Magic Should Fit the Customer

I lead a double life; FUN Incorporated customer service superstar by day, professional magical handsome person by night. I have been performing my magic act for years. I'm a regular at Chicago nightclubs, restaurants, family and corporate events. I even give young aspiring magicians private magic lessons.

Magic lessons are always fun. I usually ask the person (adult or child) what he or she wants to learn. I gather the appropriate information, and make judgments as to what their skill level is.

Of course I want repeat business, so I usually teach magic I know my student can perform. Last night, I gave a private magic lesson to a 9-year-old boy. Apparently he purchased hundreds of dollars worth of magic and can't perform ANY of the tricks.Here are the tricks he purchased:

1. The Raven
2. Pencil through a quarter
3. Floating Dollar Bill
4. Hummer card

5. Appearing cane
6. Loops

A strong selection of magic, to be sure, so I tried my best to teach simple routines with these tricks. I'm sure most would agree these tricks are a little too advanced for the average 9-year-old, but this 9-year-old had a learning disability. His parents told me they purchased the magic from a local magic store. I was disappointed; not in the student or the parents, but in the shop.

After 20 minutes of struggling with the appearing cane (probably the simplest of the 6 tricks), I spoke with his parents in regards to their magic purchases. The tricks were strong, but whoever sold/demonstrated the magic, didn't take into consideration the end user. These tricks require plenty of practice; too much effort for a child with a learning disability. I then taught him several easy impromptu effects he could perform anytime, anywhere. The parents were greatly impressed.

Had I worked at this shop, I would have chosen beginner magic for this 9-year-old boy, effects I knew he could perform, like the ROYAL MAGIC line. Tricks like the Ball Vase, Tree Card Monte, Penetration Frame, Hypnotic Choice, and the Coloring Book would have been perfect for the situation.

I don't think the parents would ever step foot in that magic shop again, which is unfortunate, because it reflects poorly on magic shops in general. The demonstrator may have gotten the sale, but lost any future repeat business. A magic shop clerk's job should be to strengthen an interest in magic, not to frustrate a curious beginner.

The Reviews are IN!

Yes, we have it confirmed by an independent source: we rock.

Well, at least David Solomon and John Bannon do. Online-Visions has posted their reviews of both The Royal Scam and Knaves Gone Wild. To paraphrase their review in a single word: awesome.

Read the reviews for Royal Scam and Knaves Gone Wild, then see if you're not convinced to try them yourself.

FUN facts you probably didn't know

The magic business is fraught with mystery and wonder, so it can be sometimes difficult to get the straight facts. Here's a few FUN trivia facts that I've learned since I started here.

• We own the U.S. patent on the wind-up Talking Teeth. Yes, this classic novelty item, made in America by FUN Inc.
• We also own the rights to the magic Coloring Book. Fun Inc features both full-size and mini coloring books.
• We have over 2,000 items in our warehouse. It took me 2 1/2 months to do inventory!
• Just about every professional trade show magician has had us design custom 3-card montes for their clients. We've done montes for companies like Sherwin-Williams, Dr. Pepper, CourtTV, and Sony, to name a few.
  
• Our factory includes a wood shop, metal shop, and plastic mold injectors, among other things. Talk about a complete one-stop full-service company!
• Back in the day, FUN was the original manufacturer for all of the Cracker Jack toys, stuff that would never pass FDA inspections today.
• FUN Inc. is the exclusive distributor for John Bannon's Fractal Card Magic trilogy, starting with The Royal Scam. The next two parts are coming soon!

My favorite part of working is here is the incredible knowledge base our company has. Each of us on the Blog Team are working professional magicians. We know what product might be best served to fit our customer's needs, because we've been there. Gabe, Tomas, and I are always ready to lend our expertise in answering your queries.

Well-Placed Gaffs

John's post about the venerable Svengali Deck brought to mind a few stories about other gaffed decks.

The one that springs to mind immediately is that, of all people, Guy Jarrett was a whiz with a Stripper Deck. In Jim Steinmeyer's excellent book The Complete Jarrett, he explains how this genius-level illusion designer and builder worked, for a time, behind the shop at Clyde Powers' magic shop in New York City (which was, at one time, an outlet for the Mysto Manufacturing Company of New Haven, Conn.). Jarrett's favorite gaff was the Stripper Deck, and he was reported to have such clever and subtle uses for it that he was able to take in all of the "boys" visiting the shop with it's ancient secret.

My other magic shop-related gaffed card story is probably apocryphal, but still entertaining. I heard it told about Jay Marshall, who once saw a demonstrator at Magic, Inc. trying the old trick in which a deck is dropped flat on the magician's working surface and in the process, one card (the top card of the pack) flips over, revealing itself to be the selection. The dodge involved in flipping over the top card is a finicky one, and not sure-fire, though many beginners know it.

According to the story I heard, the demonstrator at Magic, Inc. was having a hard time getting the flip to work. In fact, he found it impossible to get the top card to do a 180 somersault. Jay approached him and, in an effort to help, began demonstrating the "right" way to perform the effect. Problem was, even with all of his experience, Jay couldn't get the flip to work, either!

The reason: the demonstrator had lured Jay into a trap. On top of the pack was a double-backed card. Its presence made the flip-over an utter impossibility!

Those of you with good memories will recall a story about Dai Vernon working a cruise ship and taking advantage of a deck full of double-backed cards. I won't spoil the tale here, but let it suffice to say that the baffling effect Vernon produced with the pack of gimmicked cards was reputation making (which is why magicians continue to talk about it to this day).

Remember, though you may cast off gimmicked cards as old hat or fodder for the budding bafflers, at the right moment, even the oldest chestnut can garner you amazing reactions from those who are not "in the know."

New Stuff and Old Stuff

After our successful appearance on iTricks.com this week, I've been receiving tons of praise and offers to do other shows. Sorry Oprah, this week's not good for me...

OK, by "tons of praise" I mean my mom listened to it, and by "offers to do other shows" I mean no offers to do other shows. But we are available!

Am I crazy, or has the new stuff been rolling in at a surprisingly fast clip this week? We received a giant shipment from an overseas manufacturer, as well as new DVDs and tricks from other places. Plus, we're continuing work on the remainder of the Fractal Card Magic trilogy and new DVDs coming up from Troy Hooser. Nobody ever said the magic business was easy.

But with all this new stuff, there's an old classic that has recently captured my interest: the venerable Svengali Deck. You may think "Surely, John is a magician of some skill. Why would he want to use a Svengali?" The reason is because these old tricks have a way of staying around, and as I once heard Gazzo say, "a classic is a classic is a reason."

Being relatively new in magic, and having a rapid education, I never really used a Svengali deck in my magical development. So I decided that I would take one home and see what the hubbub was about.

Invented by Burling Hull around 1909, the Svengali came into its own around the 1930s and 40s. It has been sold by pitchmen all over the world (including Chicago's own Marshall Brodien on national TV), and is undoubtedly the best-selling trick deck EVER.

After a few minutes, I could finally see the true genius behind the method. So many options, so little time! But I realized, that with so many magic effects, the key to its proper use in performance was to not over-play it. Perhaps I would perform a card effect with a normal deck, switch it for a Svengali, do a routine, then stop doing card tricks for the rest of the show.

Pitchmen, on the other hand, are working from a completely different angle. They demonstrate the deck showing all different, all the same, selected cards jumping everywhere, trying to entice customers with promises of becoming the hit of the party. That's all well and good, but I say there's still room for the Svengali in the professional magician's repertoire.

FUN Inc. carries several varieties for Svengalis: a Bicycle Svengali, our own Royal Magic brand, and a Svengali Pitch Deck that comes in bulk. We've also got a Svengali DVD and Svengali booklet that's also available in Spanish. The FUN Inc. Svengali Kit includes the booklet, DVD, and a Bicycle Svengali Deck, everything you need to become a Svengali master.

So if you think you're too professional to use this old chestnut, give it a try. You just may look at the Svengali Deck with new eyes.

Freshly brewed magic from FUN!

I am a huge fan of silent magic acts. Especially ones that pack super flat and are easy to perform.

Personally, I've been performing this trick EVERY 15 minutes.

You will love this trick! The perfect addition to ANY D'lite routine. A great opener or closer. Also, the gimmick is very nicely made.
Highly recommended! Watch the Demo!
STRING OF LIGHTS

The perfect companion to your D'Lite routine. After producing and swallowing several small red lights, the performer produces a string of lights from the mouth.The apparatus is diabolically clever, and easy to conceal until the necessary moment. The long-lasting battery will ensure many successful performances.

Oh, and Palm Fire Gimmicks are finally back in stock. Plenty of our customers have been waiting on this item for a while. They were a surprise hit for us.

Another surprise gem was the Color Changing Wand. This trick is a total no brainer! Stock them high, watch them fly!

We've got plenty of freshly brewed magic every day! Make sure to keep posted on www.funinc.com!

Support your local magic shop

Tomas and I traversed the Great White North (also known as western Michigan) to visit Grand Rapids IBM Ring 211 for Tomas' lecture. I tagged along, being from Michigan, and had several friends at the Ring with whom I could hobnob and chat with about my move to Chicago.

I learned that one of western Michigan's few magic shops was closing down. With the recent economic "downturn" combined with the surge of Internet magic shops, the ol' fashioned brick-and-mortar shops seem to be going the way of the dodo.

Don't get me wrong, Internet shops are good for finding great bargains, especially when you don't live anywhere near a real shop. But the brick-and-mortars offer many things you can't get through the Internet, like personalized instruction and feedback from experts. No matter how you slice it, Internet forums just can't beat in-person instruction from a real professional.

Plus, the local shop is in tune with any magic clubs that might be in the area, as well as any public performances that might be happening. Often you can find other magic professionals hanging around, ready and willing to share opinions and advice.

So remember, even though prices might be a little higher at a real shop (they do need to pay for rent, utilities, and many other things), the benefits from a real shop are worth it.

FUN Inc. Blog Team on iTricks
Yes, the podcast featuring Gabe, Tomas, and I went up this morning, and if I do say so myself, we rocked. Check us out chatting with Justin Robert Young at iTricks.com, or download the podcast directly.