Come and stay for a spell
For gifts with a touch of magic, try Tah•Lume
A visually magical place that also happens to carry magical items, Tah•Lume is the perfect place to find the more mystical items on your Yuletide gift list.
Established in 2018, the Lincoln City-based business is not a quick stop-and-shop experience; you will want to have time to explore.
“The original idea was to feel like your grandmother's living room,” owner Rachel Baird said, “if that living room was in a witch’s cottage in the woods.”
With macramé items made by her aunt and mother on the forest green walls, plants that she cultivates herself in carefully chosen pots and handmade bone art curiosity cloches placed through the building, Tah•Lume gives shoppers a feast for the senses.
“My favorite question is, ‘Is this for sale?’” Baird said, “because I display things in a way that you can picture them in your own home. When you walk in, the smell of the candles and oils hits you and you start to notice more and more things, there is so much in a small space — but it’s an organized chaos.”
The shop is filled with mystical gift items, crystals, jewelry, home goods, tarot, a full stock of books and more for those who are just starting or are restocking a well-established cabinet.
“I curate the store with items that really mean something to me and aren’t just for the witchy aesthetic,” Baird said, “things that I want on my own altar or that I use in my own work.”
When choosing items for the store, she looks for handmade, small-batch items made as locally as possible, then goes in a widening circle of regional, national and worldwide.
“I really try hard to find female- and BIPOC-owned businesses, co-ops and places that are socially or environmentally responsible,” she said. “If I do get imports, I make sure they are ethically sourced.”
Handmade items in the shop are made with “intention.”
“By that I mean I have things like ritual ink that was made during the full moon, jewelry made by people that won’t step into the shop if they are not in the right emotional state and Morrigan candles created during the correct moon cycle.”
The inventory leans toward, but is not exclusively, esoteric and metaphysical.
“I’m also a full-purpose gift and jewelry store,” Baird said. “I make sure I’m also here for those shoppers who aren’t sure what a pentagram represents.”
She also makes sure to provide for a wide array of budgets.
“I have very well-priced small stocking stuffers like stones, crystals and little manifestation cards, fun medium-priced gifts like the ‘Ritual in a Jar,’ all the way up to beautifully elaborate skull cloches and statement crystal specimens.” she said.
Tah•Lume also plans to host weekend artisan pop-ups while the farmers market is in the off-season.
“I will be having different local artists using space in my store throughout the winter,” Baird said. “We’ll start with Rogue Witch Apothecary, who plans to be here every two weeks.”
You can also get a tarot reading in the shop, or get a gift certificate to gift one to a friend.
But whether you are in the market for a gift for yourself or for others, it's best not to let too much time go by before stopping into this constantly evolving store.
“I’m always moving things around and stocking new things,” Baird said. “A year ago I didn’t have nearly as many crystals. I actually didn’t start out to be a crystal shop – But, I am a rock hound and always wanted to carry some stones, and it just evolved naturally into having a large inventory of crystals.”
Seekers of knowledge are also welcome.
“I’m not here just to sell things,” Baird said. “I’m here to facilitate what people need and to teach them how to use the tools that I sell. For example, I didn’t carry singing bowls for quite a while, despite people asking for them, until I began to use them myself and was able to speak about them authentically.”
The name Tah•Lume is the phonetic spelling of ‘earth’ in Scottish Gaelic. The logo combines the alchemical symbol for earth with a rosemary sprig that represents protection. Baird's goal is for visitors to find it as much a place of sanctuary as it is a place to shop.
“I fill the store with things I want myself and people regularly comment about how well-curated it is,” she said. “So I must be doing something that resonates with others and that makes me happy. But what really warms my heart is hearing from people that just being in the store makes them feel better.”
Tah•Lume is located at 3229 SW Hwy. 101 in Lincoln City and is open Thursday through Monday from 10 am to 4 pm. For more information, go to tahlume.com or call 541-614-0890.