With nostalgic leanings that have made films like The Craft and Practical Magic into seasonal classics to the ever-growing WitchTok community, witchcraft has never been more a part of the zeitgeist. While some seek it as a spiritual path and others are drawn to its aesthetic, few have made it as integral to their life as life and business partners Gem and Glenn Hotvet.
The Hotvets' shop, Déjà Vu Esoterica, is celebrating its second year of business — and, in many ways, the realization of a lifetime path.
"I've always had an interest [in witchcraft] and got involved in my practice pretty early on in my life," explains Gem.
That practice birthed a Southtown business. The couple had previously operated an art and music space on Fredericksburg Road and a zine, Broken Bones. With Déjà Vu, they are now devoted to helping locals find spiritual traditions while building the community that has always been a part of their professional life.
If one's image of an esoteric shop was formed by Buffy the Vampire Slayer, then Déjà Vu may be a surprise. While customers can find brooms and crystals among the wares, the shop is strikingly contemporary. Gem credits the look to her creative partners, interior designer Regina De La Garza of Shangri La Homestead and graphic artist Jamie Stolarski, known for work at Best Quality Daughter and Bakery Lorraine.
"I can be very picky when it comes to art," says Gem. "For me to be satisfied, it has to be absolutely the most beautiful."
Still, surface beauty is one of many points of the business. Déjà Vu is a resource offering the proper information to neophytes and more seasoned witchcraft practitioners. It provides information on traditions ranging from Italian to Scottish to the African Diaspora.
"Our shop staff is so good and passionate about connecting people with what they need," Gem beams, expounding that the team regularly places cedar on the store alter for people going through a rough patch.
Now that the shop is entirely in swing, the Hotvets thought it was an appropriate time for a celebration. The store, at 1236 S. St. Mary's St., has a host of classes, discussion groups, and private events planned during October in their new classroom space. On October 8, from 4:30-8 pm, a free celebration will include a community artisan mini market and an all-vinyl DJ set and projections by Daecosomoxi.
The shop will also be hosting a Halloween event October 31, from 5:30-9 pm. It will include free face painting and candy for any trick-or-treaters who stop by. There will also be another vinyl DJ set by Moggy.
Soon, the pair will also introduce a product line that will include candles, cleaning room sprays, anointing oils, and pre-rolled herbal smoke blends without tobacco or THC. The hope is to offer some of the products wholesale eventually.
For now, Déjà Vu is looking back on their upstart shop and how far it has grown by keeping to local ethos and mostly eschewing mass production. And that, Gem says, is due to a large team.
"Déjà Vu pays a lot of people's bills," she says. "I don't take the success we've had for granted. I don't take the people who support us for granted."
Photo by Brandon McKelvey
The interior of Déjà Vu Esoterica.
