BUSINESS FEATURE
BY JISHNU NAIR
A ROCK SOLID SELECTION
“I’VE OFTENBUILT RELATIONSHIPSWITH PEOPLE OVER SMALL MISTAKESWHEN I CAN TALK TO THEM. THAT’S
Angel’s Rocks and Fossils o ers a variety of minerals.
HOW I’VE GOT PARTNERS I’VE WORKEDWITH FORYEARS.” DOUG WALSER, OWNER OF ANGEL’S ROCKS AND FOSSILS
Angel’s sells both cut and raw versions of minerals for jewelers and collectors alike, such as this uorite fromMexico.
Walser said a U.S. State Department cease and desist order means he can no longer source lapis lazuli from Afghanistan.
Walser typically keeps his amethyst in a separate room for preservation. This “crown jewel” is priced at over $4,000.
PHOTOS BY JISHNU NAIR COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
Angel’s Rocks and Fossils Cypress shop owner combines faith with passion I nside Angel’s Rocks and Fossils on Malcomson Road, rows of minerals and fossils are
Doug Walser opened Angel’s Rocks and Fossil’s Cypress shop in 2021, but has been with the business since 2004 when it was a xture in mineral shows.
Houston Gem and Mineral Show with a vendor’s table. However, Angel decided to make time for her children, leaving Walser to run the business, which was aiming for a brick-and-mortar store. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic and Winter Storm Uri, the Cypress location opened in March 2021. Walser, who spent his career in the oil and gas industry and still consults for local companies, picked up his mineral knowledge from the geologists who worked under him. When he became a rock shop owner, he also learned the impor- tance of relationships. “I’ve often built relationships with people over small mistakes when I can talk to them,” Walser said. “That’s how I’ve got partners
I’ve worked with for years.” Walser has contacts all over the world, from Brazil and Uruguay, where he sources amethyst and quartz, to his latest foray, Indonesia, where he buys red jasper. The advent of messaging apps such as WhatsApp means he no longer has to travel to nd new wares. Angel’s sells to other rock shops and welcomes direct customers. Walser said his current clientele is young people interested in “the metaphysical aspect” of minerals. Christian, and to me, it doesn’t,” he said. “I want them to come in. I rst came to church because they served hot dogs, not for spiritual advice … so I don’t care why people come in.” “People ask me if that goes against what I believe in as a
Angel’s Rocks and Fossils 12918 Malcomson Road, Cypress 346-336-6986 www.rocksandfossilsluke1940.com Hours: Tue-Sat. 10 a.m.-6 p.m., closed Sun.-Mon.
displayed on shelves, underneath lights designed to catch the eye. The shop’s wall features a quotation from the biblical book of Deuteronomy: “You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out.” For owner Doug Walser, the scrip- ture symbolizes the blend of faith and passion that goes into the store. “I want them to go out with a rock in one hand and Jesus in the other,” he said. Walser began Angel’s with his daughter Angelyn Davis—nick- named Angel—to support their Christian ministry. The duo started by touring shows such as the
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CY FAIR EDITION • FEBRUARY 2022
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