Entry No. 28 — the Colorado Springs file — filed under: witchy
Wood Shark Trading Company
Founded in 2002 by Jim Corey and now run by his son Matt, Wood Shark Trading Company packs crystals, incense, Buddha statues, swords, knives, taxidermy, and genuine oddities into a single family-owned stall inside the Outlets at Castle Rock — a chaotic, deeply weird cabinet of curiosities in an otherwise ordinary outlet mall. Yelp shows it active as of March 2026.
The story
The Outlets at Castle Rock are mostly what you expect from an off-interstate shopping complex along I-25: rows of discounted sneakers, chain outerwear, and suburban shoppers pushing strollers. Duck into Unit 42, however, and the corporate aesthetic evaporates immediately [1.1.5]. In 2002, founder Jim Corey started Wood Shark Trading Company as a modest hustle selling pocket knives out of a 3x3 shadow box. Over two decades later, Jim and his son Matt have expanded that single box into a sprawling, gloriously chaotic cabinet of curiosities crammed inside a standard retail lease.
What makes Wood Shark strange isn't just that it sells oddities; it's the unbothered clash of genres jammed under one roof. Broadswords and tactical steel share display cases with raw amethyst towers, Tibetan incense, Buddha statuettes, and ethically sourced animal taxidermy—from fur pelts to mounted skulls. It operates as equal parts occult shop, cutlery depot, and natural history museum, existing in total defiance of the clean, sanitized outlet mall surrounding it.
You get the distinct feeling nobody ever told the Coreys what an outlet store is supposed to look like, and that’s precisely why it works. The staff will explain the energetic properties of a fluorite point with the exact same unironic enthusiasm they bring to discussing the blade steel on a folding knife. You didn't hear it from us, but finding a room stocked with dragon daggers and mounted taxidermy situated between a rack of khakis and a pretzel stand is about as weird as Front Range shopping gets.
What it's like
Finding Wood Shark requires navigating the sprawling outdoor walkways of the Outlets at Castle Rock off I-25. Stepping through the doorway shifts the environment instantly: the air smells heavily of unlit incense, polished brass, and leather, and the floor space is tightly packed with glass cases and tall shelving. If you get turned around in the 100-plus-store complex, ask at Guest Services near the food court on the east end rather than wandering blindly. Weekdays offer much more breathing room inside the narrow aisles, and parking in the surrounding surface lots is free.
The move: Browse the jumbled inventory together and pick one item each from opposite ends of the spectrum — say, a crystal for one partner and a blade or taxidermy piece for the other — then compare the staff's equally enthusiastic explanations for both; the contrast between metaphysical earnestness and knife-nerd enthusiasm makes for a genuinely memorable hour.
📍 Before you go It sits inside the Outlets at Castle Rock, the open-air outlet center off I-25 (Exits 184/185), roughly halfway between Denver and Colorado Springs — about a 30-40 minute drive from the Springs, so treat it as a day trip. Parking is free and plentiful, but the center is a sprawling pedestrian "village" of 100-plus storefronts, and Wood Shark is a single easy-to-miss stall; grab a directory or ask at Guest Services (east end, by the food court) so you don't wander past it. Being outdoor-walkway-based, it's most pleasant in mild weather — bring a layer in winter and water in summer. Hours shift seasonally, so check ahead. Pair it with browsing the surrounding outlets or a meal at the food court.
- 📍 Castle Rock
- 💸 $$
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Indoors
Where: 5050 Factory Shops Blvd, Castle Rock, CO 80108 (Outlets at Castle Rock)
Hours: Mined 2026-06-07 — confirm current hours before you go.
Pair it with
- Provision — After sifting through taxidermy skulls and broadswords, head three miles into downtown Castle Rock for a craft cocktail hidden behind a swinging bookcase.
- Scileppi's at the Old Stone Church — Counterbalance Wood Shark’s floor-to-ceiling oddity collection with Italian food served inside an 1888 rhyolite Catholic church where the bar occupies the former altar.
- A Sanctuary Center — Ground yourself after Wood Shark’s sensory overhaul by walking the stone labyrinth and medicine wheel at this quiet sacred garden five miles west in Sedalia.
- Cherokee Ranch & Castle — Keep the collector energy going with a tour of a 15th-century-style Scottish stone castle sitting high above the nearby prairie.
Good to know
Where inside the outlet mall is Wood Shark located?
It sits at 5050 Factory Shops Blvd (Unit 42) inside the open-air Outlets at Castle Rock, located off I-25 at Exits 184 and 185 [1.1.5].
What kind of merchandise do they carry?
The shop stocks a mix of metaphysical supplies (crystals, gemstone towers, incense), blades and cutlery (pocket knives, swords), taxidermy (skulls and furs), silver jewelry, and various figurines.
Who owns and operates the store?
Wood Shark was founded in 2002 by Jim Corey and is operated as a family business alongside his son Matt.
What are the standard operating hours?
The store is typically open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., though hours shift seasonally.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: Official site · outletsatcastlerock.com · Yelp
last checked: 2026-06-07