Today we’d like to introduce you to Serena Davis.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I worked as a retail manager for 15 years. When the pandemic hit, I was furloughed for 3 months. It was during that time I realized just how unhappy I was at my job and decided to do something about it. As a mother, I have found the importance and always keeping in mind that your children are watching your struggles and how you handle them. When they get older, your actions become their guidebooks. It’s important to me that my babies see that Mom didn’t just sit and wallow in worry, but got up and made something of the complaint. Magickal Macabre has always been a dream of mine, but not in the way it came into fruition. An apothecary/tea shop has been my goal. I’m in love with medicinal herbs and have always had a deep need to help people without pharmaceuticals if possible. I never realized I’d be doing just that and so much more when it first came to be. The “Magickal” in the title came to be due to magical herbs, but “Macabre” came completely as a surprise, even to me.
I was at a parent/teacher conference for my daughter several years ago and met her science teacher. Somehow we got on the subject of owl pellets and she gave me 30 of her own to dissect with the kids at home. We found the coolest little treasures inside. I decided I liked them so much I was going to make pendant necklaces with the beautiful mouse skulls. I posted them on Facebook and that was that. So many of my friends loved them that I continued to make art from bones. I ended up falling in love with the idea of turning something people usually see as “gross, demonic, evil” and any other negative name naysayers could possibly come up with, into a gorgeous keepsake. I felt like these little creatures deserved love even after death. So that kind of became my thing. Growing up goth didn’t hurt the aesthetic either.
As time went on I was able to try my hand at larger pieces, from coyotes, to bull skulls, several deer, and even horses! The bones are always ethically sourced, having been found on walks in the desert and forests, gifted by taxidermists, or as I said before, within owl pellets.
The shoppe grew and grew. I can’t seem to keep my love for art in one genre. A lot of my product was created for the love of someone dear to me. For instance, my cleansing sage spray I created so my daughter who suffers from asthma could cleanse our home of bad energies with me without the smoke. I also realized my dream of selling tea blends that hold healing properties! But these teas have a twist! You can either drink them or smoke them! My main push to create these came in part because my aunt has stage 4 lung cancer. I know smoking is a hard habit to kick, so I figured, if people have the need, why not smoke something much less harmful that cigarettes? I have a blend for many other things that we humans deal with everyday, like depression, anxiety, lack of sleep, menstrual cramps, and a blend I created for my best friend who suffers from migraines. I also have a juniper oil that was created for my mother’s muscle pain after she was in a terrible accident years ago when she worked construction.
I want to help people. It is my passion to help. Magickal Macabre is my way of doing so and also bringing a little beauty into the darkness of the world. I also life coach from time to time, and my biggest teaching point is shadow work. It’s very important to me that people unlearn shunning their dark side. It is a part of us just as much as all the good things we put out there. We are two halves of one whole, and I try to help people appreciate that. I guess you could say that Magickal Macabre embraces that idea…. Maybe even embodies it.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Being a small business owner has been a challenge but never in a bad way. I learn more and more all the time, and having the 15+ years of retail experience certainly helped. Either way, I have always loved a challenge and enjoy pushing myself to learn new things. I teasingly say I had no idea I could paint, but I’m surprisingly okay at it. Without taking on this endeavor, I might have never known. Something I’ve learned is how long the process art takes and differs upon each piece. I definitely have a new appreciation for other artists. Now when I look at gorgeous pieces, the mind frame isn’t just, “Wow, that’s beautiful!”, but also, “Gah, I wonder how long that took to make!”
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I mostly do bone work but I have expanded my horizons to bath products, tea blends, divination items, and I try really hard to make things no one has ever seen. As an example, I know witchy bath times are so relaxing and healing. I’ve seen some decadent bath bombs and milks, but I wanted a little something extra. So I created bath tea that gives you a tea reading when you drain your bath water! It also comes with a hidden crystal, so something to keep when the bath is done! I research all I can about the herbs used in each one of my products so that I am also nourishing people inside and out.
What does success mean to you?
To me, success is synonymous with happiness. What you do in life specifically shouldn’t define success, but the happiness it brings you should. I no longer wake up to an alarm. That in itself is a dream come true. I get to be with my children all hours of the day, and I have 5 cats. To me, that is “successful”. But that doesn’t mean others would deem that so for their own lives. So, yes… I would say whatever makes your soul smile. That is success. That is the goal.
Contact Info:
- Email: magickalmacabre@gmail.com
- Instagram: magickalmacabre
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/magickalmacabre/
- Other: https://www.etsy.com/shop/MagickalMacabre
