About us
The Arcane Foundry™ is a one-of-a-kind Maker’s Studio in Columbus, Ohio, where creativity and community come alive. Here, you can dive into hands-on experiences like candle making, outdoor blacksmithing, 3D printing, tabletop wargaming, and paint-and-sip events—all under one roof.
Purchased in October 2025, by Daclaud Lee as part of a neighborhood revitalization project in the Hilltop, our space was originally built in 1928 and was once a residence and has been carefully remodeled from the interior to exterior into a welcoming space for makers, DIYers, gamers, and storytellers alike. Whether you’re forging steel, pouring wax, painting miniatures, or rolling dice, The Arcane Foundry™ is your place to create, connect, and explore.
The Arcane Foundry
723 S. Richardson Ave
Columbus, OH 43204
[www.TheArcaneFoundry.com](http://thearcanefoundry.com/)
Located less than 5 miles from downtown Columbus, The Arcane Foundry™ sits in an early-stage gentrifying area that is quickly evolving into a creative and cultural corridor. Rather than a typical storefront, the studio feels like a hidden gem—a destination worth discovering, offering a private, curated, and immersive environment that feels removed from the ordinary. Guests often describe their visit as stepping into a secret workshop or an artificer’s guild tucked away from the main part of the city.
Hilltop Momentum Is Real. And We’re Building with It!
If you have not seen it yet, check out this update on the Envision Hilltop plan: (the city of Columbus has already invested over $180 Million into the area, but The Arcane Foundry is also doing it's part!)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2Yvy7DY0W4
There is real momentum happening in the Hilltop right now. Cleanup efforts. Community conversations. Long term vision.
The Arcane Foundry is moving forward independently as a small business, but we absolutely believe in the same spirit behind that plan. More creativity. More positive activity. More reasons for people to gather intentionally.
That is what we are building.
Paint nights. Candle pouring workshops. 3D printing. Fantasy themed events. Structured gatherings that bring consistent, creative energy into the area.
Neighborhoods shift when people show up consistently with purpose.
If you have been curious about the direction of the Hilltop, this video is worth watching. And if you want to be part of something creative growing here, we would love to see you at Arcane Foundry.
Upcoming events
3
Haunted Hike Through Walhalla Ravine
Lucky's Market Clintonville, 2770 N. High Street, Columbus, OH, USDare to Enter Walhalla Ravine?
There are places in Columbus where the city seems to disappear.
Walk far enough into Walhalla Ravine, beneath the old trees and steep wooded hillsides, and the traffic grows distant. The houses above become harder to see. The path narrows, shadows gather beneath the canopy, and suddenly it becomes very easy to understand why people have been telling strange stories about this place for generations.
Stories of murder, apparitions beneath the bridge, unexplained lights, and the thing once whispered about as the Walhalla Witch have become part of Clintonville folklore. Most have been embellished over the years. Some can be debunked. Others are simply stories with no way left to determine where the truth ended and the legend began.
We’re going in anyway.Disclaimer: This is NOT a scripted ghost tour, and I’m NOT a professional storyteller. I'm not here to entertain.
Think of it more as a group adventure: we’ll hike, explore, discuss the legends and history, and see some of the locations that inspired the stories for ourselves.
Come prepared to walk, explore, and get a little off the beaten path.Click Here: Read about the ghosts and legends of Walhalla Ravine
This is a FREE event. Tips are appreciated (but never required) for showing you the hidden paths and lesser-known parts of the ravine.
Just a reminder: if you RSVP, please make every effort to attend.
This is going to be a 3-mile hike, so please make sure you can do this. There may also be some slightly rugged terrain (nothing too crazy) but depending on where we end up, there might be some light climbing.
OPTIONAL: Afterward, anyone who wants to keep the evening going can join us nearby for drinks at Derive Brewing Company or pizza and drinks at Hounddog’s.
12 attendees
The Obsidian Lantern Society: Meet & Greet Around the Fire
The Arcane Foundry, 723 S Richardson Ave, Columbus, OH 43204, USA, Columbus, OH, USOn select Saturday nights, we gather after dark around a spooky outdoor campfire at The Arcane Foundry. Lanterns glow in the darkness, the fire crackles, drinks are poured, and the conversation turns toward the strange, macabre, forgotten, and unexplained.
Think of it as an old-fashioned fireside gathering for modern curious minds.
There is no classroom. No presentation. No designated speaker. And nobody is expected to be an expert.
Just pull up a chair around the fire and join the conversation.
What Happens Around the Campfire?
Each gathering revolves around a loose theme, but the conversation is allowed to wander. One subject might lead us into another, someone might bring up a strange piece of history they've discovered, or a discussion about a horror novel might somehow end with everyone debating medieval folklore two hours later.
That's part of the experience.Grimdark, Gothic & Cosmic Horror
From Gothic castles and haunted villages to dying empires and unknowable cosmic entities, we explore what makes dark fiction work.
Expect conversations about Gothic horror, Lovecraftian horror, cosmic horror, grimdark fantasy, weird fiction, dark fantasy, horror movies, novels, games and fictional universes.
Writers and worldbuilders are encouraged to bring their own ideas as well. Sometimes the best way to solve a problem with your fictional world is to throw it into the fire, figuratively speaking, and see where the conversation takes it.Folklore, Ghost Stories & Monsters
Campfires and monster stories belong together.
We explore legends of ghosts, vampires, witches, demons, cryptids, faeries, revenants, strange creatures and things supposedly lurking in the wilderness after dark.
Some discussions might venture into European folklore. Others might explore Asian mythology, Appalachian legends, Ohio ghost stories, local urban legends or strange traditions from cultures around the world.
Whether you believe any of it isn't particularly important.
The stories themselves are fascinating.Strange History & Historical Esoterica
Real history can be considerably stranger than fiction.
Around the fire we might discuss ancient superstitions, alchemy, occult societies, forgotten religions, unusual historical events, bizarre inventions, archaeological mysteries, obsolete sciences and beliefs that once shaped entire civilizations.
The objective isn't to convince anyone that an old belief was true.
The interesting question is often why people believed it in the first place.Worldbuilding & Storytelling
Writers, game masters, miniature hobbyists and obsessive worldbuilders are especially welcome around the fire.
Bring your fictional civilizations, monsters, religions, characters, military campaigns, magic systems, alternate histories or that strange setting you've been quietly constructing for years.The Society is a place where you can say, "I've been working on something weird..."
And everyone around the fire actually wants to hear about it.
The Weird & Unexplained
Eventually, most campfire conversations wander somewhere strange.
Ghost encounters. UFO folklore. Cryptids. Forteana. Lost civilizations. Paranormal stories. Unexplained historical events. Strange coincidences. Unusual archaeological claims. Weird things someone discovered while disappearing down an internet rabbit hole at two in the morning.
Bring your curiosity and your skepticism.You don't have to believe something to enjoy discussing it.
Come Sit Around the Fire
The Obsidian Lantern Society isn't a lecture series, networking event or traditional club meeting.It's something much simpler.
A group of curious people sitting around a fire after dark, illuminated by flames and lantern light, talking about things that are strange, frightening, imaginative, historical, mysterious or simply fascinating.
Bring a drink. Bring a story. Bring an idea you've been thinking about.
Or just bring yourself and listen.As the evening grows darker, the fire burns lower and the conversation inevitably becomes stranger.
Pull up a chair.
The lantern is lit.
3 attendees
Past events
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