The Witching Hour

Crafter creator of magic since 2012

Located in the heart of the Vosges mountains, my little workshop likes to draw its inspiration from the magnificent landscapes that surround me, but also from the magic and mystery that lurks in these places. There is nothing more inspiring than a wisp of mist that intertwines in the immense fir forests that cover our beautiful mountains.

Passionate about occultism and paganism, I also like to adorn my creations with all sorts of esoteric symbols from renowned books, ancient grimoires, or sometimes invented by myself in an intuitive way.

Far from mass production and all forms of assembly-line manufacturing, I have chosen to make all my products by hand, in small quantities. Because in this world of over-consumption, I prefer to take the time to offer you quality, hand-made products that will accompany you in your daily life or within your occult practices.

My greatest desire is to allow you to put a little sweetness, dream and magic in your daily life!

Who is behind The Witching Hour?

Melliarine

I'm Melliarine, from my real name, Emmanuelle. Passionate about art and creation, in March 2012 I decided to embark on the great adventure of The Witching Hour. Initially creating jewelry in a tiny workshop in my little studio in Picardy, I gradually expanded my collection, then gradually broadened my product range by engraving runes, offering rolled stones and crystals. When I moved in the Vosges in 2021, then I learnt woodwork to be able to propose you occult inspired items like ouija boards, wheels of the year and tarot spread board.

Belenos

Our beloved little cat, and the store's mascot! Belenos is a little cat we adopted in 2020, when he was barely a month old. Very early on, our vet diagnosed him with a kidney malformation that makes him more fragile than the others, requiring him to eat a specialized food and take lifelong treatment. But with lots of love, attention and care, he's doing just fine, bringing lots of affection and happiness into our lives.

Belenos also has two sisters, Nemesis and Loween, with whom he loves to play... Even in the middle of the night! ahah

By supporting The Witching Hour, you're enabling a couple of craftsmen to make a living from their passion, and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts!

And you'll also enable Belenos and her two sisters to stock up on kibbles, toys and soft cushions!

Behind the doors of the workshop

It all starts with a drawing, an idea scribbled on the corner of a page following a sudden inspiration.

This quick sketch is then laid down on graph paper to define the exact dimensions of the future jewel, the most suitable location for the stones or rings, all in a harmonious and judicious way, since these elements will then influence the way the jewel will stand when worn.

This rigorously dimensioned drawing is then used to create a three-dimensional sculpture, an exact replica of the future jewel, which is then used to create a mold in which the pewter can be cast. A whole process then follows to give the jewel its shiny finish and black relief. Only then can stones, rings and chains be added.

All our jewelry is handcrafted using only the finest materials. That's why we use 97% pure pewter, which complies with European standards and contains no substances potentially harmful to your health. This pewter is also hypoallergenic, which means that the risk of being allergic to it is extremely low.

As our commitment to animal protection is very important, we make it a point of honor not to use any products of animal origin, such as leather, fur, natural feathers, mother-of-pearl, cultured pearls or abalone. You won't find anything of animal origin on our creations.

Handmade occult supplies and decoration

All our esoteric materials and decorative objects are made in our own small workshop.

We take the time to draw all our designs by hand or sometimes on computer, before engraving them on the various objects we offer on the store. All our designs are totally exclusive to our brand!

We categorically refuse to simply copy photos from the Internet, even for custom orders. This loses all creative interest, not only because you'll generally find the same designs in several craftsmen's workshops, but also because it's akin to plagiarism, which goes against our ethics.

Besides, what could be more wonderful than creating a design from scratch? To start with a blank sheet of paper, and to set down a story through symbols and characters? That's what we like to do: invent!

Completely hand-painted creations

You'll also find some of our creations entirely hand-painted. Of course, this requires a great deal of time - sometimes even a whole day's work, depending on the model - but it also allows you to acquire a unique little work of art! Because freehand painting can never reproduce a design exactly.

The stones that are used to adorn your jewelry are usually natural and untreated (except from cutting and polishing).

Although this happens very rarely, we always specify on the products concerned page if the stones used are manufactured in the laboratory.

The search for quality natural stones is a big part of our work because it is not always easy to find reliable suppliers. Many synthetic stones circulate and there are many unscrupulous sellers who make them look like natural stones.

That’s where our knowledge comes in! Melliarine, creator of The Witching Hour, began studying lithotherapy in 2008 and has since expanded her learning to mineralogy to learn how crystals form.

All this combined with her personal use of minerals since all these years, allows her to recognize synthetic stones for the majority of minerals.

Thanks to her knowledge, Melliarine carefully selects the stones used for the creations of The Witching Hour, favoring as much as possible the minerals of grade AAA (the purest).

As for runes, Melliarine also selects stones of excellent quality, slightly larger than those found in rune sets manufactured industrially and/ or in Asia, and that can be found almost everywhere in esoteric shops. The reason for this slightly above average size is very simple: it makes them much more enjoyable to work with!