In Store 15% Sale at Perfect Magic

Come on down to Perfect Magic. There’s a 15% sale on everything in the shop. It lasts until the 28th of February 2020, while quantities last. We look forward to seeing you.

 

 

Magic is More Than A Hobby

It’s one thing to have an uncle pull a quarter out of your kids nose or ear, it’s quite another thing for a child to live with a magician.

Perhaps you try your new magic on your children or nieces and nephews, to see how they react, which lines get the laughs, etc. You are not only learning from them, but they are learning from you as well, although you may not notice that. Children absorb information like a sponge. Children of magicians are likely to do a magic trick for show and tell. They know how to show, but also know not to “tell”. They’ll use your lines that get a laugh. It’s great for them. As I have mentioned many times, most magicians are shy. Magic is perfect for them. It gives them the opportunity to be in the spotlight, with the spotlight on the magic, not on them, an they get the credit. It builds their self-confidence. They’re popular at gatherings, with friends begging them to do something. They learn to vanish a coin, or do a paddle trick and soon they won’t leave home without it. You know what I’m talking about, you with the deck of cards in your pocket.

I know people who have worked their way through college, doing shows. It’s a source of income, learning, discipline and fun. And there’s a magic community, world wide and in your own home town. Magicians help each other. I’ve seen pros in the shop teaching kids who happened to be here with their parents,  how to vanish a coin, after being amazed by it. I know those kids will practice it and become a star among their peers.

The point is, don’t think of magic as just a few tricks. Think of what it can do for you and your kids. It works wonders, just like magic!

Magicians Without Borders

Yesterday was so cold I thought no one would come into the shop, but the shop is full of surprises. Maybe it was because its before Christmas but is was sure busy here. You must have heard about Doctors Without Borders, well yesterday we had a visit from Magicians Without Borders, a non-profit organization founded by Tom Verner and Janet Fredericks. It was a real fun and fascinating day.  These people go around the world spreading magic. What fun that must be. Harry Chaucer  (on the right) was here with a friend. Harry is a magician without borders.

Here are a couple of photos. They’ve been all over the planet entertaining people. The audience seems to be enjoying it.  According to the literature they left me, they have been performing  since 2003 for one million children in many of the most war-torn, difficult places in the world like Haiti, Sudan, Burma, and Bangladesh as well as for veterans in the US.  They came up from Vermont to see us and it was fun and educational.

Did You Know This About Magicians?

We learned early in our magic career that most magicians are shy. Are you? One well known magician was brought to our shop about forty years ago, when he was 11 years old, by his grandfather. “Do something for the kid. He’s shy.” said the grandfather. I showed him Mental Photo. That did it. He was hooked. He went on to be a full time magician and inventor of magic tricks. I’m sure most of you have at least one of his tricks or DVDs.

My own grandson, who was a quiet child, not a show-off, not loud, not boisterous and certainly not a performer, but did some magic but not shows, just played around with it a little, was asked by Ozzie Elizoff  if he would be in a magic show he was putting on at the Dollar Theatre in Decarie Square. It was a variety show, there was a professional magician, Joe Culpepper, a juggler, Cam Fleming, Rory Alias who was another young magician, and a comedian. Ozzie was the host.

We were in shock when our grandson said yes. When we got to the theatre on “Show Nite” Phil went back stage with our grandson and said, “Are you nervous?”and he said yes. “That’s good. Every performer is nervous before they go on. You need that adrenaline.. But if they start throwing tomatoes at you, there’s the back door to the lane, so you can escape.”

He performed and did well. We were so proud of him. Now, three years later, he’s still not boisterous, but he’s not shy. He’ a self-confident young man. I’m not saying it was the magic that did it, but it was a start.

I have an idea why shy people like magic. When you’re shy you don’t like all the attention on you. When you do magic the attention is not on you, but on the magic. You get the credit for it, but it’s the magic they are watching.

Do a good job and you’ll get recognition and admiration from others. That builds confidence. Soon you won’t only have confidence when doing magic, but in everything else as well. So if you’re shy or know a kid that’s shy, buy him or her magic that’s age appropriate so they can do it in school for show and tell or in a talent show or just among their friends. You’ll be surprised what a positive outcome that will be. We’ll help you choose the right thing for the right person. We  look forward to hearing from you.

We’d love to hear what magic did for you.

 

Holiday Time Is A Magical Time

You can feel it in the air. Nature has added to the atmosphere in Montreal by sending us a white blanket of snow. Lights are twinkling on the trees. To the young and young at heart there is wondering as to what to put or find under the tree. Let me help you.

Perfect Magic just received some magic kits, not ordinary magic kits (as though any magic kit would be ordinary) but a RUBIK CUBE Magic Kit http://bit.ly/2RvSWh8 from Fantasma. There are a few Rubik Cube sets on the market, one has 50 tricks, but the one we have has 135 tricks.

As our Christmas gift to you, while quantities last, we are selling the kit with 135 tricks at $29.95. (Regular price is should be $49 00.)  You are sure to find something to add to your show or get one for the budding magician in your family, your children, nieces, nephews, friends. It’s something to delight anyone! Buy two or more and the price is discounted even more.

We got a deal on it and are passing it on to you. Order now while quantities last.

I also want to take this opportunity to thank you all again for your good wishes for my good health and for your support for Perfect Magic. We wouldn’t be here without you.

In Magic, Everything Old is New

It seems to me that certain things become popular all at once. At one time Doves were the rage. Almost every act had doves in it. Then it was over.  Perhaps it was because of animal rights, who knows.  So it was a surprise when I got an order for Dove Apparatus a few weeks ago. It was a bigger surprise when the manufacturer told me he stopped making them as the demand died down. I did manage to get some for the customer.

But if you want to do Dove Magic and are concerned about the doves, fret not, for we have Rubber Doves, and they look good.

The same thing with Cups and Balls. We used to sell tons of them. Now not so much. They start at  $4.95 for a plastic set and go up to more than $100.00 for brass, etc. They all work pretty much the same. So now is a good time to take them out and start practising, because its a classic and this new generation hasn’t seen it.

Linking Rings is another one. If you do it right, there is nothing like it. I remember when Jeff McBride  was in town, blowing everyone away with the rings in his night club act, and then several magicians came into the shop wanting a set like he had. I pointed to an ordinary set that was on display, and they said “No, no, we want the same set that Jeff has.”  As fate would have it, guess who came into the shop at that moment. You got it. Jeff. I asked him if he would do his routine for the magicians that were there. I handed him the rings I had and he did it. The magicians were flabbergasted that he didn’t use special rings.

We had Albert Goshman, king of the sponge balls, as a guest and

when we went out to eat he’d start doing his Sponge Balls for the waitresses. No one got served. The staff all gathered around our table.

We have a set of books in the shop,

Hugard’s Magic Monthly http://bit.ly/2Dk9puS that has a fantastic amount of routines with different props, a compilation of tricks from the masters. They will open your eyes.

The classics aren’t called the classics for nothing. So get yours out and practice. If you don’t have them, we do. Come and get them. We’ll be happy to advise you on the best methods of learning. Everything old is new, to those who haven’t seen it.

Here’s a little quiz. How many of you can identify all these magicians who did dove magic at Magie Montreal?

            

 

 

 

 

Magic and the Mind

I’m not a performing magician. I do demo certain tricks in the shop that I really like. The new ones coming out are way over my head, but there are some oldies and goodies. At my age you get a certain respect for the oldies.

One of my favorites is Cardtoon. http://bit.ly/2KsWXxD. I used to demo it all the time and every demo was a sale.  It has such appeal. It’s irresistible.

As most of you know, I was treated for cancer, and had Chemo and a robotic operation and now I’m back and so far so good. I was anxious to get back to the shop. A new customer came in and I picked up Cardtoon to demo it and I had no idea how it worked. I asked Phil. He said, “I never did it. You always demo it.”  I put it aside.

When he left I sat down with the deck and for the life of me, I could not remember how to do it. I opened a new pack to read the instructions and it was so complicated I couldn’t understand it. Then I remembered that whoever bought it, I showed them how it worked because the instructions were so complicated I felt they would take it home and never use it. It’s such a simple trick so I took a few minutes and showed them the secret so they would never have to look at the instructions. Still I couldn’t remember it or follow the instructions.

When the next person came in I asked if they had Cardtoon. They said yes. I was so relieved. “Can you show me how to do it?” I asked. “Sorry, I forget how it works.” was the reply.

Finally someone came in who had it, and knew how it worked, showed me the simple move and it all came back to me.

I’m afraid to pick up a Svengali for fear I won’t remember that either! Believe it or not, I just went to get a Svengali and I remembered it. Whew!

GUY DAY

Mark your calendars NOVEMBER 2ND FROM 10AM TO 1PM. 2019

GUY DAY CELEBRATION

We’re celebrating Guy Day. Yes we are having a special event at Perfect Magic and invite you to to be there. We are honouring Guy Camirand of the Camirand Academy of Magic. Many of you were his students of magic and he would be thrilled to see you. Many of you may have purchased the excellent products that he and Gary Ouellet created. Guy said he is bringing a surprise, something new that should be of interest to you, but he didn’t tell me what it is.

Bring your kids with you and get them started in magic. I’m sure they’ll be entertained.

We’re having a STOREWIDE SALE for the occasion, so be sure to be here on this coming Saturday NOVEMBER 2nd from 10:00am to 1:00pm 2019   We look forward to seeing you.

Marquez vos calendriers le 2 novembre de 10h à 13h 2019
CÉLÉBRATION GUY DAY

Nous célébrons Guy Day. Oui, nous organisons en événement spécial chez Magie Parfaite pour Guy Camirand de la Camirand Académie de Magie, et nous vous invitons a soyez la pour lui honorer. Beaucoup d’entre vous siens étudiants de Guy et il sera ravi de vous voir. Beaucoup d’entre vous peut-être acheté l’excellents produits que lui et Gary Ouellet ont crées. Guy m’a dit qu’il a une surprise, quelque chose de nouveau. Cela devrait vous intéresser, mais il ne me dit pas ce que c’était.

Amenez vos enfants avec vous et lancez-les dans la magie. Je suis sur qu’ils seront divertis.

Nous organisons une GRAND VENTE dans tout le magasin pour l’occasion, alors assurez-vous d’être ici samedi prochain, le 2ieme novembre de 10h a 13h 2019 Nous avons hate de vous voir.

Strange Happenings at the Magic Shop

A lot of strange things happen in the magic shop. Yesterday I thought of someone, a customer, I hadn’t seen in a long time. Today he came into the shop.  I found that to be amazing. Why did I think of him? I have no idea. Among other things he asked for something that is no longer on the market. Phil opened the top drawer of his desk and took out the item. He said he wouldn’t be using it anymore and sold it to him. The guy was amazed because it was the only trick he had in his drawer. How’s that for magic!

The only reason he knew he had it was because some time last year someone wanted a large trunk for his magic stuff and Phil had one, his own, and he said if you want it, I’ll sell it to you. He bought it, but Phil had his stuff in it,  and this was one of the items. He kept it in his drawer as he really liked it and didn’t want it to get lost among the other stuff. It was a small version of Find the Lady, where you can show all the three cards, front and back. He bought the large version  (12″ x 18″) as well. http://bit.ly/2oARNZl

So now we only have one large version left and will not be able to get them at that price again, if we can get them at all.

It’s Great to be Back at Perfect Magic

I’m back in the saddle again. It feels good. People come in and say they like my new hair style. It’s great to see them. Thank you all for your prayers, positive thoughts and good wishes. All treatment has stopped and I am not on any medication.

I’ve been reorganizing. All the used books that were in the office part of the shop are now in the main shop and are for sale. One book a friend sent me  in 1983 and she wrote a few words inside. She passed away recently so I will never sell that one. I’ve know her since High School.

I have also been making a list of tricks that would be great for Halloween, which is just around the corner, so I’ll share it with you. You may have some of these and perhaps you never thought of them (some of them) for Halloween.

Voodoo Doll…Orange and Black Mouth Coils (1 package left 50″ Cresey coils)… Orange sponge balls…Black sponge balls…Knife thru arm (that should scare them to death)…Haunted 2.0…Spider Pro… Bruised…Disecto Arm Chopper…Spirit Slates… Neck Cracker… Ghost Key… The Web… Haunted Hank…Rising Card… Tiny Spirit Slate..not to mention the floating tricks. If  you think of some that I’ve missed, let me know.

Now I have to organize the space that used to hold those books. I will try to write more often and I hope to hear back form you. Drop by if you can. Our roads have been fixed so there’s parking again. The construction in front of the shop is finished. We look forward to seeing you.