2024 AAPS Advocate John Issa, Enchanted Designs LTD
John Issa of Enchanted Designs was victorious in his bid for the prestigious Bill Mason PaleoBond Lab Coat at the annual 2024 AAPS Dinner and Auction. Along with the honor of possessing the lab coat for one year until this year's annual Dinner and Auction on February 8, 2025, he is also garnered the title of AAPS Advocate for 2024-2025 year. This allows him, and his company, Enchanted Designs, to be acknowledged and promoted in the 2025 AAPS Annual Guide.
John is no stranger to the AAPS or volunteering for roles that advance commercial paleontology and education in Earth Sciences. He first joined the AAPS as a board member in 2007. He would stay on the board of AAPS for five years until 2011 when he then accepted a role on the Executive Board of AAPS as Secretary/Treasurer. He stayed on as Secretary/Treasurer until 2013. He then went on to become Vice President of the AAPS from 2013 until 2016 and then President of the AAPS from 2016 until 2020. After 2020, he stayed on the Executive Board of AAPS for three more years in the role of Junior Past President until 2023. He now currently sits as a board member and is on the AAPS Publication Committee and is one of the admins for the AAPS Facebook page.
John is also a member of the Alberta Paleontological Society and is a board member on the Dinosaur Research Institute in his home of Alberta, Canada. The DRI is an organization similar to the AAPS in that it awards many grants, scholarships and bursaries to students in the field of Paleontology. John was also instrumental in setting up the Rene Vandervelde Research Grant which awards $1000 annually to available, qualified researchers working on the marine paleontology, geology, or stratigraphy of the Late Cretaceous Pierre and Bearpaw Shales of North America. This grant was initiated through the AAPS in 2007 in the name of Canada Fossils founder, Rene Vandervelde, and is still around today. This grant is now funded by Korite Ammolite Ltd.
Although John is known for his work with colourful Canadian ammonites, he has worked with many different types of fossils in North America, both vertebrate and invertebrate, over his career. He started his professional paleontological career in 1999 with Canada Fossils Ltd. Canada Fossils specialized in colourful Canadian ammonites but were also known to work with many other fossils. They were one of the largest "real" dinosaur companies in the world having dug, prepared and sold more than 30 real dinosaur skeletons from Northwestern Montana. These skeletons can still be viewed today in Natural History Museums across North America, Asia, Europe and The Middle East. Canada Fossils also worked with the Government of Canada and the Province of Quebec digging for Devonian fish from the Gaspé Peninsula's Escuminac Formation in Miguasha, Quebec, Canada. These amazing fish fossils can be seen in many of the world's natural history museums thanks to the efforts of Canada Fossils. This area is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Canada Fossils is also known for working with the Province of British Columbia, Canada, digging Triassic fish from the Sulphur Mountain Formation of Wapiti Lake. Canada Fossils Ltd. stopped doing business under that name in 2016.
John has been attending the Tucson show yearly since 2000 and has been known to work with one of the most colourful items and fossils in existence; colourful Canadian ammonites. Over the years, John has sold many hundreds of these amazing fossils to museums, private collectors, interior designers and institutions. John has been working with these amazingly beautiful fossils for more than 25 years.
Canadian ammonites and the gemstone Ammolite are found only in one small, six-square-mile, area of North America; southern Alberta, Canada. Together with his current employer, Enchanted Designs, they mine for and prepare colourful Canadian ammonites from the Bearpaw Formation. The future is bright for Enchanted Designs, having just opened a four-acre new mining area. John and team are looking forward to seeing the ammonites and the Ammolite gems that will be coming from this new area!
 Enchanted Designs is a Canadian mining company focusing on Canadian ammonite fossils, the Ammolite gemstone and Ammolite jewellery production. All their fossils are hand-restored, gemstones are hand-cut-and-polished and jewellery is hand-set in the heart of "Ammolite Country", Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. They work with professionals, amateurs and institutions around the globe. The company was conceived by Tom Chant in 1988 to provide the finest quality colourful Canadian ammonite fossils, Ammolite gemstones and Ammolite jewellery to private collectors, researchers and museums. They have been mining for Ammolite with heavy machinery since 2013. Enchanted Designs is a proud business member of the AAPS, a member of the AGTA and an alumni member of the GIA. Beyond the Tucson Show, Enchanted Designs can be found at the Denver Show as well as numerous shows in Hong Kong throughout the year.
Be sure to pop by the Enchanted Designs booth while in Tucson to say 'hello' to Johnny and the whole Enchanted Designs team. As usual, they will be displaying in the Pueblo Gem and Mineral Show at the Ramada Hotel, Canopy 19 from January 30 to February 11, 2025.
Johnny can be reached on his same cellular number for the past 20 years at +1 403 860-1598. His email address is johnny@enchanteddesigns.ca or on the Enchanted Designs website at https://ammolitestones.com
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