New fantasy store in Pocatello is a one-stop shop for customers
Published at | Updated at
POCATELLO – Two local fair organizers and fans of all things fantastical have opened up their own storefront for the Pocatello, Chubbuck community.
Mystic Realms Fantasy Store opened at 1800 Garrett Way, Suite 18 on October 18. Fantasy fans lined up for a chance to see and buy 3D printed items, handmade plushies and both swords for costumes, as well as functional weapons. The two owners hope to use this storefront to sell to in-store and online customers.
“The store offers us an opportunity to expand our inventory,” said co-owner Deneb Edwards. “Our goal is to be cosplay or costume oriented, so people can come here (and find) a one-stop-shop to build their costumes.”
Now that the store is open, the two owners, Edwards and Michael Collins, plan to build a website to facilitate online orders. Right now, they have to finish organizing their backroom inventory before they can do that.
“And that’s going to be phase two,” Edwards said. “Once we get finished organizing, we’re going to build a website and we’re going to start having an online presence.”
Edwards and Collins started Mystic Realms Fantasy Store for two reasons: a love of all things fantastical, and the need for a large space to store their fantasy-related items.
The two owners became friends a little over a decade ago when Edwards and his wife, Julia, started attending renaissance fairs. Collins had been running Black Wolf Blades since the 90s, selling both cosplay and real weapons at fairs.
RELATED | Mystic Realms Fantasy Fair is nine days away
RELATED | Mystic Realms Fantasy Fair returns this weekend ‘three times larger’
This eventually led the two to start Mystic Realms Fantasy Fair in 2023. They’ve held two fairs now, and both have exceeded their attendance expectations.
“We have people at every fair asking, ‘Oh, do you guys have a website? Do you sell online?’ and stuff like that,” Edwards said.
The issue was that Black Wolf Blades couldn’t sell online. Collins was holding his inventory in both a trailer and in boxes in his house.
They decided he needed a place where he could put the inventory in storage and organize it.
“We started looking into storage units, and they’re not sized and priced well for just even accessing regularly,” Edwards explained. “So we looked into a storefront.”
They found that if they had a storefront, they could begin selling online and in-person. The back half of the now open store is for inventory and the front half is a sales floor.
Just like their past two fairs, the owners were impressed with their turnout.
Along with the many swords available for purchase, people can find axes, pole arms, flails, clubs and replica pistols. In addition to weapons, people can also find armor and costumes, and can even order custom pieces for their cosplay.
“If you’re looking to get cosplay supplies, let us know what you want, and we’ll try and get it ordered in,” Edwards said.
Despite the name, the store also sells items for people who have no interest in fantasy. They also sell damascus and carbon steel pieces.
“We’ve got good knives and good weapons here as well,” Edwards said. “It’s actually a store that’s good for just about anyone who’s looking for a knife or a sword.”
People can also find fantasy style notebooks, 3D printed items by Edwards and handmade plushies by Julia.
Given the variety of items, there’s a wide range of prices potential customers can expect.
Edwards hopes more people will visit their store and see what it feels like to hold a sword for the first time.
“The first time you pick up a really cool sword, you can feel the power behind (it). It makes you want to just stand taller and stand ready, like you see in the movies,” Edwards said.
Mystic Realms Fantasy Store operates on Thursday from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.