You never know what sits behind closed doors.
Take, for example, The Co-op, Mineral and Fossil Galleries on Oracle Road. Several wholesale and retail outlets are housed there but inside these outlets are the most amazing relics. On one side is a vast collection of trilobite fossils, including many big eyes and unbroken spikes. Never mind that what can only be described as buglike are about 2 or 3 inches long, so big bugs.
On the opposite side of the hall is the aptly-named Geoworld Gallery, a “store” that sells dinosaur and other high-end fossils and specializes in showing consumers how to display them as if they were pieces of art. Most of us might need a little help in how to display a huge triceratops skull.
Interestingly, as rare as Triceratops skulls are, in the fossil world they are considered common and therefore available, but bring your wallet.
“Triceratops skulls, believe it or not, we probably can sell about one a year,” said Kira Florence, vice president of sales and marketing for North America and COO for Geoworld Group. “I’ve heard them described as the rabbits of their period: rare because fossils are rare, but within the fossil world Triceratops are not necessarily as rare as some other dinosaur species.”
Many of us have visited the co-op during gem show season but four owner-members will open their stores to give Tucson another opportunity to get close to the distant past. From Friday, May 8, through Sunday, May 10, the doors will open for the co-op’s inaugural Spring Showcase. Four outlets will be open and ready to show off their best. They include:
Geoworld Gallery — Museum-quality fossils, minerals and natural history objects displayed as works of art under the Stefano Piccini Bespoke Nature collection. All are for sale.
Mineralphil Madagascar — Minerals and fossils originating from Madagascar, known for vibrant color and distinctive lapidary creations.
Rosman Mineral Rocks Corp. — Mineral specimens sourced from Mexico — obsidian, calcite, selenite, opal — as lapidary sculptures and decorative stones.
Sahara Sea Collection — Fossils, meteorites and minerals from Morocco, with a world-class trilobite collection and home of “Meg,” the world’s largest shark jaw.
Past co-op visitors might have noticed that what they see seems like world-class specimens. In fact, they are.
“Tucson really is where the museums come to find their pieces,” Florence said.
Dinosaur lovers recognize Stan the T. rex, which is one that passed through the Old Pueblo.
There is another side to paleontology, however, the retail consumer side and that’s another area where Geoworld shines.
“I was noticing we weren’t drawing the design crowd as much; it was still very niche — the collector,” Florence said.
A collector would find a piece they loved and want it for their home, but could be puzzled as to how to integrate it into a domicile.
“We’ve been working to make it more accessible for people to think about, “How do I live with nature in my house as art?’” Florence said.
According to Florence the part of Oracle Road where the co-op is located is turning into a kind of fossil and mineral stronghold for sellers. The co-op, however, was the first.
Across the hall from Geoworld is Sahara Sea Collection, where Bill “Doc Fossil” Barker has his store.
“We’re just the tail of the big dogs,” he said modestly of his mighty collection.
Barker is one of the founders. He owns and operates Sahara Sea Collection and his specialty is trilobites. Why? It’s the eyes.
“A compound eye is a multifaceted eye, like a spider or fly,” he said. “I was 45 years old and that word had never crossed my vocabulary. … I fell in love, eventually, with the compound eye, by force.”
Barker also has a collection — for sale of course — of ammonites. He has it displayed so visitors can see how ammonites evolved from the tube-like cephalopod.
No one can enter Sahara Sea Collection without noticing the world’s largest (so far) megalodon jaw. It was not dug up as one piece. Barker said the teeth were acquired and when he had a complete mouth’s worth, he had the jaw bones anatomically correctly cast and the teeth accurately placed.
Barker’s shop also houses a wholesale side, where shelves of specimens are displayed, some raw and some polished and shaped. Barker has one he likes the best, what he calls the juiciest and that’s the labradorite, a mineral with cobalt blue, pale green or brown iridescence. It’s sold by weight.
As he looked up and down the aisles of the shop shelves, he said, “It’s amazing to me how much ‘sleeps’ for all year,” but for the two weeks of the annual Tucson Gem and Mineral Show. With this new spring showcase, the specimens will wake up for the weekend.
Besides the fossils, three artists will showcase their work. They include:
Makoto Takigawa — A Japan-born, trained artist and a fossil preparator, Takigawa works reflects both his cultural roots and paleontological experience. His paintings explore time, movement and the energy of the natural world.
Jamelle Texeria Jr. — A Tucson-based visual artist specializing in paleoart, Texeria creates reconstructions of prehistoric life. Inspired by a lifelong passion for paleontology, his work brings animals from the Mesozoic and Cenozoic eras to life through both digital and traditional media.
Kathy Butterfield — A Tucson artist whose watercolor works celebrate the Sonoran Desert, Butterfield captures the unique spirit of the region.
The food truck Pupusería Rositas will be on-site, serving handmade Salvadoran pupusas — warm, griddled corn cakes filled with savory combinations like cheese, beans and pork and vegetarian options such as spinach or squash. Each is served with house-made curtido and salsa.
The Inaugural Spring Showcase
WHEN: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, May 8, through Sunday, May 10
WHERE: The Co-op, Mineral and Fossil Galleries, 1635 N. Oracle Road
COST: Free to get in but bring money for purchases
INFO: lp.constantcontactpages.com/cu/xTthvS2/mineralfossilcoop