The Witchery
About
The Witchery is a hands-on craft studio on Pickering Wharf in Salem, known as the city’s original broom-making shop. Visitors build a rustic broom from scratch, customizing it with colored broomcorn, dried flowers, crystals and charms, or bind a leather journal to use as a grimoire, book of shadows or dream journal. Workshops are guided by local artisans, and every project can be personalized with a wide range of accessories.
Gret McGilvray and Bruce Malley founded The Witchery in 2016 as an art and performance space, and it still hosts live performances alongside its workshops. In 2025 it added Craft Witch, a do-it-yourself studio with a Spell Jar Bar for herbs, crystals and wax-sealed intentions, and Tarot Cove, a reading room offering readings, lessons and community events. The woman-owned, queer-friendly business donates to local groups such as NAGLY, The Salem Pantry and Salem Sound Coastwatch.
What to Know
- Broom making is open to ages 13 and up.
- Some vegan leather is available for bookbinding.
- Profits from leather-by-the-pound sales go to the Northeast Animal Shelter and the North American Wolf Foundation.
- A sister shop, Wheel of Fate, opened in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 2023 and is run by Gret’s daughter Tara.
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