we’d like to introduce you to Corinne Heffron.

Corinne, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I have always been fascinated by the earth. As a young girl, my family would take camping trips almost every weekend in the fall and summer. I spent most of the trips either looking up at the stars or down at the ground; always searching. I wanted to see all the shooting stars, the satellites and the inexplainable. I wanted all the pretty rocks, shiny, colorful or unique. I would pretend they came from outer space or a different plane of existence. I wanted to believe in magic and fairies. As I got older I realized that magic did indeed exist, you just had to look at the magnificence of Mother Nature. Nature is the ultimate magician. She can take a piece of coal and turn it into a diamond. Her water and wind can smooth a glass shard into the softest, silkiest tumble. Dig down just a little into the earth and you can find jewels in a myriad of colors. She can catch a rainbow in a piece of quartz and create an ocean in a piece of jasper. Each blade of grass, flower, tree, the cloud is its masterpiece. Growing up I didn’t have the means or the resources to pursue this passion, so I went to college and graduated with a degree in history. I moved to Arizona to be with my husband, not realizing Arizona had one of the biggest gem and mineral shows in the world right in Tucson. I became a stay at home mom with my first of four children ten years ago and got lost in motherhood. As my children started to grow and go to school I found I once again had time to pursue my interests and I immediately started looking at rock pages on Facebook and Instagram. I started buying rocks and researching where they came from and how they were made. Soon I had a very big collection. I would tell anyone who would listen to them. The fact that they were both beautiful and completely natural captivated me. My husband suggested I open my shop, with his help. With his knowledge of business and my knowledge of rocks we decided it was worth a shot.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Running a small business is a lot more time consuming than I realized. It has been hard finding a good balance between family and business. I refuse to let my children be neglected so it has been a painfully slow process getting the website up and running and getting all inventory photographed and up on the page. I have been selling on Instagram with live sales and my children constantly interrupt them. They just want to be a part of it all. I strive to be completely transparent with my customers so I feature my children as much as the rocks and crystals on my page. It sometimes can take me a few too many days to ship orders out because one child might be sick, another might have a game or concert and I refuse to miss those things. So far I have not had any problems with customers being unhappy with shipment times. They are all very understanding that family will come first. Regardless it has been one of the most rewarding jobs I’ve ever had and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Please tell us about your business.
I named the business Dark Desert Minerals because I love the desert sky at night. Since moving to Queen Creek I spend all my time outside at night staring up at the stars. They are so much brighter out here than in Chandler or Gilbert (we used to live in both cities). The farther out in the desert you go, the better the view. I still believe in magic and watching a star streak across the sky is one of the purest forms. I also believe many of the rocks and crystals I sell shine like a star at night. Points, clusters, fractures; they all give off the most brilliant pops of color, whether it be pure light or rainbows. I try hard to make sure my crystals are ethically sourced and of the highest grade. I also try to have a selection that varies in price so anyone can come to my site and find something they both like and are willing to pay for. Those just starting will find a variety of stones in multiple colors and shapes that are affordable and beautiful. I also try to have something for the more serious collector. I have some amazing pieces of garnet, gorgeous cubic fluorite with chalcopyrite on matrix, and some UV reactive calcite with pyrite. I am also will to work with customers on payments and if they change their minds on a piece I’m ok with that. A lot of sellers on Instagram will block people from deciding to put something back or needing a few extra days to pay. I won’t do that. I understand impulse shopping and I never want anyone to feel like they have to buy something simply because they made a rash decision.

So, what’s next? Any big plans?
I want to open a brick and mortar store one day. There isn’t anything out this way that would compete. I’d like to organize classes and informational hikes. I know that the mineral societies do this already, but I would like to have room in my shop where the talks and/or meetings could be held. I also want to sell in more markets. I’ve been selling at the Queen Creek Family Market for the last couple of months and it has been some of the most fun I’ve had in a while. I love meeting new people and talking with them about my collection. The best part is seeing the passion spark in a young person’s eyes. I always have little bags of rocks ready to hand out to the little geologist that walks into my booth. If I can get the young ones to start thinking of the planet as our most prized asset maybe their generation will demand we take better care of it. I’d love to take trips to my suppliers all over the world and see first hand how they mine all the different minerals and maybe even try my hand at mining myself. One of my biggest dreams is to own my mine.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.darkdesertminerals.com
• Phone: 877-8-QUARTZ
• Email: info@darkdesertminerals.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/darkdesertminerals/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Dark-Desert-Minerals-103578877674930/

Image Credit:
Corinne Heffron

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