Hi,

I have collected minerals since 1994. Most of the specimens in my collection is self collected, simply because there are some excellent location safely within a daytrip from my home in Søgne, Norway. In particular, the pegmatite district of Evje and Iveland are just a 1 1/2 hour drive away, and the skarns of Kristiansand are just 30 min away.
Also the famous alkali pegmatite area of Langesundsfjord is within the reach of a daytrip.

However, an increasing portion of my collection is a result of "rockhounding" in shows and shops. It is just not possible to find everything myself, not that it has ever been a goal.

It is not only the beauty of the minerals interests me, but also the formation of rocks and the chemistry of the individual minerals. They all tell a fascinating story, as does the histories told by the mines, the miners and the societies built on occurances of ores and minerals.

Please note that some of the images I have posted are minerals from my friends collections, such as the aeschynite-Y on this page.