Shaz and Russell Perks: Mystic Crystals
Following on from our last spotlight, we had a brief conversation with Shaz of Mystic Crystals on Facebook – and have been absolutely spoiled with another writeup from one of the longstanding dealers in South Africa, Mystic Crystals!
As written by Shaz Perks – Please check out their website here!
Mystic Crystals is owned and run by Shaz and Russell Perks; an online-only shop specializing in collectable mineral specimens. We used to stock a much broader range of products, but at the beginning of the year, we decided to move our focus to creating an offering you don’t see elsewhere in South Africa. Rarities, unusual stuff, high-grade specimens – these are the things that excite me personally, and so this is what we’re now fully focusing on. When it comes to sourcing our rare specimens, we work directly with a handful of trusted suppliers, established miners and knowledgeable collectors both locally and internationally. We’ve recently brought someone on board who is attending all the international shows and handpicking for us, which is extremely exciting.
The very first crystal I owned was a humble tumbled rose quartz that my mom had picked up and tumbled herself when she lived in Zimbabwe (at that time, Rhodesia). I turned it into a necklace in my 20s and miraculously still have it two decades later.
I first attempted opening an online-only crystal shop in the mid 2000s, after I got back from a whirlwind mineral road trip in Namibia, with just a hand-drawn map on the back of a Wimpy serviette to guide me. I returned – alive by luck – with some amazing stock, including incredible Brandberg crystals the size of my hand, and lovely tourmalines from the Erongo area, as well as a deeper understanding and whole new respect for miners that extracted them.
I was living in Ballito at the time, and I had a dream of selling online to the whole of South Africa. But at that stage, people in South Africa weren’t shopping online yet, let alone for something as niche as minerals and stones. It was probably the first of its kind in SA, and definitely too soon. I did markets until I eventually opened my first physical shop, Earth DNA, in the Valley of 1000 Hills, KwaZulu-Natal. When I moved to Cape Town in 2012, it was back to markets until I’d raised enough to reopen. I had Earth DNA in Plumstead on the Main Road for many years, lots of great memories there.
This new step is a huge risk. We’re hoping to find a whole new market that might not exist in South Africa as of yet. You have to be a little crazy to sell rocks for a living, so here we are, doing something crazy, again! Mystic Crystals (previously Mystic Cat) has been going since 2019, when we moved from Cape Town to live off-grid in a little rural village outside of Swellendam. The move was inspired by our desire to slow down, reconnect with nature, and focus on what really mattered to us. Embracing a quieter, more intentional lifestyle helped us shape Mystic Crystals into something meaningful that we could really pour our passion into.
For me personally, an online shop is the best way to put crystals and minerals out there. Each piece can be showcased with all its information right there. Russ has gotten amazingly skilled at taking specimen photos, and this year we have introduced videos for our best specimens.
There have for sure been some really tough times over the years of doing this. Crystals and minerals are essentially luxury items, so whenever the national or global market dips, it gets difficult to make ends meet. We both usually have at least one side hustle going to help us get through. In addition to market effects, new people and shops frequently pop up selling stones at low prices, undercutting the market, and then they’re gone a year or two later because the business model wasn’t sustainable – but the damage is done. In the last few years, Temu and such have come along and all the dealers have to contend with these massive international platforms, too. Often, customers just want the best deal rather than the best relationships, where stones are ethically sourced from long-term suppliers. Ethics is a tricky subject when it comes to selling rocks – we are ultimately a product of mining, which is inherently destructive. But there are ways to do things that are less harmful, that show respect to Mama Earth.
Since the start of my journey with the mineral kingdom, I’ve wanted to bridge the gap between the metaphysical and the geological worlds. Russ and I are both believers in the metaphysical properties of crystals and of an energetic world that we cannot see. Now, now, I know that all the geology-minded collectors just huffed with annoyance. That’s cool – each to their own, and I know very well the damage that dodgy folks in the metaphysical community have caused in the market. I’ll chat about that momentarily. My view on crystals and energy is one of curiosity and awe.
From a scientific standpoint, crystals have some truly remarkable properties. They can absorb energy, for example, heat energy, electricity, or light. Some crystals create energy, like pyroelectric crystals that generate electricity when heated, or triboluminescent crystals that emit light when struck. Crystals can be used to maintain a stable, high-frequency vibration – such as crystal oscillators found in computer chips and electronics. They can create energy fields and store energy, seen in magnetism, for example, and are also used to block or absorb energy, such as thermal or electrical insulation, or even to protect from radiation. These characteristics are well-established in geology, physics, and material science, and they’re used extensively for industrial purposes. Which, to me, is absolutely fascinating. How cool are crystals and minerals, right?
When it comes to metaphysical properties, our beliefs go beyond current scientific evidence. For instance, we know scientifically that all living beings generate an electrical field. But we also believe all living things contain a ‘life force’ – an energy that science cannot yet see or measure, but that we sense is there. To us, it’s an interesting idea to imagine that crystals could interact with that energy, even if the proof is not yet available.
Russ got interested in crystals through sacred geometry, and that led us to co-write Crystal Grids Demystified: An Introductory Workshop, which we self-published a few years ago, and looks at how to combine sacred geometry and crystal energy.
My latest book, Crystals Demystified: Your Ultimate Guide To Collecting And Working With The Mineral Kingdom, will be coming out late 2026 to early 2027. It’s being published by Collective Ink, a publishing house based in England, and will primarily be distributed in the UK and the US – we will definitely bring a batch of books to South Africa. Russ did the photography – it has over 300 colour photographs! It was incredibly exciting and lucky to find a publisher willing to take a chance on an unknown author from South Africa AND a full colour book in the current global market dip. We have a library of photographs from the years of Russ taking stock photos, so we had some standout specimens to choose from, supplemented with minerals from my personal collection. I love collecting unusual and rare specimens, so the book features some real treats, such as Wulfenite, Hiddenite, Bultfonteinite, Ephesite, Londonite, Roselite, Adamite, and more.
While the book is written for the metaphysical community, it’s not another A-Z “What does this crystal do” kind of book. I do have an introduction to energy and how crystals work with energy – You’ll also find chapters on how to identify crystals and minerals – over 13 tests you can do (from testing hardness to assessing habit and acid reactivity), plus a mineral assessment checklist. I give tips on how to build a valuable and interesting collection and what to look for in a specimen. Valuing a specimen can be hard to do, and there are many ‘rules of thumb’ that can be applied. There’s also information on what a ‘crystal’ is versus a ‘mineral’ versus a ‘rock’, common enhancements and fakeries in the industry—all sorts of interesting stuff. I address some of the biggest marketing scams that have hit the crystal community, which is going to ruffle a lot of feathers. But I truly believe this information is sorely lacking in the community, and the time has come to empower, educate, and uplift.
The metaphysical community has a terrible track record of snake oil salesmen taking people for a ride and causing a lot of ethically questionable price hikes. It’s created a rift between people who collect for the love of geology and people who believe that minerals have energetic properties. The metaphysical community has never been taken seriously, certainly not as serious collectors, and I want to change that. The gap has already begun to close. And spaces like this one can go a long way toward fostering more engagement and growth between the two communities.
My dream is to inspire a new generation of collectors, to reach more people and get them excited about collecting crystals and minerals. We have an opportunity to become guardians, custodians of Earth’s treasures. By caring for them and ensuring their safekeeping, we can help make sure they are passed on to the next generation. Minerals will be here long after we’re gone. We’re just their temporary caretakers.
If this vision resonates with you, I’d love for you to join our community. Connect with us on social media (MysticCrystals.ZA), or reach out directly
We’re always eager to share knowledge, chat about rare finds, and welcome new collectors. Let’s continue fostering spaces where curiosity and a passion for crystals and minerals are celebrated!
You can find us on Facebook, Instagram and Tiktok with the handle MysticCrystals.ZA
Visit our website and online mineral shop!