56 The Australian Women’s Weekly|OCTOBER 2019
A
s thequotebyRoald
Dahlreads:“Thosewho
don’tbelievein magic
willneverfindit.”For
jewellerydesignerKim
McKay,whocreatedthe
companyWickenthreeyearsago,
believingin magicwasneverthe
issue.It’showit foundherthat’s
therealstory.
A self-proclaimedwitchsinceshe
wasveryyoung,Kimwasalways
fascinatedbythemysticalsideoflife.
Magichadweaveditswaythrough
herupbringing“asfarbackasI can
remember”,shesays.Atherallgirls’
highschool,shewouldbetheone
readingtarotcardsforeveryoneat
lunchtime.Herbedroomwasfilled
withallthingsWicca– stars,moons,
incense.“ItwasjustwhoI was.
Everythingwaspuregypsywitch.”
Kimsaysthatwhen
heroldschool
friendscomeinto
theflagship
Wickenstore
onPonsonby
Roadin
Auckland,
theirfirstAclosecall
Backin 2015,Kimwasbattlingwith
creativeburnout.Havingbeenthe
owneroftwosuccessfulhairdressing
salons,shewashappilymarriedwith
twogorgeouschildren,Mitchell
andPreston,andshelovedher
customers.Butshehadbeensuffering
fromendometriosisforyears– a
debilitatingconditionwhereuterine
tissuegrowsoutsidetheuterus,
causingextremediscomfort.It had
reacheda stagewherethepainwas
sochronic,Kimwasforcedtosell
herbusiness.Then43,andrecovering
fromserioussurgerytohelpher
condition,Kimponderedthatbig
questionaskedbywomenfromall
walksoflife:what’snext?
SheandherhusbandHughdecided
totakea triptoEurope– theirfirst
getawaywithoutthekids– andspend
sometimewalkingthestreetsofParis.
It wasperfect,a gloriousadventure,
justthetwoofthem.Andthenthe
proverbialhitthefan.
Onthejourneyhome,twoblood
clotstravelledupfromKim’sleg,
throughherheart,andlandedin her
lungs.“Ihada near-deathexperience,”
shesays.“Isawwhatwasthere.I thoughtI wasawake.I thought
it wassomethingeveryonecould
see.I wentintothisinsanepanic.I
rememberkickingandpushingand
screaming,‘No,no,no.’”Butthenshe
wokeup,andbothherhusbandand
thepersonsittingontheotherside
ofherhadn’tnoticeda thing.Once
offtheflight,Kimwastakenstraight
tohospital.“Theyinjectyouwith
somethingthatthinsyourblood– and
basicallyyousurviveoryoudon’t,”
shesays.HerGPtoldhershe’dbeen
extremelylucky,consideringthesize
oftheeventthathadoccurred.
Butaswithmosthealthcrises,
survivingwasn’tthefinalstop– it was
the beginning of a different journey.Thecombinationoflife-savingdrugs
tooka tollonKim’sphysicaland
mentalhealth,andthethreatofclots
comingbackwasever-present.“It
waspanicfora long,longtime.”And
then,onenight,in camethemagic.
Unexpected,yetrightontime.
“Fourmonthsintomyrecovery,
I gotupin theweehoursofthe
morning,andliterallydrewevery
piecein thecollection.Thebat
pendant.Thewitches’hat.I drew
themall– andmydrawingskillsare
notgreat!I wrotedownmymeanings,
mybrandname,everything.Then
I wentbacktobed.WhenI woke
upproperlythenextday,I waslike,
‘What...hashappened?’”
Shelaughs.“Look,I knowthis
soundscompletelybats**t,butI’m
notactuallycrazy.I’vealwaysbeena
witch,fromwhenI wasyoung.Inmy
familyI wasalwayscalled‘thelittle
witch’.Aftertheembolismandthe
factthateverythingwastodowith
Wicca– it’salmostlikecomingback
towhoyouare.”
Atthisstage,Kimhadnever
workedin jewellery.Buttheideafor
whatwouldbecomeWickenwasn’t
goinganywhere.“Ihidmysketches
awaybutkeptworkingonthem
fromtimetotime,”shesays.“I
gotmoreandmoreintothe
meaningsbehindmypieces.And
I foundthatstartedtomakeme
feelstronger.”
Asyoumighthaveguessed,all
thepiecesin Wickenarebased
onWicca,whichis a wordthatmeans
manythingstomanypeople.To
some,it’sa spiritualpractice.To
others,it’sscarywitchcraft.Butreally,
Wiccais simplya beliefsystemthatis
partoftheoverarchingpagantheme;
whereattentionis directedtothe
passingoftheseasons,thecyclesof
themoon.It’salsobecoming
incrediblypopularduetothe
ever-growinginterestin NewAge,
Easternpracticessuchasyoga,
meditationandmindfulness.
“It’saboutconnectingtoenergy
andempoweringyourself– through
nature,throughthatenergy,through
thegoddess,”Kimexplains.“The
word ‘witch’... can be misinterpreted.“I’m finding more and more
that ‘goddess’ or ‘goodwitch’ is
a massive movement.”
Healing
reactionis often,“Holycrap,it’sjust
likeyourteenagebedroom.”
Thestoreis splitin two:jewellery
shopoutthefrontandsomethingakin
toa StevieNicksslumberpartyout
theback.Candles,wine,fluffypillows,
anancientfireplace,anda table
holdingcrystals,litincense,moon
cardsandteacups.
It is extremelycommonfor
customers,peeringbehindthe
macramécurtain,toplonkthemselves
downfora chatanda teawithKim
andtellhertheirlifestory.Yes,it’snot
yourtypicaljewelleryshop– andit’s
notyourtypicalsmall-businessorigin
story,either.Life,rebirthand magic- it’s the Wicken way.