Johnson's Gems moves locations
Johnson's Gems and Collectibles in Wallace is moving into two new locations, one at 611 Cedar (pictured) and 418 6th Street.
Photo by MOLLY ROBERTS
Online edition has been edited
WALLACE — Johnson’s Gems and Collectibles will continue to be the one-stop shop for beautiful gems, minerals, historical items and collectibles in Wallace; however, they will be moving locations.
The shop will be divided into two locations, one on 611 Cedar St. in Wallace, and one at 418 6th Street, behind Cogs, but "still at the Center of the Universe."
“Both store locations will have a little bit of everything,” said business owner Brenda Johnson. “We are going to have two locations open for at least the next season. We will do all our online sales at 611 Cedar with the collectibles on display, and my son Fred will do more of the custom work at 418 6th Street.”
The family is incredibly knowledgeable on rocks and minerals, due in part to their previous jobs in mining and first-hand experience in understanding what a truly unique rock or mineral is.
The shop was opened in 2015 on the corner of Sixth and Bank, in the former White and Bender Building, when Brenda’s husband Eddie and son Fred began digging for Idaho star garnets and creating jewelry out of them. The star garnet can only be found in India and the Idaho Panhandle National Forest and has the unique property that causes some of them to display a reflection of a four or six-pointed star.
One of the more unique features of Johnson’s Gems is the Galaxy Room, which features all of the fluorescent minerals and rocks under a black light, with a cardboard cutout of Elvis overseeing the spectators.
“This is really hard to let go of. This is the baby of the building, that we are so connected to,” Johnson said. “I wish I could just remove this whole room and bring it with us. We’ll plan on recreating it across the street.”
The shop also has an incredible collection of collectibles, including a case dedicated to Micheal Jordan, signed sports Wheaties boxes, comic books, and much more, which will be moved over to the Cedar Street location.
Brenda will be at the new location at 611 Cedar during the SkiJor event, Feb. 17-19.
“I’ll be at that location front and center for SkiJor, even if it’s handing out hot cocoa or coffee. We must be out of this building at the end of March.”
For more information on Johnson’s Gems and Collectibles, visit its Facebook page or website at https://johnsonsgems.com/ or call 208-556-0983.