Detroit Hoodoo Month: Mama Izzy's Hoodoo.

Mama Izzy’s Hoodoo

by Nicki Mcdermott (Izzy McDermott)

As far back as I can remember the faith that is so deeply entwined with Conjure work has always been a part of my family and my life. When I was young I would be at my grandmother’s house and it was busy. Lot’s of people, lot’s of noise. My Grandma Bowers would be cooking in her cast iron skillet, Great Granny Wilson would be at the kitchen table singing bible hymns and gramps and Uncle Izzy, my great uncle, would be sitting around having a Budweiser talking about this or that. It was crazy and chaotic, but it was my family. Things were always done the “old way”. My Granny Wilson lived in a tiny house next to my grandma’s and she would hold Sunday school for us. It was always a lesson taken right out of the bible and you had better be there!

As I grew up and granny Wilson passed there were not any more Sunday lessons, but I remained close with gramps and uncle Izzy. They had great stories about the bar and about how crazy this person was and how you never go to a bank, you bury your money in the yard and how you didn’t need a doctor, you could get fixed at home. Those are fond memories to me and now I understand just how much they have played a part in the path I have chosen for my life’s work.

After the birth of my daughter I began to work a lot with plants, herbs and spices. I would smell them and feel them and choose different ones and put them into oils. They weren’t medicine so to speak but they were to provide help for different situations. I would give them to my friends and family and they loved them. Soon after that I would work with candles. Rolling them in the oils and then in the herbs for different situations.  I would help people and I would help myself.  After six years of being a stay at home mom I got a job at a new age store and it was perfect for me. I got to help people and work with them and learn the business!

Five years into my job I had a lady come into the store and she was talking with me about the casino. I excused myself and went to the back. I made her an oil, drew a dollar sign on paper, taped it on the bottle, wrote down the recipe and gave her the oil. I didn’t know it but at that moment Mama Izzy’s Hoodoo was born! She came back a few days later, handed me some cash and explained that the oil, my oil, had worked! From that moment on that was all I wanted to do. I expanded the Mama Izzy’s Hoodoo line and word began to spread. I added products and began fixing candles specifically for people’s situations. It was becoming a full time job along with managing the store I was at.

Then one day I received a call from Dorothy Morrison and she was encouraging me to attend The Folk Magic Festival in New Orleans. It was the first one and Miss Dorothy was going and so was Jacki Smith. Dorothy said that it would be a good idea for me since I was really the only one at that time in the Midwest doing any hoodoo. I went and it was one of the best decisions I had ever made. That is where I met Momma Starr! I felt a connection with her and have been lucky enough to be her student and family ever since. She has been such an instrumental part of my conjure work in helping me to make the connection of my roots to my work.

Since then I have worked very hard and many blessings. The Mama Izzy’s Hoodoo line is a trademarked brand, I have a large client base, and the best part, I now own my own shop! The Conjure Shop in Omaha Nebraska, the only one of it’s kind. It’s great to realize what your purpose is and be able to make it your life’s work! I am lucky! To Jacki Smith, Dorothy Morrison and Momma Starr, I love you and I thank you. You are a huge part of my success!