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Every Friday this fall, I'm skipping the big box aisles and hunting down small shops making genuinely weird, wonderful Halloween goods instead.
This week's feature might be my favorite kind of find: something I didn't know I needed until I saw it.
The shop: Ashley Hay design
Ashley Hay Design takes vintage clocks — the kind you'd find tucked in the back of an antique shop, half-forgotten — and turns them into something else entirely. Where a clock face used to be, there's now a tiny lit-up world: a witch's house glowing through circular windows, bird legs standing on lily pads beneath it, a door that opens to reveal the whole scene inside.
She calls them mantle jacks, and once you've seen one, you can't unsee how perfect the format is for this kind of storytelling. The clock's original shape does half the work; she does the rest, and no two look alike.
Beyond the mantle jacks, the shop also does bat pins (self-described as "sky puppies," which is the kind of detail that tells you exactly what kind of shop this is) and Halloween-themed makeup stamps — bats, spiders, aliens, starbursts — for anyone who wants their eyeliner to also be a little haunted this October.
What I'd add to cart
A mantle jack or cryptid plaque. These are one-of-a-kind by nature, since she's working from actual vintage clocks, so whatever's in stock when you look is genuinely it. Browse mantle jacks & cryptid plaques →
Bat pins. Small, wearable, and a nice way to bring the aesthetic somewhere that isn't your mantle. Browse bat pins →
Makeup stamps. An easy, low-effort way to get in the spirit without committing to a full costume look. Browse makeup stamps →
Why I love this one
I'm always drawn to makers who take something ordinary and give it an entirely new life, and that's exactly what's happening here — a clock stops telling time and starts telling a story instead.
If you're the kind of person who wants your home to feel a little haunted year-round (hi, same), a piece like this does more work than an entire bin of seasonal decor.
Where to shop
You can find Ashley Hay Design at ashleyhaydesign.com and follow along on Instagram for new pieces as they're made.
Ashley Hay Design is aa advertiser in this year's fall magazine.
