Making the world a little bit smaller

From Perfect Magic:

Sometimes I wonder what I will write about and a blog walks into the shop. That’s  exactly what happened yesterday.

A guy came into the shop with a friend. He was from out of town and seemed to know his way around magic. He had phoned in advance to see if we had certain items and we did so he got those items and others that caught his interest.

Read more.

Perfect Magic's 40th Anniversary Sale

From Perfect Magic:

... come in and see us while our 40th Anniversary Sale is on.

10% on everything in the catalog
an additional 5% if we have it in the shop
and an additional 5% if you buy in person.
The Sale lasts until Dec.3rd and we’re open Saturdays too, from 11am to 5pm.
 
Read more and shop now!

Quantity vs quality

I have to agree with Evelyn Matlin's observation about the sheer volume of magic effects brought to market these days.  The selection is far greater than I when I first dipped my toe in, *mumble mumble* years ago.  I wonder if the quality of the effects, over all, is higher, the same, or lower than back in the day.


From Perfect Magic:

As a magic dealer, I am overwhelmed by the new magic that comes out on a daily basis. Especially because I do the banners on our home page of Perfect Magic and edit the write-ups for our catalog. There seems to be no end to it.

I remember a time when Albert Goshman (think Sponge Balls – Magic by Gosh) came to Montreal to perform at Magie Montreal when we had our Conventions, back in the 80’s. He stayed in our home and we took him to the Brown Derby in the Van Horne Shopping Centre for dinner one evening. Unfortunately, neither Albert nor the Brown Derby are with us any more.

Read more.

The devil is in the details

From the post "Where Magic Takes You" at Perfect Magic:

“We’re having a conference in a few weeks, maybe you’ll do some magic there.”

“Sure.”

So this fellow goes about practicing up on his walk around magic and one day his boss comes up to him and says, “By the way, just let me know what kind of lighting you need or tables, etc. Whatever you need.


Read more.

From Perfect Magic: Phil Matlin vs Julius Caesar

From Perfect Magic:

If you’ve  been to the Perfect Magic Facebook site, then you know that Phil has a few gigs  playing piano for the Cote St. Luc Library on the first Tuesday of the summer months. A piano had been donated to Cote St Luc and it went to Rembrandt Park and was inaugurated by none other than Oliver Jones. The media was there, as well as the politicians and it was a big deal.

The first Tuesday of June came along. We had our plans but nature had other plans. There was a storm the night before and the tarpaulin didn’t do its job and the piano was ruined. But in the tradition of show business, the show went on. Some folks from the library came to our condo and carried down Phil’s electric keyboard and speaker and whatever else and he played. It was not his best show, a little trouble with equipment, and whatnot, but people came over after and said they enjoyed it thoroughly. The other day in the elevator, a lady said to Phil, “You’re the piano player. It was so wonderful.” and he said “If you enjoyed it I’ll be there again this Tuesday.”

Read more.

How old were you when you got your first magic trick?

Click over to the Perfect Magic blog and let Evelyn know!

From Perfect Magic:

“I bet when Darcy Oake got his first magic trick, as a kid I presume, the furthest thing from his mind was that one day he would be going to London to visit the Queen. Get your kid a magic trick !”

Then I got to thinking that I got my first magic trick when I was 8 years old. My father went to New York  and went to Tannen’s  (I think that’s where he got it) and when he came home he gave me a Nickels to Dimes trick, made of brass. I can look back and see myself  sitting on the blue linoleum kitchen floor, banging away with that bang ring. I wonder if it left marks in the floor. I treasured it and found it amazingly clever, but I don’t remember performing it for anyone outside of the family. They did not have “Show and Tell” in school when I was in Grade 2. If they did, I surely would have brought that because it was something that none of the other kids would have had.

Read more and share your story.

Montreal: Magic lessons for kids!

From the Perfect Magic Facebook page:

We will be starting our Magic Lessons For Kids program Saturday May 21. Age 7-9, one hour from 10:30am to 11:30am at Perfect Magic in Montreal. Limited registration so if you know anyone that is interested, now is the time to register. Phone 514-738-4176 for information or to register.

Evelyn Matlin on "The Magic of Magic Conventions"

She's posted a fabulous photo of David Williamson, Mac King. Jean Boucher, and Carl Cloutier.

See what Evelyn Matlin has to say about the 2016 Browser's Bash over at Perfect Magic:

For Phil and me, the magic of Magic Conventions is not the magic. Its a place and time where people with a common interest, from all over gather. We get a chance to meet people we know and haven’t seen in years and we also get the chance to meet people who have been ordering on line who we never met personally.

The Browser’s Den Magic Bash was such a place. We spent time with Bernice Cooper, the late Len Cooper’s wife. Len was the original owner of The Browser’s Den. We used to visit them in Toronto and Bernice would be there behind the counter helping out as magic shop owner’s wives do. It was nice for her too, to see and speak to many people that used to come into their shop.

Read more.

Montreal magic nostalgia

From Perfect Magic:

It got me thinking about (Magic) Tom and what he did for magic and for us. He donated a large Trophy to Magic Montreal, and a smaller one for the winner of the Magie Montreal Trophy which was awarded every year at our Magic Convention. Richard Sanders was the first one to win it. Every winner has a place  with his name engraved on it on the big Trophy which can be seen in our shop. We gave out other awards too. This should bring back a few memories if you were there.


Read more.

• Jeff's looking more at home in his “trusty sweater vest.”
• Welcome to Dan Morrissey (of Morrissey Magic) to the stage!  We’ve missed you Phoebe and Dan!
• Welcome to Phil and Evelyn Matlin (of Perfect Magic, Montreal) to the stage!
• Mentioning Joan Caesar, past president of the IBM and founder of the Canadian Association of Magicians! 
• Added bonus:  Welcome to Len Cooper’s family! Bernice, Len’s wife, as well as his children, Jack and Sandy Cooper!

Talk about one big magic family!

Mysterion, Steffi and Adam visit Perfect Magic

From Perfect Magic:

If you buy a magic trick or learn it through a video or book, and you fool someone, or an even a whole audience, the trick worked, it did what it was supposed to, but did you? That’s the question. Everyone has a different approach to magic. That’s what makes it so much fun, but if you just fool someone and leave them wondering and trying to figure it out, I don’t think it’s enough. They should feel thrilled, excited, astonished, delighted and a whole host of other adjectives. The trick can’t do that by itself. You are the one that makes that happen.

Read more.

Perfect Magic on Magicians and Politicians

From Perfect Magic's blog:

For a brief moment I had a flashback to a Magic Convention.  Dai Vernon, the 80 plus year old legend, with a lot of knowledge and experience. He was a living legend and everyone was trying to get to him, but he wasn’t interested in them. He was only interested in Phil, yes, Phil Matlin, because they were both honky tonk and ragtime piano players and Dai loved that music. even more than magic.

Women were not prominent on the magic scene back then. That’s changing too.

Read more.

Perfect Magic interviews Spidey

From Perfect Magic:

Spidey must have been around 17 years old when he first came to Perfect Magic. His striking feature was his passion for magic. His enthusiasm was contagious and refreshing. He had plans for himself. Did I think he would succeed? It doesn’t matter much what I thought. He thought he would succeed. That, I believe, has a great deal to do with his success as a magician today. He didn’t just sit back and wait to succeed. He worked at it. Spidey was here the other day and I asked him If he would write a post for my blog.  And he did. I was most impressed with it. I asked him 3 questions to base his post on. How old he was when he started, what was his first trick, and if he had any tips for young magicians starting out. Here is his reply.

“Hey Evelyn,

so here are the answers :)

Read more.

So how do you know what's good?

From Perfect Magic:

When we opened Perfect Magic, before the internet, we bought what we thought was good from suppliers we trusted. There was not this smorgasbord of magic that there is today. Every single day we receive new items to consider. At one time there was Mak Magic, Morrissey Magic, Abbott’s, Fun and a few others that manufactured products here in Canada or the U.S.A and Supreme in England. Now very little is made here. It’s hard to compete with China or India. Some of the stuff is good, some is not. But when you read the write-ups, everything is the greatest ever. So how do you know what is good.

Read more.

A question from the floor

Updated at 16:00 the consensus so far:

• The Browser's Den of Magic: oldest existing magic shop
• Perfect Magic: oldest existing magic shop under single owner (the people that opened it are still running it)
• IBM Ring 17 - since 1941
• IBM - co-founded by a Canadian in 1923

What is Canada's oldest magic institution?

From Lee Asher's Twitter feed:

@canadasmagic I think @theBrowsersDen is Canada's oldest magic institution. Maybe @jay_sankey @SorcerersSafari or someone else can confirm?!
— Lee Asher (@LeeAsherMagic) November 11, 2014

@canadasmagic @theBrowsersDen I should preface by saying oldest Canadian magic institution "still open".
— Lee Asher (@LeeAsherMagic) December 2, 2014

The importance of magic shops

It's no secret that I'm a big fan of brick and mortar magic shops.  Not only are they the first place many kids get bitten by the magic bug, it's also a place enthusiasts can go for encouragement and coaching by people in the know. A nurturing community is formed in a local shop, which can't be duplicated through the internet.

(You'll notice that two brick and mortar shops are invested in keeping the community of this site alive.  Please remember to thank them, the next time you're there.)

Don't have brick and mortar shop in your area? Consider supporting one through their online shops. (I direct your attention to two of the wonderful sponsors of this blog, Perfect Magic and The Browser's Den of Magic!)

The emphasis in the excerpt below, is mine.

From Perfect Magic:

As many of you know, magic shops are closing all over the place. Many shut down in the U.S.A. and some in Canada as well.  There were not a whole lot to begin with. It’s so easy to look up  what you want on line, find the cheapest price and order.  I can’t say that I blame anyone for doing that. But there may be a cost to the saving of money, especially in magic. 

Click through to read Evelyn's thoughts on the matter.

Report: Asi Wind at the Comedy Nest

From Perfect Magic:

We don’t get out a whole lot. We used to when we were younger, but now, after a day at the magic shop we are happy to go home and relax. But Asi Wind, New York  Mentalist and Mind-Reader, was giving a one man show at the Comedy Nest at the old Montreal Forum and we wanted to see him as we had heard about him of course but never had seen him.

Read more.

Montreal: Mario the Magician

From the Perfect Magic Facebook page:

Post by Perfect Magic.

A timely reminder from Perfect Magic

Post by Perfect Magic.

Review: Magic at the Comedy Nest

From Perfect Magic:

Magicians had a real treat last Sunday evening, if they managed to get into the Comedy Nest. Although there were magicians who came to see the show, most of the audience was comprised of lay people. 

David Acer was the M.C. and was his usual funny self.

Loran, from Quebec City, had a beautiful act, serious, artistic and a pleasure to watch.

Vincent Pimpare did a comedy hynotism act. It was an unexpected break from the usual hypno act and had the audience laughing, so it fit right into the Comedy club setting.

Richard Sanders did a great bill to lime with a lot of hilarious detours along the way. He has a way of making the audience feel as if he is really one of us. He connects well.

Romaine. What can I say about Romaine.  Dressed in tails and a top hat, and slightly tipsy, (part of the routine, of course) he wowed the audience with his continuous production of cards, multiplying billiard balls, and the real magic of Vaudeville days, which mosts of the audience had never seen and they showed their appreciation.

Jonathan Burns did some very funny stuff. My favorite was Cards Across with cheese slices (you know the ones, wrapped in cellophane) instead of cards. Funny stuff. 

And then there was the audience.

Read more.