Our Story

Fossil Realm’s story begins in 1984 with Jim Lovisek and Liz Komisar, who founded the Toronto Nature Centre—a science camp inspiring young naturalists through workshops, live animal presentations and field trips. Their camp’s thriving fossil and mineral gift shop eventually grew into a full-time store in Toronto, attracting fossil collectors across Ontario.

Liz Komisar (left) is the co-founder of the Toronto Nature Centre and former Media Relations Director at the Royal Ontario Museum. Photo Credit: Miss Chatelaine (1978).

Toronto Nature Centre campers explore a local wetland. The camp introduced youths to the natural sciences through ambitious field trips and engaging classroom projects. 

In 2002, their son Peter Lovisek launched Fossil Realm as a small-scale online venture, initially selling through platforms like eBay. Building on his early exposure to fossils and minerals, Peter brought a curatorial vision that emphasized quality, trust, and accessibility.

As digital platforms matured, Fossil Realm embraced the tools that would shape the modern fossil trade. In 2012, the company launched FossilRealm.com, introduced SEO and online advertising, and opened a 1,500-square-foot warehouse and showroom in Toronto. This period marked a transition toward professionalization and digital growth, with Fossil Realm becoming an early adopter of visual storytelling, search-driven discovery, and remote high-value transactions.

Peter Lovisek exhibiting at the Bancroft Rockhound Gemboree (2013). In the early years of the company, many specimens were displayed at trade shows across Ontario.

Inside the Fossil Realm showroom in Toronto, Ontario (2015). Located in a 2000 square-foot warehouse, it was open to the public several times a year from 2012 to 2017.

By 2017, the company had shifted fully online—focusing on global outreach, acquisitions, and private sales of museum-grade specimens to collectors, institutions, and investors around the world.

Peter Lovisek poses with "E.T." - a famous Camarasaurus skeleton on disaplay at the Aathal Dinosaur Museum near Zurich, Switzerland.  

In 2024, Fossil Realm reestablished a physical presence with a gallery and office in Ottawa’s Glebe neighborhood, offering curated showings and continuing its hybrid model of digital accessibility and private consultation.

Today, Fossil Realm operates as a specialist natural history gallery and consultancy, known for curating exceptional fossils, minerals, and meteorites. The company continues to explore new models of collecting and access, including a partnership with Konvi, a leading fractional ownership platform that allows clients to invest in rare natural history assets.

From its roots in education and public engagement to its role in the evolving global fossil market, Fossil Realm remains dedicated to helping people connect with Earth’s ancient past—through specimens that inspire awe, curiosity, and understanding.

Fossil Realm Gallery on Bank Street. Ottawa ON.