Greetings from everyone at Hank Lee's Magic Factory. Did I mention that it snowed last week? I know I didn't. I think it's the first time in all the years I've been writing this weekly eMail Newsletter that I didn't mention a weather event. I must be slipping, at least a little. Anyway, it did snow. We got over a foot of the white stuff. Luckily both boys were still at home, so I put shovels in their hands and pointed them in the correct direction and a' shoveling they went! By last weekend, the outside temperature was in the high 50s, so most of the snow is gone. But, I know this is just the beginning of what portends to be a snowy winter.
This week's Conclave news. We have just added Kenrick ICE McDonald to our already star-studded talent lineup. As each week goes by, I am more and more convinced that this is going to be one of those memorable Conclaves! Of course, I want you to be with us. The dates are April 8th – 10th and great seats are still available. You can check it all out, and register online if you like. Click Here for more info!
The New Year started off with a magical explosion! Right out of the gate, we have a huge hit on our hands. Rizer is by far the strongest new effect of 2011, but I think it could easily go down as a Top Ten trick for the year. You can read all about it in this week's Hotlist, and I definitely recommend that you pick one up for yourself.
And, that's it for this week. Now, it's on to the first excitement of the New Year!
DVD GIVEAWAY: So many new DVDs; so little time! I say, what could be better than an old-fashioned DVD Giveaway! For the next six days, from right now until Wednesday, January 12th, at midnight, you have the opportunity to get DVDs for free! But, you have to get them the old fashioned way. You must earn them.
Here's the way it works: For every order of $100 or more, you get one free DVD (your choice of any single DVD that sells for $35.00 or less). If you spend $200 or more, you get two free DVDs (again, your choice). $300 or more gets you three free DVDs. And on it goes. The more you buy, the more you get for free! It's an incredible deal when you figure that the average price of a DVD is $35.00! In order to claim your free DVD, just put the name of the DVD in the Customer Notes Box at the bottom of the second page of the online checkout (after you fill in your name, address, etc.) at www.magicfact.com. If you phone your order in to our toll free number at 800 874 7400, just let the order-person know what free DVD(s) you want. If you FAX the order to us at 781 395 2034, same thing. Just let us know which ones you want. Remember, the giveaway ends on Wednesday January 12th, at midnight!
Now, let's take a peek at this week's Hotlist!
(1) Rizer: Just when you think you've seen it all, something like Rizer makes you reevaluate everything you know about magic.
You draw a rough image of a deck of cards on your naked arm. Nothing else is seen on your arm, except skin and ink.
Then, from out of the center of the hand-drawn deck, the inked outline of a single card visually rises along your skin. Yes, the ink. Your spectators can touch, feel and inspect the transformed drawing.
• Easy to perform
• Can be performed completely surrounded, no angle issues
• Resets in 30 seconds
• No magnets, fake skin, thread, flaps or extra pieces
• Nothing to hide, palm or steal
• Animate other drawings
• 100% examinable
• Bonus: Includes sleek black key chain to hold the gimmick
$29.95 (30.1563)
"F…ing Amazing!" - David Blaine
"So Simple.. And Genius" - Cyril Takayama
"Dude, That's Sick!" - Bro Gilbert
"Hell to the Yeah! That's my kind of trick!" - Luke Dancy
(2) MiniMax: The smallest and most sensitive electronic magnetic detector available today. It is so small that you can hide it in a Thumb Tip, below your watch, in your mouth, under your sleeve or you can simply finger palm it. The options are endless! This amazing device allows you to perform magic effects that have never been possible before. You can show your hands totally empty before during and after your performance!
* The most sensitive magnetic detector available.
* Contains a very quiet built-in vibrator that delivers the information that you need.
* 1 inch (3.2 cm) long, 0.2 inch (6 mm) thick and 0.4 inch (1 cm) wide.
* Extremely easy to conceal.
Here a few of the many possibilities with MiniMax:
Spike
Perform the classic 'Smash and Stab/Spike' routine without any finger ring or sharpie! Simply use MiniMax and still get the information at a distance of 10 cm (about 3 inches) from the Spike!
Coin in Hand
You can tell which hand a spectator is holding a coin in. This can be repeated and performed with other small objects.
Blindfolded
Show the spectators 5 coins and mark one of them with an "X". Now let someone blindfold you and mix the coins. You will immediately know which coin is the marked coin.
Smell It
Give your spectator your finger ring to hold in one of his hands. You will know in which hand he holds the finger ring just by smelling their hand.
Detect Objects
Detect objects like magnetic coins, magnetic finger rings, Spike or any product you can place a magnet in. Just think of the possibilities!
MiniMax offers a wealth of possibilities to close up magic performers. This utility device will work with many objects, leaving you to concentrate on your performance. MiniMax comes with the minimax unit, reserve battery, a little pouch and an instructional DVD.
$99.00 (40.769)
(3) Moments – Troy Hooser - Written by Joshua Jay: A brand new collection of over thirty routines and sleights from heralded creator and performer Troy Hooser. A decade after the enormous success of Hooser's first collection, Destroyers, author Joshua Jay returns to document a wonderful new development in Troy's style and output.
If you are unfamiliar with Mr. Hooser's work, his visual, whimsical style will delight you. If you are familiar with Mr. Hooser's work, Moments will still come as a startling surprise. Whereas his earlier material was all performed standing, much of this material is performed in the classical style, seated. Whereas much of his earlier material was short, this book includes five "acts", each one comprised of several routines or tricks sequenced together for thematic purposes
135 pages. Hardbound.
$49.95 (BK01752).
"Troy Hooser's work in Moments is excellent, and I particularly enjoyed the longer routines. I think anyone who likes coin magic will enjoy Moments. I know I did. -David Roth
"Troy Hooser has been on the cutting edge of coin magic for over two decades. It would be rare to find a practicing coin magician without some contribution from Troy in his repertoire." - Todd Lassen, master coin craftsman
(4) Destroyers – Troy Hooser – Written by Joshua Jay: An immediate sensation when it debuted ten years ago, Destroyers remains relevant, innovative and "highly recommended" (Michael Close, MAGIC Magazine). Acclaimed author Joshua Jay takes you on a whirlwind tour of over forty routines and sleights, each one explained with thoughtful prose and distinctive illustrations. You will learn over a dozen coin routines that require no table, how to levitate a small mask, how to produce a bottle from nowhere, and how to produce a padlock from two rubber bands. This updated and expanded edition of Destroyers features over seven routines not originally included, as well as additional commentary and dozens of new illustrations.
The name Troy Hooser has always been associated with the underground magic scene. For more than twenty-five years, Mr. Hooser has quietly developed a repertoire of material that amazes laymen. Hooser's material has also captured the imaginations of the magic industry's thought leaders. Troy Hooser is, perhaps, your favorite magician's favorite magician. In his first collection, he tips a lifetime of secrets and the theory behind them. These tricks wreak havoc on the logic of spectators. These tricks are Destroyers.
189 pages. Hardbound.
$49.95 (BK01185)
"Destroyers is filled with killer magic that is both audience tested and practical. Learning Troy's material is well worth your time and investment" - Bob Kohler
"Destroyers has been instrumental in my own magical development. Any serious student of magic would benefit from careful study of Troy's entire body of work." - Eric Jones, Audio and An Extension of Me
(5) Moments & Destroyers With Slip Case – Troy Hooser – Written By Joshua Jay - Two books from one of the most celebrated creators in the industry!
Destroyers is the critically-acclaimed, best-selling book on the coin and close-up work of Troy Hooser. After years of scarcity, it is finally available again, on the ten-year anniversary of its first printing. Written by Joshua Jay and filled with material that has shaped a generation of coin and card material, this book embodies the term neo-classic, hardbound and fully illustrated.
That is the good news. Here's the great news: Moments is an entirely new collection of material by Troy Hooser. For the last ten years, Troy has developed a markedly different approach to close-up, and this collection features 25 brand new Hooser routines, seeing print for the very first time. Hardbound, fully illustrated.
Both books come together in a beautiful, limited edition slipcase.
$99.90 (BK01753)
One of my biggest influences in magic, Troy Hooser, is the rare combination of elegant simplicity with diabolical methodology." - Homer Liwag
(6) World Magic – Jim Kleefeld: If you are thinking of doing library shows in 2011, then you must have World Magic! Over 200 pages of original tricks and routines, plus dozens of trick reviews, and over 1200 art files you can print to make your own tricks. If you bought this just for the hundreds of pictures of world landmarks, costumes and people, you'd more than get your money's worth.
In Summer 2011 libraries all over the U.S. will be using the theme "One World – Many Stories" for their Summer Reading Club programs. Be ready. If you have a show with a World Culture theme, you will book more shows.
Jim Kleefeld's new book is a treasure trove of tricks, routines, ideas and suggestions for you. Create a World Magic Show easily just by choosing your favorite routines from this book. There are dozens of original routines, dozens of routines for commercial tricks, a complete bibliography of folk tales from around the world, carefully organized by country. You will find hundreds of art files that you can use to make up Jim's clever new tricks, or just use the art to create your own tricks.
• Want a trick from Italy? How about a plate where spaghetti changes lengths and meatballs magically appear?
• From Germany comes a new version of Jack and the Beanstalk, told with a magic prop you already own.
• Help Tsar Nicholas' daughter Anastasia recover her ring.
• A Spanish bullfight with no bull? Make him magically appear. The matador, too!
• A little magic turns unfolded paper into origami instantly.
• Correct a crazy mixed-up Big Ben Tower Clock.
• Produce Dutch wooden shoes from an empty windmill.
Tons of tricks and ideas. More tricks than you can use in a dozen shows. Includes reviews of commercial magic tricks and products along with Jim Kleefeld's Tips and Suggestions on how to turn regular tricks into World Magic routines.
Comes as an e-book on Mac/PC hybrid CD, and opens with any pdf reader.
238 pages, 1200 art files.
$49.95 (CD0071)
(7) Bernstein Linking Pins Routine: Honed to perfection over nearly three decades, the Bernstein Linking Pin Routine is as sharp and mystifying an effect as you will ever see.
The magician links two large safety pins together, fairly and plainly. On his command, the pins visibly and slowly melt apart. The unlinking of the pins actually looks like trick photography. The effect is repeated - the pins unlink again - and the illusion looks just as baffling as it did the first time.
The pins are then caused to magically link together in a seemingly impossible manner. One moment the two are separate, and the next, they are linked.
Finally, an ungimmicked finger ring is legitimately locked onto one of the pins. Despite the fairness of the proceedings, the ring melts off of the pin it was locked on. At the same moment the two pins link together, in full view, inches from the spectators.
At the conclusion of the routine, everything can be examined. There's nothing to find!
The Bernstein Linking Pin Routine requires no specially manufactured gaffs and no complicated sleight-of-hand. Nothing is switched in or out. All that's required are the two pins and a finger ring. There are no external gimmicks. It's ready any time.
Included are all necessary props and media: two specially selected and hand-adjusted three-inch safety pins, a broadcast-quality instructional DVD featuring Bernstein's performance and explanation and a 17"x22" poster (no page turning required!) with clear line drawings to make learning easy.
$24.95 (10.1618)
"From A to Z - the best linking pin routine I've ever seen." - Hank Moorehouse
"Bruce Bernstein's Linking Pin Routine is one of the most astonishing and entertaining effects on this planet - period!" - Barrie Richardson
(8) Smart Wand: Imagine using a Magic Wand to ignite Flash String, Flash Paper, Flash Cotton, a candle, a torch, etc.
Gone are the days when you used a simple lighter or matches.
From now just show this elegant Magic Wand, and, with a simple push of the thumb, the audience will see a flame appear on the tip of the wand.
* The inner tank is refillable with common butane gas for lighters.
* This amazing wand is cm 31,5 long and has a diameter of cm 1.4.
* You can also use it as a normal wand. The ignition button is black virtually invisible.
$11.50 (60.1722)
And that's this week's Hotter Than A Chile Pepper Hotlist! Luckily, you don't have to eat this week's offerings to see just how hot they are. You just have to read about them, order them and wait for them to come to your house!
As always, I personally appreciate your taking time pout of your busy schedules to spend some with us at Hank Lee's Magic Factory. Whether it's online at www.magicfact.com or in person at 102 North Street in Medford, we love your company!
Hank
