By William Smith
The beginning of Natural Inspirations on Jefferson Street can be traced back to a single geode.
Owners Dave and Karmen Smith keep that geode on prominent display — not just for its history, but for its beauty. Dave and Karmen are a couple of rock hounds and understand the aesthetics they deal with.
The beauty of a geode before it’s cracked is the mystery of what’s inside. That goes double for the geodes found in Southeast Iowa, which have more unique crystal and mineral combinations than anywhere in the world.
These (geodes) are 350 million years old, so we always open one up and say, ‘You’re the first one to ever see inside,’” Dave Smith said.
From geodes to healing stones, Natural Inspirations covers the gamut of rock gifts. But the geode that started it all, discovered by Dave’s grandfather, is not for sale.
“He actually got the park to be Geode Park, and named it for his favorite thing in the area — geodes. In 1967, he got the geode to be the state rock,” Smith said.
Smith’s grandfather, E.N. Smith, formed a group in 1937 that raised money and purchased land to create Lake Geode, prompting the dedication of the surrounding area as state parkland in 1951.
“We have just such a long history with the geodes, it’s just spurred everything else that you see today,” Smith said.
Dave started traveling with his grandfather and parents to rock trade shows and became quite close to his grandfather. He was as smart as a college professor, Dave said, maybe smarter.
“He was quite a guy. He just had a real love for it. He passed that on to my dad, of course,” Dave said.
Natural Inspirations spans three generations, starting with E.N. Smith.
“He started during the Great Depression. Things were tough, but he discovered geodes around here. There was a way for him to make some money when other people weren’t,” Dave Smith said. “It started out as Geode Industries, and we had the manufacturing division for tumblers. And we were American Gem Supply as well.”
The shop was in New London for decades and moved to downtown Burlington at the turn of the century. For a while, the Smith family ran an insurance business while creating Geode Industries. The company manufactured a rock tumbler invented by Dave’s father in the late 1960s.
“In the early 70s, I worked with him on developing an electronic version, in the mid-70s, we sold that all over the world. He had 11 patents on it, had dealers in Australia, Germany, Switzerland, and just really all over the place. So it blossomed,” Smith said.
Dave and Karmen got married in 1983, and it would be easy to assume she developed a passion for rocks because of him. But unbeknownst to Dave, Karmen used to shop at the rock stands his parents at Midwest Old Threshers every year. Later on, Dave’s father – Earl — would put Karmen through college courses related to rocks.
“I lived next to Old Threshers when I was a kid, and I used to go over there and buy tons of rocks,” Karmen said.
After getting married in 1983, Carmen took over the jewelry business and retail end of the shop. When the new highway bypassed New London, they moved the shop to Burlington for more visibility. Dave is a full-service jeweler, as well.
The manufacturing end of the business is no longer a part of Natural Inspirations, though.
“We sold the manufacturing business to some friends in California. So they own the patents and everything on the tumblers now,” Dave Smith said.
The shop is going strong. Anytime Dave and Karmen decide to take a vacation, they simply have to sell a few rocks from a vendor stand when they arrive. It usually pays for the travel.
“When we go, we’ll stop at places on the way and do some hunting in different locations. We’ll talk with local rock shops and just try to keep fresh with the industry,” Dave said.
Dave continues to look over Lake Geode in his grandfather and father’s stead. In 2016, Dave Smith headed up a new Lake Geode friends group that works on creating community involvement and helping re-energize the park.
That includes a concession stand, which Smith has been raising money for with special events at Geode for several years.
“We actually have a work weekend this weekend to do some construction on the inside of the concession stand,” Smith said. “Once we get that done, we’re going to move on to getting electrical put in it, which will be a big step for us. And then we can do interior finishing,” he said.
Smith is hoping to have the concession stand open by next summer. Next to geodes, his shop, and his family, it’s the thing Dave cares most about.
“It’s just been an interesting life and way to grow up, and I am very grateful,” he said.