Hey now!
My name is PuTzu.
Pu means “the uncarved block”
Tzu means “child”
Both of these names come from Taoism, an ancient Chinese philosophy of balance and Tzu came to be used for masters of any discipline because the master must be childlike in his innocence and understanding of the world about him.
The master knows that he knows nothing.
We look forward to hearing from you.
I am a modern day treasure hunter and a Deadhead. I have been collecting rocks for over 40 years and have been to 1000’s of live concerts. I attended over 200 Grateful Dead shows, and countless other Dead related shows.
The Uncarved Block was born as a partnership between Paul Forster and myself. Paul was the president of the Santa Rosa Gem and Mineral Society and I was a member. I had always dreamed of having a little shop where I could sell my treasures, and Paul, recently having retired, had always dreamed of running a store as well. I took Paul out for dinner and over a couple of beers we decided that I would travel the world in search of treasure and Paul would run the store. We were an instant match and the partnership that is The Uncarved Block LLC. was born.
That incarnation of The Uncarved Block lasted for nearly 10 years. Paul was moving on in life, and I was tired of “being tied down” to a store, so we decided to close the retail store in Sebastopol in March of 2016.
PuTzu continues to source minerals and sell them on the web and at a few shows around the US and Europe.
Click on Crystal and Mineral Specimens, at the top of the page to see some of the latest treasure we have here on the website, available for sale.
I have scoured 5 continents in search of gems and minerals and Grateful Dead related treasures. I have had a passion for these things for over 40 years and they are just about my favorite things in the world.
I love the chase, and just having had the treasure is my fulfillment. I don’t feel the need to keep these treasures. Actually I don’t even have a place that I would keep them. I do, however, need to finance my obsession, so I offer these treasures to you at fair prices so that I can continue the journey and the adventure.
This way we all win…you get great treasures and I get to keep adventuring to get them.
Please feel free to contact me at any time using this link to reach my contact form.
Thanks for your support…Help me to get to all 7 continents and find more treasures for everybody.
Follow me on my Facebook to see me in action and have first shot at some of the treasures before they even make it here to the site.
Pu Tzu,
enjoy