Greetings from all of us at Hank Lee’s Magic Factory. What a fun week this has been! Except for the Red Sox. Sheesh.
I had received a bunch of emails from folks who were trying to place orders online and, whenever they clicked the “Add To Cart” Button, they would be transported to the Video Demo of the item. And, while it is fun to watch the demo, if you wanted to order the item, not so much fun. My reaction, of course, was that they were accidentally clicking the wrong button. Until I installed Google Chrome, the new browser from the folks at Google. Everything looked great until I tried to order something. Then, guess what, right to the Video Demo! Hmmmm. Turns out there was a glitch in the code that allowed everything to work perfectly in some browsers, but created a mess in others. So, I put on my button-down oxford cloth shirt, inserted the pocket protector in my shirt pocket, hung my slide-rule on my belt and dug into the code. I found the problem pretty quickly. And, I had to change just a little tiny bit of code in every item that was accompanied by a video demo. I found out that we have over 700 items with video demos. And, I needed to change each one by hand. That’s what I did last weekend. Now, no matter what browser you are using, you should be able to watch the demo and order the product. Please let me know if you discover any other interesting glitches in the Online Catalog. I’ll keep my pocket protector handy.
Our good friend Mike Maione takes some of the best photos around. He is our Official Conclave Photographer, and he just sent me the pictures from this year’s Conclave. I have put them online for you, and you can watch them right on your computer. It’s a large file, so be patient!
To view this year’s photos, click here.
Speaking of the Conclave, I received a really nice note from one of the attendees. Let’s call him Jon. I thought it was such a nice note that I asked him if I could share it with you. So, here it is:
“Hi Hank,
I have struggled for a few days to try and figure out how to word this "thank you" without it sounding too corny. Alas, I have failed in that, but still want to express my gratitude.
I have been coming the Conclave for many years now, enjoying it thoroughly each time. Okay, there were some shows better than others, some lecturers better than others, some close-up shows better than others. But overall it has been a fun and positive experience.
This year had to have been your crowning achievement. What struck me this year more than any other year was how you were EVERYWHERE. A strong reminder to me that events like this don't just "happen". I think that with some of the good-natured ribbing from performers, MC's, etc., I lost sight of the fact that this is your vision, your "baby", and that your fingerprints are all over every single aspect of the event.
What I also realized more than ever this year is that you "give a sh*t", something else that got obscured over the years by the teasing and jokes. It seems that every year you get thrown a "curve ball" of some sort or another. This year, it was the re-scheduling of Dave and Dan, plus who knows how many unseen (by me) details related to the change of venue.
Anyway, thanks, Hank. While you probably won't be retiring from the profits you realize from my purchases, I remain a loyal customer, I continue to recommend your store and the Conclave to anyone who will listen, and I will continue to return enthusiastically to your Conclave each year. – Jon
And, that’s all from here. Now, let’s look at this week’s excitement!
Buy Some, Get Some at 100% Off EXTENDED! I know it sounds crazy, but we have figured out a way to do this. For every order you place, we will send you some brand new, right off the shelf, magic equal in value to the merchandise you ordered. Whaaaaat? Crazy, right? Maybe not so crazy. Ask the folks who took advantage of this the last time around and got hundreds and hundreds of dollars in free magic!
Here’s how it works. If you buy $50.00 in merchandise, we will send along with your order another $50.00 in free merchandise. Same for $100.00 or $200.00 or $300.00 or more. However much you spend, we will match it with additional magic of the same value.
The magic we will send is really good stuff. There are some tricks and some DVDs, even some books. It is brand new, right from stock. Stuff you will like and use!
It all starts right now, the very second you get this email Newsletter. And it will run through Thursday, April 29nd at midnight. Seven more days. All you need to do is put the special code BUY SOME in the Customer Notes Box of the online checkout at www.magicfact.com so we know that you wish to participate in the promotion. If you call or FAX your order in to us, just mention the code BUY SOME.
There really aren’t many rules or restrictions. The only thing is, we cannot combine offers. So, Reward Points, Promotional Gift Certificates and Magic Of The Month Club pricing will not apply. Oh, and the minimum order for this promotion is $30.00. Makes sense, right?
Get your order in to us, and see what surprises await you!
Now, let’s take a look at this week’s Hotlist.
(1) Crush- Eric Ross: Crush a bottle or can with your mind.
Focus your attention. Stare with intent and precision. Suddenly, and slowly, the bottle begins to crush. They hear it. They feel it. It happens without warning, entirely under your control.
The DVD teaches two complete methods, one of which requiries no gimmicks of any kind. Perform it with a borrowed bottle. A Pepsi bottle. A water bottle. Any bottle.
Hold the bottle in your hands. Put the bottle in your spectator's hands. Put the bottle on the table. The choice is yours. It crushes.
The DVD was shot on location in New York City. Both methods are tried, true, and work in real environments. Don't want to carry around a gimmick? You don’t have to!
Crush is suitable for close-up, parlor, or stage performance, and via a combination of methods, is workable for just about any environment.
$29.95 (DVD01127)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=10050&cat=0&page=1)
(2) Sick DVD – Ponta The Smith: This is the coin magic video that garnered so much underground buzz that it didn't just break through -- it exploded onto the magic scene.
Ponta the Smith, a rising sensation in close-up magic from Osaka, Japan, is here to raise the bar in the world of coin handling. He makes coins smoothly disappear, reappear and change right in front of spectators' noses. His efficient, elegant moves make metal look like vapor.
Prepare to look at coin magic differently.
New handlings of 11 coin plots:
• Spellbound
• Tenkai Pennies
• Vanish
• Matrix
• Quick Matrix
• Backfire Matrix
• Backfire Assembly
• One Coin Routine
• Three Coins Across
• Three Fly
• Winged Silver
Visual, no-talk teaching makes everything easy to learn in any language.
All impromptu.
No gaffs necessary.
Not a beginner video, but magicians familiar with basic coin plots will be able to put this to work.
$34.95 (DVD01125)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=10046&cat=0&page=1)
(3) Cesaral Open Perceptions: Give a deck of cards and a dozen envelopes to an audience member. Instruct the volunteer to pick a card, memorize it and then insert the card into an envelope. Ask this person to give the remaining cards and envelopes to another audience member. This audience member is instructed to do the same as the first. Continue to have them pass on the cards and envelopes to different people until all the envelopes are gone or there are no more volunteers. The last audience member gives the remaining cards and possibly the remaining envelopes to a trustworthy audience member for safe keeping.
After the above has been completed, you say:
"You may be puzzled; wondering why I’ve asked you to secretly select and hide cards in the envelopes you are now holding. Well tonight I would like to conduct both a little survey and an experiment. First the survey, I want your feedback, your opinion of what you think of me, this experiment and my show. To make things a little easier for you, I have prepared this rubber stamp with a few survey comments. Just stamp the questionnaire ontoyour envelope and check one or more of the options given.”
The stamp could have these options or whatever ones you wish:
• There is no way the magician can divine my card!
• If he can, he must be a clairvoyant!
• If he can, he’s too dangerous to be allowed to roam free.
• You are an amazing Magician! Contact me at ___________.
After they’ve answered the survey, you as the magician or psychic, are able to name one by one each of the cards the audience members chose and hid in their envelopes.
You can vary the presentation so that you have them stamp your business card right onto their envelopes. When the effect is over they can keep the envelope with your contact information and have a great keepsake of your show!
Bonus Effect - Impossible Travel: A freely chosen card, kept by an audience member hidden inside an envelope, travels to an empty envelope that has been present in the middle of the stage the whole time!
Important points:
The best chipped cards on the market are included. The 52 cards fit in a regular poker card box!
You never touch the cards. You can be up to 54 yards (50 meters, or 164 feet) away from them the whole time.
There are many options for the rubber stamp, and you can custom order any design for it. You can also have several rubber stamps depending on which presentation you want for any given show.
The method is original, clean, and all props look completely innocent.
No forces are necessary.
Great for both stage and close-up.
Cutting edge electronics make this very easy to do, allowing you to concentrate on a presentation that will leave your audience knowing that you controlled their actions, read their minds or saw the future!
$990.00 (40.722)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=10048&cat=0&page=1)
(4) Infinity Ring: New from Will Tsai's Jewelry Magic Series! Beautifully manufactured in Japan. A totally elegant effect
The Infinity Ring is the perfect effect to perform when you are asked to demonstrate something interesting but choose not to do a card trick or coin trick. Instead you offer to demonstrate the power of belief, using your necklace. Both the diamond pendant and the necklace are separated for the spectators to handle, then held by the spectator throughout the effect. You do not touch either item throughout the entire routine.
Talk about how impossibilities can be overcome with the power of mind. If one can believe, and insist on believing until the very last moment, everything in life will eventually fall into place.
In the blink of an eye, the pendant links onto the necklace in midair as it leaves the spectator's hand.
It’s the classic ring and rope trick, but so much better! It comes with a specially designed piece of jewelry, but it doesn’t stop there! The package comes with complete instructions and not just the method, but the psychology behind the handling, advance handling, complete hands-off presentation, etc. Everything that has made this effect one of Will Tsai's signature pieces for his VIP clients. Nothing is left out.
Everything is examinable and happens in the spectator’s own hands.
The Infinity Ring is designed with specific weight and material to allow the effect to happen effortlessly. It will serve you as a piece of jewelry that builds your business and lasts you a lifetime.
The ring measures a full 1.75 inches in diameter, making it the perfect conversation piece. The look is all its own. Comes with a 3 Year warranty. $79.95 (10.1494)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9787&cat=0&page=1)
(5) Card Magic DVD - A Practical Approach - Bob White: "The inviolable rule of the professional is uniformity of action. Any departure from the customary manner of holding, shuffling, cutting or dealing the cards may be noticed, and is consequently avoided... Whether the procedure is true or 'blind,' the same apparent action is maintained throughout." - The Expert at the Card Table, 1902
"Volume upon volume has been written on cards. Paying particular attention to the uniformity of action is generally a minor detail in most compositions. However, this subject is a crucial one. Its implementation helps eliminate suspicion in the minds of the spectators. Connecting the dodges of showing two or three cards as one, the Gemini Count, top change, various false counts, etc., with a common link of uniformity strengthens the overall ability to deceive the already suspicious crowd... The various techniques are logical and the style is compatible with the way most handle playing cards when they are not trying to do a contrived maneuver of some sort. Their utility is far reaching and many of these techniques have served me for over thirty years. On many occasions, they have caught the well-posted card magician off guard for one reason or another." - It's a Matter of Style, 1997
In addition to card effects, Bob White teaches a uniform system for showing a single card, doing double and triple lifts, false counts (including the Elmsley and Gemini counts) and one-handed Tilt.
Contents:
White's Fingerprint Trick
Lie Detector Test
Thought-Of Card Across
E.G. Brown's Spelling Trick
Japanese Aces
Ambitious Classic Revisited
Slow Motion Jazz Aces
Ladies and Gentlemen
A Chemical Reaction
Dai Vernon's unpublished Penetration of Thought & Double Pinochle
$49.95 (DVD01126)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=10051&cat=0&page=1)
(6) Kymera Wand: The Kymera Wand is the perfect addition to your Magic Room or Den. It is the perfect “magical” replacement for your dull and boring Universal Remote Control! Just one magic wand does it all.
Perfectly balanced in the hand and weighted for accuracy, the Kymera will allow you to impress and amaze your friends and family with its specially developed "action at a distance" capabilities. No home is complete without the new Kymera Magic Wand.
Highest Quality
Handmade Finish
Can perform 13 magical functions
Unique action requires only minutes of practice for you to become proficient
Works with almost any device that can be remote controlled via infra-red (IR)
Perform magic for real in your own home
Batteries included
Be one of the first to own this fabulous new invention
Length Approximately: 13 1/4" (35.3cm)
$89.99 (70.986)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=10052&cat=0&page=1)
(7) Zip Tie Escape: Once you know the secret, these ultra-tight zip ties take you only a few seconds to escape! In fact, bound not only by your wrists with two jumbo 36-inch zip ties, but also with your fingers trapped by two smaller zip ties, you're able to escape with ease!
Everyone knows that a zip tie or cable tie can get so tight it can pop your hand right off your wrist! However, even though these are tightened enough to turn your hands blue, thanks to a little Poor Boy ingenuity you're able to perform an amazing escape with ungimmicked zip ties, close up or stage!
Pick two huge guys from the audience and have them zip-tie your hands together. You’re in a tight spot! How on earth can you get out of these? Faster than greased lighting, that's how! While everyone is watching you struggle with the zip ties, they also see from time to time you have a hand free! These are genuine, ungimmicked zip ties, yet you can slip into and out of them as if they were rubber bands!
• Examinable, unaltered zip ties!
• Everything you need, ready to go!
• Huge impact, close up or stage!
• ZIPPPPP it funny! ZIPPPPP it dramatic!
The Poor Boy Zip Tie Escape includes two jumbo 36-inch wrist shackle zip ties, two finger zipper zip ties for the optional fingercuff portion of the trick and full instructions. You can perform a comedy routine, like the Comedy Rope Escape, or a dramatic feat, such as Metamorphosis or a Mailbag Escape!
$19.95 (60.1664)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=10047&cat=0&page=1)
(8) Reversible: Mathieu Bich’s Reversible is a very visual card trick based on the classic "Reset" plot
Four Kings. Four Aces. The Kings are placed face-up in the spectator's hand. The Aces are held face-down in your hand. The two groups of cards barely touch each other: They transpose in full view. Instantly.
Easy to do - Instantly Reset (perfect for table hopping)
No Sticky stuff - No rough and smooth - Only 8 cards are used
Comes complete: 8 Cards + 22 Page, black and white Photo-illustrated Booklet with explanation in both English and Spanish.
Cards specially printed by US Playing Card Co.
$19.95 (30.1488)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=10049&cat=0&page=1)
(9) Sandsational Rope Routine DVD: The Sandsational Rope Routine by George Sands is one of the greatest Cut and Restored effects ever performed! Now you can feature this powerful centerpiece in your show, taught on DVD by Chastain Criswell. You’ll receive everything you need in one handy, Sandsational kit!
Contains:
Brazen Restoration
Stretching A Rope
Frustrated Restoration
Continuous Circle
Much Ado About Knotting
Sliding Cut
Sleight of Leg
Regular Restoration
Removable Knot
Give a Magician Enough Rope
Chastain's tips and moves
You get:
• 50 Feet of very high quality rope.
• 12 page Booklet with Detailed Instructions and Illustrations.
• 15 Minute DVD on performance and expiation.
$25.00 (DVD01124)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=10045&cat=0&page=1)
It took me 3 minutes to visualize the routine.... 3 years to figure it out.... 3 thousand feet of rope to master it.... 3 million spectators to audience test it...
I've contributed all I can to what I think is a perfect Rope Routine. Now it's your turn to do justice to my...."Sandsational Rope".....George Sands.
(10) Bloomeries DVD Set – Gaetan Bloom: On this two DVD set, the world of Gaëtan Bloom opens just for you! Four hours of magic, a score of “golden nuggets.” Magic that you will add to your repertoire immediately! The contents of three videos have finally been remastered in this double set.
Contents include:
The Indirect Wire
The Alarm clock
The Bottle
Buttons Through the Table
Five Objects
The Acrobatic Card
The Thumbtip
Color Changing Scarf
Silk to Egg
The Buttons
The Ears
The Scarf in the Bread Roll
The Key Ring
General magic:
The Die
The Bottle
The Cord Snake
Polaroid
The Bicycle Pumps
The Fish On The Line
Bonus: Sponge Balls, The Small Statue, Interview, Little Tips
Interview with Dominique Duvivier.
$65.00 (DVD01128)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=10053&cat=0&page=1)
(11) Real Secrets Of David Stone DVD: More than 120 performances in almost 2 years. The last one took place at the most attended convention: Blackpool, where 700 magicians witnessed the outstanding show that built David Stone's fame, making him one of the worlds best magic performers today.
This film is so much more than a lecture, it's a master class on entertainment and showmanship, mixing the art of close up with a twisted, fun mind. An act full of energy delivered with 10 of David's strongest effects taught right here.
Get in on the insider’s view of a life dedicated to the art of presentation and magic and how you can effectively apply it to yours.
Peel back the layers of the mind of David Stone to understand what exactly makes him tick, how he comes up with such effective magic, how he practices, and why nerves always have been - and still are - a tremendous factor for him, and how he gets over them.
10 of David's most powerful effects explained.
Palm coin appearance
Floor coin hop
Four coin impromptu production
Cell phone from sleeve production
Wine bottle from balloon
Wine bottle from silk routine
Full drink production from sleeve
Multiple Full drink production routine
Four card compression to spectators card
PK Dinner plate gag
In addition to the effects Stone talks much about...
How to make a living with magic
How to get known
How to command attention in a world with a very small attention span
Crowd control and breaking the ice
Finding a training and practicing process
Getting ready for competitions
Dealing with stage fright
$39.95 (DVD01129)
(Warning - Some offensive and suggestive language)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=10054&cat=0&page=1)
And that’s this week’s Hotter Than Hot Hotlist. Not the longest Hotlist we have ever presented, but certainly one of the best!
As always, we appreciate your taking time out from your busy schedules to visit with us either online at www.magicfact.com or in person at 102 North Street in Medford. Either way, we love the company!
Hank
