Greetings from all of us at Hank Lee’s Magic Factory. What a fine week this has been. The Red Sox are back in first place, the Celtics have moved one step closer to the championship series, Bonnie has decided to use paper plates and plastic utensils for the big graduation party. Really what could be better?
Last Sunday was Lucas’ Spring Recital. What a treat. Not only because we heard Lucas sing some wonderful music, but because all of the young people in the recital were so very talented. If you are interested in seeing and hearing Lucas’ portion of the program, I have made it available in a Quicktime movie. Copy and paste this URL: (http://www.hanklee.org/lucasrecital.mov). It’s a pretty large file, so be patient while it downloads.
The Hank Lee Rewards Program is now up and running, and it’s working like a charm. For every retail dollar you spend with us at Hank Lee’s, you will get one Reward Point. Twenty Reward Points can be redeemed for one dollar in merchandise. Two hundred Reward Points gets you $10.00 in free merchandise. And on and on. The points are automatically added, and your point balance will appear on the invoice that comes with your order. There is no limit to the number of points you can collect. The points will not expire, so you can use them any time. All you need to do is tell us how many points you want to redeem when you place your next order (if you are ordering online, just put the number of points you would like to redeem in the Customer Notes Box and we will deduct the proper number of dollars from your order total). We think it’s a great idea. Even when we are not having a sales event, you will still be able to save for future orders! What could be better?
GET THE POINTS EVENT: In order to inaugurate the Rewards Program, and also because this is the long Memorial Day Weekend, we are having a very quick GET THE POINTS sale! It starts right now and ends on Monday the 26th of May at midnight. Everything (well, almost everything) is on sale at 25% off the retail price. All you need to do is enter the special code GETTHEPOINTS in the Discount Coupon Box of the online checkout at www.magicfact.com and we will automatically deduct 25% from your order total plus you will get your Reward Points! If you are calling your order in to the Toll Free Order Line at 800 874 7400, FAXing your order to us at 781 395 2034 or emailing us your order to magicfact@aol.com make sure to mention the special code so you can save a huge 25%!
• The minimum order to use the 25% off discount is $25.00.
• The 25% is deducted from the retail price of the item. No intermediate discounts (such as HankoGram pricing) may be applied. In the case of sets, such as DVDs and Videos, the 25% is deducted from the retail price of each item and not from the set price.
• Certain items, due to contractual restrictions, are not included in this sale. All Joe Porper items, Viking/CW items, Kennedy Enterprises items, Colin Rose items, Mike Caveney Books, JB Magic, Johnson Products items, MagicSmith items, Mikame Craft items, Greater Magic Teach-In DVDs, One Of A Kind Collectors' Items and a few other items are not included in the sale.
• If you place an order for an item that is not on this list or not noted in our online catalog, but is excluded from the sale, we will let you know before processing your order.
• Coupons will be deducted from the order total before the discount is applied.
• As the discount is automatically generated, you must put the special code GETTHEPOINTS in the Discount Coupon Box. You may have to scroll to the bottom of the page to find the box, but it is there. If you are not sure how to do this, please phone your order in to our toll-free order line at 800 874 7400, and we will take care of you. We cannot offer discounts retroactively.
And that's it. It could not be easier. So, get your order together and save yourself some serious money! But, act quickly. The sale ends Mnday at midnight!
Now, let’s take a look at this week’s Hotlist!
Self Filling Coke Bottle: You are going to love this one! It’s visual magic at its best.
Show an empty, capped Coca Cola Bottle. It is definitely empty. You can show it all around. Nothing inside. Really.
The cap is tightly attached, so there is no way to get anything into the bottle without removing the cap.
Now, lower the bottle into a nicely decorated tube. The bottle cap remains in full view at all times.
When you remove the bottle from the tube, it is filled with Coke! And, you can again show it all around. It’s completely filled!
It looks great. It’s easy as pie to do. It’s perfect as part of a routine using other liquid tricks, like Chen Lee Water Suspension or Milk Pitcher or Aerostatic Bottle. The props do all the work for you. Comes with the tube and the specially gimmicked genuine Coca Cola bottle. $49.95 (60.1522)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9448&cat=0&page=1)
Trio DVD – David Forrest: David Forrest presents three stunning card effects with one thing in common – a simple gaffed card!
Effect One: Shrink – A Hyper-Visual Sandwich Effect.
An incredibly visual sandwich effect with a stunning climax that will guarantee you are remembered. A selected card is continuously discovered in between the two Jokers, each time more impossible than the last. Eventually, you confess to the method - you are actually making the card too small to be seen! With that you shrink the selection to half its size! This is a stunner!
Effect Two: Transformer – A Multiple Selection Routine
Three cards are selected and lost back into the pack. The Jokers impossibly trap the first selection, let's say it's a Seven. Six cards are counted off the top of the deck and the seventh card is shown to be the second selection! Attention is now drawn back to the Seven, in between the two Jokers - it has transformed into the third selection! A real commercial stunner - perfect for table hopping!
Effect Three: Flight – A Test Conditions Card To Wallet
A card is selected. The spectator signs the face and the back is marked with a large 'X'. The signed card is placed in between two Jokers and the three card packet is left outjogged from the center of the deck. The spectator can still see the selected card at this point. With a snap of your fingers the deck is spread and there is now nothing in between the Jokers - the signed selection has completely vanished! You reach into your back pocket, that you have been nowhere near the entire time. Inside your regular, everyday wallet is the signed card! $20.00 (DVD00877)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9452&cat=0&page=1)
Abandoned – Bob Solari: Oh, you are just going to love Bob Solari’s latest wonder, Abandoned.
The effect is totally straightforward, and wildly visual.
A card is selected from an extremely shuffled deck. The card is returned to the deck, the deck is cut and shuffled a few more times, then replaced in the card box.
The card box with deck inside is placed on the table and covered with a handkerchief.
The spectator reaches under the handkerchief and removes the card box and deck.
When the handkerchief is whisked away, their chosen card is in full view, face up on the table!
Read on, and you will have to agree that this one is mighty close to real magic.
The deck is absolutely ungimmicked.
There are no threads, wires, loops, snaps, buttons, magnets, rubber bands, glue or talcum powder.
The handkerchief is not special in any way and can be borrowed.
The spectator removes the deck from under the handkerchief.
And, it’s really easy to do. I mean really easy! Comes with everything you need for $14.95 (30.1342)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9450&cat=0&page=1)
Invisible Stranger – Docc Hilford: It hides in shows and impersonates the innocent
Frustrated with complicated billet peeks that are more clever on the page than in the field? Tired of having to shove unfolded business cards in your wallet just to read them? Hate switching slips because it's so unnatural and you're sure to be caught with the hidden note? Then take a modern look at an ancient page from the descent of medium's notebook and use the cunning brilliance of The Invisible Stranger!
This 44 page book is jammed with detailed information, illustrations, and photographs. It’s really three manuscripts in one book! It contains...
* An invaluable method of billet reading that allows you to openly read a billet in front of the audience more easily than with a peek or a wallet.
* A full routined, scripted and audience tested act that's truly Real Time Mentalism and completely impromptu. Twenty years in actual Performance.
* A detailed, step-by-step self working method of selling the act to a proven market that's been searching for someone like you for years.
The Invisible Stranger is a combination of contemporary techniques blended with a closely guarded secret of spirit mediums. Its bold and direct methodology can be applied to hundreds of mental effects.
The new and improved, Strangers in the Night, is one of Docc's signature pieces. It showcases the mind reader's ability to look at women and tell if they're thinking of a friend, lover or someone else, whether the friend is male or female, disclose their name and accurately describe the friend who isn't even present! And apparently before touching a billet!
As a bonus, a quarter of the book is devoted to how, where and to whom you can sell this act for a solid, steady income. You'll learn everything about booking enough gigs to show off your new talent, perform part time or be one of a few select mentalists who will exploit this market for all it's worth. Mentalists have paid Docc a high fee to teach them how to successfully work the Ladies Club Market. Only about half a dozen mentalists now work this lucrative and hidden gold mine.
$45.00 (40.636)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9451&cat=0&page=1)
Tantalizing Wand: Another hilarious wand routine from Mr. Tricky, creator of the Flipple Tipple Wand.
It all starts with a normal-looking wand, black with white tips.
To your dismay, the white tip of the wand keeps falling off. Of course, the kids are quick to let you know.
You replace the tip, and it jumps to the other end of the wand. Now, there are two white tips on one end and no white tips on the other.
Remove the extra tip and replace it on the proper end, only to have it jump back to the other end!
Finally, you wrap the wand in paper and make the extra white tip vanish! When you remove the wand from the paper, it is now a multi-color wand!! The kids will go nuts!
Easy to do. A great new addition to your comedy wand arsenal. $39.00 (50.958)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9446&cat=0&page=1)
Ivory Connection- Reed McClintock and Steve Dobson:
What is The Ivory Connection?
It is the name explorers gave to the secret pathway leading from a clever pocket trick from the 1940’s to a stunning magical experience of today.
The Ivory Connection was discovered by professional performers Reed McClintock and Steve Dobson working in the trenches, exploring the past for new miracles to bring back to their audiences.
The Ivory Connection is the only version of the Sacks dice routine that begins with magic, looks like magic, and ends with magic. Two dice appear out of nowhere. Their spots dance across their faces, jumping from die to die until the only thing the audience is sure of is that they’ve seen all sides of each die. Each separate die
and then...they reach their final destination, just south of reality.
The new DVD features updated presentations, explanations, handlings and tips from both intrepid explorers. For the first time, the rare and illusive Steve Dobson reveals his preferred handling. For the first time, Reed McClintock explains the refinements he has made after years of performances for paying audiences. And as a bonus for future historians, the entire footage of the original Ivory Connection is included, in all of its low production glory.
Today’s audiences demand more than just a couple of dice whose sides don’t add up. Take them on a trip down the Ivory Connection. $35.00 (10.1097)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=1940&cat=0&page=1)
Lollapalooza: Lollapalooza contains three routines with contributions from Jon Armstrong, and inspirations from Darwin Ortiz and R. Paul Wilson. You will learn a 10-Card Poker Deal that is the fairest of them all! A Spectator-Cuts-The-Cards where the spectator ends up with an impossible hand of cards. An incredible Poker Demonstration involving a spectator choosing any 10 cards in an attempt to beat the dealer!
No forcing, or sleight-of-hand required.
Includes:
* Full patter for all routines
* Specially printed cards from the U.S. Playing Card Company.
* Custom Sticker for your card box
* Lots of fun reading!
$20.00 (30.1341)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9449&cat=0&page=1)
Focal Point – Andrew Mayne: Mentalism with a visual twist.
Introduce several antique photographs collected from around the world. A spectator is invited to freely select one to focus upon. After a moment of concentration you begin to zero in on the spectator's thoughts and reveal the selected photograph. However, in a strange climax, you leave the spectator wondering if they imagined it all when the chosen photograph is turned over to reveal a completely blurred image.
* Complete with everything needed to perform
* Spectator has a totally free choice.
* Resets Instantly
* Includes alternate routines. $20.00 (40.635)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9447&cat=0&page=1)
The Art Of Deception - Chuck Romano:
This book chronicles the long and colorful relationship between conjuring and art. For the first time, the history of artist and the magic art they created are profiled in detail.
The magician and artist are similar in many ways. As is true of painting or drawing, magic is a visual form of expression. Seizing an inanimate substance such as paint or ink, and using a brush or pen as a magic wand, artists create worlds of fantasy on canvas and paper. Magicians and artists alike strive to evoke wonder in the hearts and minds of their audience.
In this remarkable book, award-winning author Chuck Romano explores the rich tapestry of magic art and the men and women who have created it. Early examples of magic art from Bosch and Bruegel, to Daumier and Cham, are discussed. A detailed look at the lithographic process, the companies that produced magic lithos and the performers immortalized by them are featured. Romano also highlights contemporary collectors of conjuring and their preservation of magic art for generations to come.
This revised and updated second edition also looks at other subjects, such as major artists of the past and present, illustrators of magic catalogs and magazines, conjuring's connection to comic books, artists whose magic art is primarily fine art (painting or sculpture), and much more are included in this copiously illustrated volume.
Pages 424 - Hardbound with Dust Jacket, Photo-Illustrated. $65.00 (BK01581)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9445&cat=0&page=1)
And that’s the hottest of the hot stuff for this Memorial Day weekend. Don’t forget to save some serious money with our GET THE POINTS sales event, and get those Reward Point for your future orders!
As always, I hope you will find some time to spend with us either online at www.magicfact.com or in person at our almost one year old retail studio at 102 North Street in Medford. Either way, we love the company.
Hank Lee
