I am 55 years old and have been interested in gems and minerals since I was a small child. I cut my first cabochon when I was ten years old and was an avid lapidary through my teens and twenties. However, I eventually let life overtake my interest in lapidary and I was absent from it for over 15 years. I became active again in 2006. Since then I have taken back up slabbing and cabbing, faceting, and have in recent years learned silversmithing and am now learning casting.