Interested In Joining A Lapidary Club?

You shouldn’t have to drive four hours to pursue a hobby, at least that’s the way Damien Reginato sees it.

Damien’s interest?

Lapidary - the identifying, cutting, shaping and polishing of rocks and gems.

“I’ve been watching a few of the mining shows on Youtube,” Damien said. “You have to travel far and wide.

“Wagga was the closes, other than Bathurst and I wasn’t going to travel four hours for a hobby.

“I am really interested, though.”

Damien reached out on social media to see if there were other people in Griffith that might be interested in forming a club and learning more about lapidary together.

“We have about 20 to 30 people interested so far that have expressed interested,” he said.

As he got started, though, he realised the there was a lot more involved in getting a group up and running than he had at first assumed.

“It was a lot more work than I actually thought,” Damien said.

“You have to be registered with an ABN and then an organisation.”

Someone suggested he approach an organisation that was already set up and start his group under their auspices.

“The Men’s Shed has offered to come on board with me,” Damien said.

“They have to take it to a board meeting first, but if the board meeting agrees, it is a go.”

In the meantime, Damien is looking into a couple of funding grants to help kick the group off.

“My main goal was to set up some vocational stuff and get the kids involved on the holidays,” he said.

“As the club grows, I’d like to organise a once-a-year club trip to different locations and do some fossicking.

“Me and my partner have been doing it for a while.

“We get the kids out of the house and back into nature.”

Damien will keep interested parties posted via his Facebook page.

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• Hobbies