Aug. 22, 2024
Seventy-nine-year-old Leroy Story has been collecting rocks since he was young. A year ago, he turned his passion for collecting rocks and driftwood into a jewelry business.
“When my wife passed away, I needed a new hobby,” Story said. “Our family has always been rock collectors, and I have a big rock garden in my yard.”
Story’s hobby became LJ’s Earthly Goods, handmade jewelry using rocks and driftwood from Lake Superior and glacier lakes in South Dakota.
“I drill the rocks, polish them and started making necklaces with leather strings.”
His daughter got involved with the business too. Jami does beadwork and helps come up with design ideas, he said.
“My daughter has a good imagination and is good with design,” Story said. “One of my grandsons will come and help sometimes too.”
Lately, Story has been working with petrified wood. He said the pieces are small, but once they are polished, “they’re beautiful.”
“I’ve been looking for new ideas,” Story said. “The driftwood has worked well for making keychains, and I’m getting into driftwood art. I don’t know if it will sell, but it’s fun to make.”
Story said he has been adding polished rocks to his driftwood pieces.
“My favorite thing is getting out hunting for the rocks,” Story said. “Lake Superior is amazing. We go to the North Shore and the glacier-formed lakes — you really never know what you’ll find.”
LJ’s Earthly Goods’ pieces will be sold at the 605 Made Night Market from 3 to 9 p.m. Saturday in the Raven parking lot at Sixth Street and Phillips Avenue. More than three dozen vendors and food trucks will be at the free event, which includes entertainment throughout.
“I have a friend who’s a geologist; he’s worked on almost every continent,” Story said. “He teaches me so much about rocks. No two rocks are like.”
Story said he has attended many craft shows and “hasn’t seen any businesses like ours.”
“The rocks are created by God,” Story said. “And they’re gifts that he’s given us to share with others.”
Follow the 605 Made Night Market on Facebook here.
605 Made is co-organized by Knotty Gnome Variety & Salvage and SiouxFalls.Business. It’s sponsored by The First National Bank in Sioux Falls and Dakota Business Finance.
Here’s your guide to shopping, food, entertainment at Saturday’s 605 Made Night Market
