Back to our roots
Get out, explore your own corner of the map, and make something from what you find. That's the whole idea. Come along.
The trips start from the Langley / Aldergrove area. It’s all run by Phil Gropp, who holds a BC Free Miner Certificate. Most spare time goes into getting out into British Columbia: the Fraser Canyon, the Cariboo, the Nicola country, and the high volcanic ground around Black Dome. We go by 4x4, quad, dual-sport and adventure bike. Sometimes friends and family come along. We stop to explore, look at rock, stake the odd claim, and see what's there.
It started with a love of the outdoors: camping, fishing, hunting, and long days on the land. Time out there grew into a fascination with geology and the history behind every place along the way. Some of what turned up on those trips seemed to ask to come home, so it did, and slowly it became something new. Each piece built a little more confidence, a few more skills and a few more tools. Today that's a solid metal shop and a small wood and lapidary shop, growing as time and money allow.
Shop time is an escape, not a production line. A rock sample, a shed antler or an interesting piece of wood comes home from a trip and becomes something: a mount, a piece of furniture, something for the wall. Each one is one of a kind, because the trip only happens once.
Claim & Craft is where it all comes together: the journal, the films (YouTube is coming), the workshop, and some of the rock and minerals we bring back. The hope is that it sparks your own creativity and gets you out exploring where you live.
We live in a beautiful world. Humans spent thousands of years out on the land, and these days too much of life happens on screens, in cubicles, or chasing things that won't mean much in the end. So let's get back to our roots and spend more time outside. Science and technology are just tools, and the best use for them is helping us understand the story the land already tells.
You don’t need a claim to start. Pick a back road near home, see what’s there, and bring something back to make with. If you want to talk rocks, a piece, or a trip, drop us a line.
See you out there.
Out in the BC coastal rainforest.