Suzanne Morrison has always loved rocks.

As a little kid, she would fill her pockets to bring them home. Then something happened that lit a fire.

“I got hooked at the (Arizona-Sonora) Desert Museum when we moved here when I was 10,” she said. “The geology cave with all the rocks and you walk out and there’s the wulfenite and you can see it, what it would look like on the rock and then they had the place where they salted it and you could pick up all the pieces. I would walk out with pockets full.”

It’s no surprise that in college she decided she would be a geologist. Morrison has worked as a ranger, at Meteor Crater and Colossal Cave and for a friend who had a business that specialized in meteorites, which sparked another fire. Now she’s a business owner.

At Raining Rocks, an online shop, Morrison and partner and fiancee Ilana Brin sell meteorites, petrified wood, old minerals and lots of other shiny stuff such as amethyst that comes out of the earth.

Three times a week, the pair go live online to talk all things geology and, hopefully, sell a few (or a lot) of their rather large inventory of rocks.

For collectors with money in their pockets, Morrison and Brin have specimens of meteorites, slices of the moon and the planet Mars and amethyst (among a lot of other rocks) that are priced into the thousands of dollars.

For the “rock curious,” however, they have the same stuff, just smaller. Lots smaller.

“We have meteorites for everyone, from $5 to $10,000,” Brin said. “We have rocks from $1 to $10,000. We have something for everyone. … You don’t have to be super wealthy to have a piece of the moon.”

It is during the live feeds and at their property during the gem show that Raining Rocks and its owners really shine. They are a safe space for anyone who interacts with them.

“One of the neatest things we’ve built is a really amazing, accepting online community that comes on during our live feeds,” Morrison said. “A lot of neurodivergent, a lot of queer folks that come through…”

“… People who are seeking community that also have an interest in rocks, minerals and meteorites,” Brin said.

“It’s very welcoming and it’s very kind,” Morrison added.

Education is a large part of the live feeds.

“The goal originally was to sell rocks and it ended up being to educate,” Brin said. “I call it pressing the button. If someone presses the ‘Suzanne button’ she goes into a … deep dive about everything related to meteorites, to all the different types of meteorites, to everything there is to know about meteorites.”

The pair operate with the thought that there is no such thing as a stupid question.

“Ask how this rock formed, ask how this meteorite got here,” Brin said. “

Typically, they do a live feed at 5 p.m. on Sunday, Tuesday and Friday on the social media site Whatnot. They also have a Facebook page and are on TikTok and Instagram.

Two years ago, they purchased the former Kino Rocks and Minerals, situated on a beautiful property near Tucson International Airport. The purchase included attentive neighbors who watch over things, plenty of rough lapidary material, several good-sized hunks of petrified wood and stacks of boxes filled with old collection stones, all stored neatly in the backyard and in a couple of outbuildings where they hope in time to open their shop.

Until then, find them online with goods that are priced to suit any budget and that they can be found at their live feed.

“Whatever the price range is, we try to make sure we have a wide price range and that way everyone can get one,” Morrison said. 

For both Brin and Morrison, although the sale is important, what really matters is the education that comes with the purchase.

“My whole goal starting (this company) is education,” Morrison said. “Secondary is sales. The sales support it so I can continue the education.” 

Raining Rocks

Join Suzanne Morrison and Ilana Brin on one of their live feeds here: bit.ly/4rcnCm7

Find their website here: itsrainingrocks.com