How We Make Our Witch’s Bells

Are you curious about our Witch’s bells? Here are some thoughts we hope you'll find interesting.

Materials

We keep a supply of components on hand, both manmade and natural. The manmade ones are things like charms, beads, fittings, cords/twine, crafting wire, and of course the bells themselves. Every so often we'll also use something more unusual like a Tarot card or an altar cloth if it fits with what we're doing. Manmade things are best when they have something to do with Wiccan, Pagan, or witchcraft practices, or when they are old one-of-a-kind things, maybe with some mysterious history of their own; things like that can develop a look and personality of their own.

We like to combine these manmade things with natural materials like branches and twigs, vines, leaves, stones, or driftwood. We also like using stones like quartz or amethyst for their healing properties. If we can come up with any of these in our own backyard or in our neighborhood, so much the better. For example, we've made small wreaths from the vines that grow on the wall of our studio.  

Sometimes the components are BOTH manmade and natural, like rusty metal or weathered glass. These help to instill a look and character that is not found in mass-produced things, which is what we want to achieve.

One thing we have no control over but hope happens is that customers personalize their bells by adding their own charms, beads, paint, string, personal items, etc. - anything that helps make it theirs.

Design

Basically a witch's bell is simply a bell or a string of bells hung on a door or near a window; the motion of the door or wind through the window sets the bell in motion to create a sound that will clear stagnant or negative energy. Beyond that, the design can be anything we want. It can start with us just putting together two objects, two shapes, two colors, two textures, etc., that somehow relate to each other in a way that makes intuitive sense to us and is visually agreeable. The design grows from there, and then we have to decide when it's finished or when it needs something more.

We don't have any set formula - which is one reason why no two bells are ever exactly alike; the designs are always evolving. We find that when we live with a bell for a while we begin to really see it with fresh eyes and can assess it objectively. We like to experiment with new ways of making the bells, new materials, etc. In the end, we just have to feel good about the bell before we ask people to buy it.

Sound

Because it's also a decoration, appearance is important, but sound is really what the bells are all about. We've used various types of bells over the years, from larger bells with fairly loud clanging tones to tiny sleigh bells that barely make a rattle. What makes a sound pleasant is fairly objective, depending on a person's preferences, the space where a bell is hung, and the purpose of the bell. For example a bell hung on a door could bang harshly against the door when it opens and closes, but that may be fine for some people if the door is in a distant corner of the house. 

Obviously we try to use bells that sound pleasant to us. Sometimes we use only one type of bell or even just one bell, for a more focused ring. But bells of different sizes or shapes or materials create different tones, and using a combination of different bells can create a more complex tone.

One thing we've learned for sure is that for bells to ring clearly they need to hang freely without obstruction; otherwise they can have a muted or muffled tone without clarity or resonance.

Craftsmanship

Maybe 'craftsmanship' is not the right word, but we do take care in putting our bells together. We try to add a level of detail that shows we're not just cranking out any old thing and to make it obvious that the bells are not mass-produced. Sometimes this is the biggest challenge because it can take a lot of time or require a talent or skill we don't have.

Our bells aren’t intended to look sophisticated or flashy. We're drawn more to ones with a feel that is primitive, rustic, or even a little crude. We look at the bells as folk art, with more concern for accomplishing a spiritual purpose like energy-cleansing or protection than for perfect aesthetics. In that vein, we use common household tools like scissors, pliers, wire-cutters, hand saws, and flat files (but sometimes an electric drill is called for.) Imperfections are an almost inevitable part of the process, and we accept them as part of what makes each piece individual.

Challenges

The bells themselves present a challenge: We are always looking for bells that meet our criteria for affordability, tone, appearance, durability, and uniqueness. So far we've mostly been limited to sourcing our bells online, but we're always on the look-out.

Another big challenge, one which everybody faces, is that we never really know what our customers will like. Even among our customers we're sure there would be no consensus about what makes a good bell, because people are all different. So what can we do but make what we like, figuring that if WE like it, someone else will too? Although we're sometimes surprised by which bells connect with people the most - or the least.

We feel that there is a general spirit of independence and non-conformity in our customers, and it often encourages us to try offbeat or quirky designs using things like recycled multi-colored telephone wire. That makes our work more fun.

From a more practical point of view, sometimes physically working with the bell is a challenge because it's as if its components or materials don’t want to cooperate: Cords and wires twist in unexpected ways, bells refuse to balance or hang straight, knots insist on coming undone, or things like beads and charms don't fit on the wire or twine we're using. Of course, sometimes these 'mistakes' - if we can live with them - add a character that makes them unique. But at other times, they're too much and we have to either abandon the project or change course and rework them.

Another challenge of a different kind is calming our worries that a customer will see every little flaw and bad decision once the bell is hanging in the home.

Ideas

As we've mentioned, we're always experimenting and trying to do things in a new way. And of course we're always looking to make improvements. One of our next projects will hopefully be to design a bell that can both be hung and held in the hand.

We also appreciate the reality-check of hearing feedback from our customers, including suggestions they might have about how we can improve a bell. And we always welcome anyone's idea for a new bell. So please feel free to email us if you've got a specific need or some ideas of your own.