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Brannon New user Austin, TX 29 Posts |
I don't know if anyone has suggested this before (or even if it already exists somewhere. I was just skimming through the home page and didn't see it...), but a magic DIY section would be AWESOME! I'm a magician in college and I'm strapped financially. I can barely afford food and rent let alone buying magic supplies. Many of today's magic props are too expensive to buy straight from shops (for me at least), and could be made cheaper at home with some simple supplies. SO, I was thinking that a new board to inspire peoples crafty sides could do some good. People could upload their blueprints and/or ideas for things they have already built. It doesn't have to be just for building huge, grandeur illusions, but maybe for the small pricey stuff aswell! Like creating your own "multiplying balls" with regular ping pong balls... or building your own chop cup... etc. Idk, just a thought! I appreciate all feedback!
And if it already exists on the website, just let me know... Due to popular belief, college doesn't make you that much smarter. I probably just missed it |
Dave Scribner Assistant Manager Lake Hopatcong, NJ 4849 Posts |
Where the magic begins
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sirbrad Inner circle PA 2096 Posts |
Back when I started magic 34 years ago I also did not have much money if any so I took out library books. I started with The Amateur Magician's Handbook, Mark Wilson's Complete Course, Harry Lorayne's The Magic Book etc, and I constructed my own props and did a lot of close-up and parlor shows with what I had. Eventually this lead to me getting paid gigs, birthday parties, retirement and nursing homes, weddings, banquets, picnics, and various other venues. I then bought the Tarbell Course which was one of the best purchases I ever made and gave me a lifetime of material. I built more stuff and did more shows. I wanted to do more parlor magic and it was the glitzy, magical looking props that attracted me to magic initially. So each show that I did sometimes paid for one or two tricks, sometimes I had to do several shows to afford a larger parlor trick.
But after a few years I had obtained quite a few stage props and therefore was able to do more shows and generate more income. I kept doing a lot of close-up as well and at parties, festivals, street fairs, and restaurants doing strolling magic. I invested 100% of my income from magic back into magic when I was working another job. Once I was finally able to go pro I had a lot more money to invest even at about 50% as I was getting a lot more money and doing a lot more gigs. The more you travel the less you have to buy. But you also have more travel expenses and less time actually on stage. But that is how I started and I am still going non-stop 34 years later and 25 years as professional, unless you count all of my paid shows as a kid. My other plan back then was to save up for a few years then buy all of the stuff that I needed to do magic full-time. Luckily I did not have to do that as being a wage-slave sucked too bad, and as others said I was "far too talented to be doing that" and they were right. Beginners these days do not know how great they have it, online help forums, getting packages in the mail in 2 days, and being able to access the world at the touch of a button. Whereas back in the day all we had were black and white catalogs with vague product descriptions and line drawings, and we had to send a money order and hope that we got the stuff in 6-8 weeks sometimes longer. Then hope that it was actually a decent trick and not crap as sometimes it was, and you were stuck with that "secret" that you bought. I still love these catalogs though as they are a novelty item in today's digital age. So you got to start somewhere, and if you work hard and invest into the art it seems to come back and reward in many ways you could never have imagined, almost like "magic". That said there also seems to be a lack of appreciation for information that is so easily, and quickly obtained as back in the day it was much harder to gain entry into the art. That is why you see so many kids exposing magic on Youtube, they did nothing for it except download or trade the secrets for free, and did not work hard and wait log periods of time to obtain it. So they will never understand or be bale to grasp what truly makes magic so special so in the end they only robbed themselves.
The great trouble with magicians is the fact that they believe when they have bought a certain trick or piece of apparatus, and know the method or procedure, that they are full-fledged mystifiers. -- Harry Houdini
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ZachDavenport Inner circle Last time I posted I had one less than 1196 Posts |
Once you get 50 posts, there is a great thread in the secret sessions called "Howie Diddits" that is just what you are looking for.
Reality is a real killjoy.
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