As a small child I collected rocks, and that collection included a small bismuth crystal.
Many years later I saw a picture of a bismuth crystal posted on a page I follow; I went to look for the piece I remembered having but could not find it. After some investigating, I discovered you can make them at home. It looked like such a cool science experiment. So, I watched some videos and made a very basic set up in my garage. It took a few tries to get even the smallest crystals, but from then on, I was hooked. Over three years later I have made thousands of crystals, and each one is a surprise. I originally gave them away but as they got bigger and better, I started selling them. I then thought of recording how I made them. I started posting the short videos on social media. Initially to show others how it could be done. The videos seemed quite popular, so I kept making them and in the last 6 months I have gained a respectable following on social media. Some facts about bismuth; it is an elemental metal, it is #83 on the periodic table right next to lead. It is the most dense, non-radioactive element. It melts at about 270C. Once the metal is melted the fun begins! As it cools slowly, the crystals start to form around the object in the center. Each bismuth crystal is a piece of unique geometry with no two alike.