Connecting Communities: White Feather Rocks

Loretta and Jim Moshier (left-right), owners of White Feather Rocks in Santaquin, with the plaque they received from the Payson and Santaquin Area Chamber of Commerce after their shop was named Business of the Month for November 2016. 

Chamber President Lou Ballamis at the shop.

Take a walk inside White Feather Rocks at 27 West Main, Santaquin, and you will find that, sometimes, there is no substitution for brick-and-mortar shopping.  The shop’s aura, its gifts shining brilliantly beneath gentle lights, the treasures placed delicately in baskets and on shelves, and the aromatic atmosphere offer a small piece of heaven.

The shop, which opened earlier this year, has been chosen as the November Business of the Month by the Payson and Santaquin Area Chamber of Commerce.  It’s easy to see why.  Co-owners Jim and Loretta Moshier have created a gem of a business.

Chamber member Dawn Davis checks out the quartz.

Taking part in a celebration of the business’s award, The Payson Chronicle invited the couple to share their story, as well as the origins and plans for White Feather Rocks.  Here is their response:

Jim needed an extra few credits way back when while he was going to college. He was under major stress working long hours and going to school. One of the open classes was in lapidary, which is working and polishing stones. He found it very relaxing to polish and bring out the beauty in rocks.

Loretta got into lapidary when she found a box of “pretty” rocks at a neighborhood yard sale. Turned out that the rocks were Mexican Fire Opals and she could use them for jewelry making.  Loretta took classes in cabbing stones, wire wrapping and soldering silver, from their good friends and mentors, Jack and Ben Clements at Simple Elegance in Orem.

Together they took the leap and bought some used lapidary equipment and started their garage hobby. That of course, led to collecting different stones, rockhounding with friends on weekends and learning how to make the rocks beautiful.

They both worked semi-retirement jobs with Nebo school district, Jim as an activity bus driver and Loretta as a bus technician, working with special needs students.  In 2015, Loretta was in a car accident that left her unable to pick up the children or help with the wheelchairs so she was left with extra time on her hands. She started working the stones and found, like Jim, it to be relaxing and stress relieving. In the winter the garage grew too cold to work comfortably, so Loretta started wholesaling jewelry out of the house to supplement her lost income. Jim found a great deal on some display cases, and suddenly the garage was a full shop.   Still, with the same issues of being too hot or too cold, they decided that if they could make enough to pay the rent on a storefront, it was worth taking a chance.  Now with new equipment, and good climate conditions, things are going full time.

Jim gave up his activity driving which took him out of town for long periods, and now drives a kindergarten route which allows more time for the shop.

The main criteria for a shop was that it be in Santaquin and that it was on Main street. After having the shop at 27 W. Main for the last 8 months, (and making the rent) the decision was made to buy the building at 33 W Main and expand to a larger space. White Feather Rocks got its name from when they were at a crossroads on whether to start a business, or just keep doing lapidary as a hobby. Loretta was at home in the upstairs window daydreaming and longing for inspiration from above. Out of nowhere, a white feather drifted down gently past the window and into the backyard. She ran down to retrieve it, and showed it to Jim. Both agreed that it was all of the sign that they needed. Since then, they have discovered many mentions of white feathers bearing messages from angels/heaven. Even the Native American tribes have stories of the symbolism of white feather messages.

One of the first things to see is the fossil area. Jim has a collection of bones and teeth that he loves to share with the kids. He even has a casting of an Iguanadon footprint. The new shop will give room to expand both the rock and gift areas. There are 30 varieties of rock on order just waiting to be brought into the new shop. Jim has brought his larger saws down to the work room so that he can slab stones to order on site. He also can cut geodes in half and polish the edges. He will also have an area where students can learn to polish and cab stones.

There is a section dedicated to gold panning, with paydirt, pans, screens and sluice boxes. They also rent metal detectors for the weekend treasure hunter. They are authorized dealer of EZCab polishing machine and carry or can order in rock saws and tumblers of many sizes.

There will also be a classroom to teach wire wrapping, jewelry making and to have a life coach teach self-improvement, addiction, and whole health classes.  Our life coach is Sandra Benedict, who has a website,  www.rmtherapies. We will also be able to do personal essential oil blends.

The healing stone area gives a variety of stones and crystals for Reiki, Chakra and health uses. There is also sage, cedar, spices and supplies for smudging.

The shop does lapidary, jewelry,  silver work, Old Pawn Native American jewelry, Navajo jewelry and artwork, western art, gifts, raw rock, jewelry classes, and has a large fossil collection. They love to have Scout groups and class field trip groups tour the shop and are planning a special “Children’s corner”.

The hardest part about opening a business in a small town is that you want to give everyone the “Family Discount”. Everyone is a friend, and it’s fun to try to find just the right thing they are looking for. They plan to do more online, but will miss the personal contact and friendships they have developed. Time off is hard to get too, but fortunately they have Pat Ames, who is also a bus driver to cover the shop for a few hours on Mondays. Pat is also the bookkeeper, and keeps things solvent and legal.

Jim and Loretta have been married 30+ years, and have two daughters, the oldest is a Sheriff deputy in California, and the younger is a Social worker in SLC. They have 3 1/2 perfect grandchildren, and have fostered over 50 children in our home over the years, and still have close contact with several of the foster children.  They have lived in Santaquin for 11 years, and worked with neighborhood watch, scouts and CERT. They have dogs, chickens, canaries and a turtle. Jim owns a classic Harley, is a cancer survivor and a Viet Nam veteran (Marine Corp) He has retired 3 times, but nothing stuck. He plans on trying again soon. Loretta in past life was an EMT, Security Officer for federal buildings, and a process server. She rescues animals on a regular basis, and keeps busy with the shop. They like to travel to see family and visit the Navajo Nation to get new jewelry and art for the shop.  They try to go rockhounding every other weekend, time and weather permitting.