Merlin's Realm

The story

If you aren't paying attention on West Colorado Avenue, you will walk right past the stairwell leading down into Suite 20 beneath Jake and Telly's Greek restaurant. Down here, there is not a single piece of injection-molded plastic in sight. Casey Bopp—known locally as "Merlin of Manitou"—has been hand-turning solid wood wands and wire-wrapping gemstones since 1988, officially launching Merlin's Realm in 2003. Rather than selling factory novelty trinkets, Bopp crafts wands out of purpleheart, oak, ash, and bloodwood, alongside copper sacred geometry devices, dowsing tools, and crystal amulets.

Behind the quiet counter sits an unexpectedly earnest civic mission. For every single calendar day the business stays open, the shop funds the planting of a tree through reforestation partners like American Forests, resulting in thousands of trees planted over the decades. On top of that, shop workers have quietly rescued over 23,000 pounds of surplus food in Colorado Springs and delivered it directly to local community centers. Every physical tool Bopp sells comes paired with detailed written instructions covering wood energetics, gemstone meanings, and manifestation techniques.

This is a true one-or-two-person workshop that survives primarily on mail-order crafting, wholesale production, and word-of-mouth rather than high-street foot traffic. Stepping inside means entering an active, aromatic artisan studio where Bopp personally turns custom copper wands, copper pyramids, and silver-wrapped crystal chimera wands. You didn't hear it from us, but if you want something crafted by someone who treats wandmaking as an uncompromising old-world trade, this basement room is the real thing.