Everyday magic

As the quote by Roald Dahl reads: “Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.” For jewellery designer Kim McKay, who created the company Wicken three years ago, believing in magic was never the issue. It’s how it found her that’s the real story.

A self-proclaimed witch since she was very young, Kim was always fascinated by the mystical side of life. Magic had weaved its way through her upbringing “as far back as I can remember”, she says. At her all girls’ high school, she would be the one reading tarot cards for everyone at lunchtime. Her bedroom was filled with all things Wicca – stars, moons, incense. “It was just who I was. Everything was pure gypsy witch.”

Kim says that when her old school friends come into the flagship Wicken store on Ponsonby Road in Auckland, their first reaction is often, “Holy crap, it’s just like your teenage bedroom.”

The store is split in two: jewellery shop out the front and something akin to a Stevie Nicks slumber party out the back. Candles, wine, fluffy pillows, an ancient fireplace, and a table holding crystals, lit incense, moon cards and teacups.

It is extremely common for customers, peering behind the macramé curtain, to plonk themselves down for a chat and a