Greetings from all of your friends at Hank Lee's Magic Factory. We are spinning like crazy around here. The Holiday Extra is in the mail. The online Holiday Extra is waiting for your perusal at www.magicfact.com. The orders are already pouring in, and the elves are starting to drink heavily. Only Egg Nog, of course.
This week, Lucas, the younger son, was on the CBS Evening News. He and his band were featured in a story on hearing loss. If you are a regular watcher of CBS News, and you were watching on Tuesday evening and you saw the segment on hearing loss, Lucas was the kid singing (and by singing I really mean screaming) into the microphone. He was in an extreme close-up and looked very cute (don’t tell him I said that).
Buy only the best! As the holiday season gets into full swing, we are being bombarded with all kinds of new stuff. Some of it is really great. Some not so great. It's our goal here at Hank Lee's to try and carry only best stuff for our customers. Since we have been around for longer than long and know what's good and what isn't, we try and filter out the, how to say it, junk. Which means that we do not carry every single new item. We carry the ones that we believe have merit and are good value for the money. The others never make it past the circular file.
This week's special event is the Great Sankey Poster Giveaway. Jay has printed some really beautiful new posters. He autographed a pile of them for us and sent them our way. We are giving them away to you, our favorite customers. You can read all about it in about two paragraphs.
Now, let's take a look at this week's Hotlist at www.magicfact.com
Jay Sankey Poster #1 - Destined to become a collector's item, this beautiful limited-edition poster is the first in a series. The large-format print (13.5 x 19) features 11 truly artistic stop-action images, each capturing a classic card or coin sleight in loving detail. Produced to last, the poster has been printed on Supreme Gloss 100-lb paper and is suitable for framing. Each print has been personally signed by Jay Sankey himself on the face of the bottom card of the deck in the image featuring the "One Hand Top Palm." Sells for $20.00, but is yours free when you buy fifty dollars worth of Jay Sankey products! Just put the code SANKEYPOSTER in the Discount Coupon Box when you check out.
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/customer/product.php?productid=8062&cat=&page=1)
Frankie The Snowman - The very latest from Peter and Cynthia White at P&A Silks.
To build a snowman, ask the boys and girls to throw invisible snowballs towards a black silk that one of the children is holding.
Place the black silk with the invisible snowballs into a very special bag. The children say a few magic words, and when you pull out the black silk, it is now covered with visible snowballs! The problem is that the balls are scattered all over the silk, in no particular order.
So, you place the silk back into the bag, and ask the kids to toss more snowballs towards the bag. Alas, when you pull the silk out for the second time, the balls are shown scattered in yet a different configuration, but still not right.
Explain that the large snowball should be on the bottom of the stack, with a medium snowball on top of it, and a smaller snowball at the top. Return the silk to the bag. The children now follow your instructions very carefully and throw the snowballs in the correct order. When you pull the silk out of the bag, the snowballs all stacked in the right order, but upside down!
Once again, you return the silk to the bag, and the children throw snowballs.
When you remove the silk from the bag, the balls are shown to be in the correct order. But, the snowman is missing some of the parts that make up a snowman. These parts would include a hat, a broom, a couple of tree limbs, a scarf, a nose (carrot variety), buttons (coal), and maybe even a pipe.
Place a white silk into the bag along with the snowball covered silk, and ask the children to toss all of those items towards the silk. The kids shout the magic words, and you now pull out a black and white silk with the outline of a snowman and all the additional parts that the children have thrown. The snowman is now complete, but has no color!
A white silk goes into the bag again. Ask the children to toss some colors towards the silk. When you remove the silk, it is now a rainbow silk!
The rainbow silk and the black and white outline silk go back in the bag. You wave your hand, say the magic words, and pull out a fully colored happy 36" Snowman Silk! What a finish! What a routine. The kids will love it. Great for your holiday shows! Comes complete with all the silks. Supply your own Change Bag.$200.00.
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/customer/product.php?productid=8064&cat=&page=1)
Crowdpuller DVD Set - Peter Wardell - Join one of today’s finest street magicians as this unique DVD Set takes you on a journey into the world of real street magic.
Two Disc Set. Contents include:
Behind the Scenes - An exclusive look into the world of street performing filmed around Covent Garden and the South Bank in London.
Getting a crowd - Learn the real secrets of building a crowd and apply these techniques to your magic.
The Pre-Show - Watch and learn from a true master as the techniques are put into action!
The Magic - Explained in detail for the first time, Peter's entire pre-show performance! Featuring his versions of The C&R Rope, Coins thru table, Ambitious Card and The Peter Wardell Coin Load.
The Knotted Silks - One of Peter's featured routines and worth the price of the entire DVD set!
Bonus Pickpocketing Techniques - A master class in boldness and technique.
The Cups and Balls - Peter's trademark routine featured on DVD for the first time! First watch the complete routine in a live performance from the home of street theatre, Covent Garden in London. Learn the correct props to use and where to get them!
The complete routine revealed in intricate detail - nothing is held back!
The One-Cup variation - A fantastic seldom seen move!
Trade Show Work - Learn how to apply the techniques taught on these DVD's into your next corporate event or trade show.
$70.00
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/customer/product.php?productid=8065&cat=&page=1)
Foam Microphone - From the Goshman Spongewerks comes this hilarious Foam Microphone. Great for comedy magic; perfect for MCs; terrific in kidshows. Perfect for singing in the shower! Make it part of your routine today!
The included instructions explain how to perform the Vanishing Microphone and Appearing Microphone routines.
Microphone Length: Approximately 10-1/2" (27cm). Looks so real, you’ll think you’re a rock star. $10.00
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/customer/product.php?productid=8063&cat=&page=1)
Appearing Pool Cue - You'll be smiling from ear to ear when you hear the audience reaction to the sudden production of a full size pool cue! The applause will be deafening!
What better finish to the Multiplying Billard Balls than the instant production of a full size pool cue?
Mike Bent suggests producing a full size pool cue as the climax to Jerry Andrus’ Zone Zero.
Or, let’s say you’re walking down a dark street late at night. Suddenly two strangers appear. You reach into your coat and produce a full size pool cue. Think they’ll bother a guy swinging a pool cue around? But, I digress.
Tony Curtis is having this wonderful item made in Thailand and shipping them directly to us.
The Appearing Pool Cue features telescopic action, opens in a flash and resets in seconds. It starts out less than 12” long and extends out to over 48 inches long. Comes with a carrying pouch and full instructions. $40.00
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/customer/product.php?productid=8057&cat=&page=1)
Monkey Business - Derek Rutt’s Monkey Business is a fabulous new routine for your family shows.
Explain that the monkey lives in the zoo, as you put him into his cage.
He can be clearly seen through the bars.
Somehow, every night he manages to escape. Place the cage behind your back, and, when you bring it back out, he has disappeared.
In the morning he is always back in his cage. Where he goes nobody knows! Again you place it behind your back and when it comes out, he is back inside.
The kids let you know that there’s some funny business going on behind your back and they will start to shout and ask you to turn the cage around. You carry on and do it again. The monkey comes and goes at will. You do it over and over, until finally you turn the cage around and there is nothing on the other side!
“How does he escape?” you ask. Offer to show them. Put the monkey in the cage and count “1, 2, 3.” The monkey visually vanishes. You let the cage fall open to show that he is really gone!
But, where can he be? Turn around to put the cage away, and there he is on your back! Surrounded by a zillion bananas!
Beautifully made in heavy duty plastic, gorgeous silk-screening. The monkey attached to your back using a magnet, so there is no pin to worry about. A great routine. $90.00
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/customer/product.php?productid=8058&cat=&page=1)
Sankey Skutt Sessions - Jay Sankey & Mike Skutt - Mike Skutt is one of the most creative magicians I've met in a long, long time. I just HAD to work with him!-Jay Sankey
Spend some time with two of magic's most seriously twisted minds and learn the secrets behind a jet-fuelled collection of brand new, highly original magic!
Featuring 15 wonderfully fresh and extremely powerful effects with coins, playing cards, tea bags, paper napkins, sponge balls, twist ties, jingle bells, dryer sheets and even sweet-smelling socks!
Through Thick & Thin: An initialed coin passes through the top of a table three times, each time more impossible than the last!
Siamese Change: The paint brush card change on steriods!
No Way Out: Two coins magically change places (despite the fact that one of them is wrapped in three feet of clear tape!)
Mr. Tea: The date of a borrowed coin eerily appears on a tea-soaked paper napkin!
Surfboard Change: A card changes while riding across a ribbon-spread deck like a California surfer!
Odean Production: A fold in an ordinary shirt visibly transforms into a sponge ball!
Transient: A magic mark jumps back and forth between a selected card and a borrowed coin
Twist in Time: Two twist ties travel back in time to arrive at a mind-bending climax!
Couple Card: Mike's most requested piece of card magic!
Jorge Washington: Inexplicably weird, bizarre and even a little scary!
Duet: The voice of a bell mysteriously leaves one bell and arrives at another!
The Ol' Coin Up Nose: Mike's f-f-fresh handling of a classic effect!
Questionable: Jay ages 30 years while performing this hyper-visual card effect!
Dirty Laundry: Using just a dryer sheet and a coin, Mike creates a startling series of magic effects!
Twinkle Toes: A marked coin appears inside the performer's own sock!
Jay and Mike. They share some marvelous magic. They play music. They interview each other. They stare awkwardly at each other in absolute silence. Proof that great mimes think alike! $30.00
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/customer/product.php?productid=8061&cat=&page=1)
Stack To The Max DVD - Brad Manuel - On this DVD, Brad Manuel will teach you his handling of dice stacking, from the basics to advanced techniques, including his groundbreaking 20 and 25 high stacks.
Brad also walks you through one of his favorite audience-involving routines where an adult attempts dice stacking with very funny and unsuccessful results, followed by a child being successful (with little help from Brad). A very strong entertainment experience, especially for a family audience, and one you can adapt to any audience.
From the novice to the seasoned dice stacker, this DVD will have something for everyone. Includes live performances of Brad's routine plus bonus live footage and some very funny bloopers. $34.95
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/customer/product.php?productid=8060&cat=&page=1)
Dice Stacking Chop Cup- Introducing Brad Manuel's Dice Stacking Chop Cup. These custom made leather-bound polycarbonate cups are not only the perfect dice stacking cups but are also chop cups that look like a "normal" stationary-store item. No magic-prop look about these. Brad designed them specially with the chop cup feature he uses himself in his demonstrations.
Drop a die inside the cup, turn it over onto your hand, give it a shake, and they hear the dice inside the cup. Yet, you lift up the cup and the die is gone.
Everything is performed with standard transparent casino dice. Perform your normal routines with the bonus of the "audible" illusion inside the cup. It's perfect!
The set comes with the cup, 5 casino dice, 1 "chopped" casino die, and instructions.
Cup Height: Approx. 4 1/2"
$70.00
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/customer/product.php?productid=8059&cat=&page=1)
And, that's the great new stuff for this week. Each item hand picked for your magical pleasure! I hope you enjoy reading about it, and I hope you will put some of these great new items in your repertoire.
If you will be in the Boston area in the near future, please stop by our fabulous retail store at 112 South Street in downtown Boston or you can visit us 24/7 at the web site to the stars, www.magicfact.com. Either way, we love the company.
Hank Lee
