I saw a performer produce a silk butterfly years ago. Anyone know of a source?

Was it a silk butterfly or a butterfly silk?

Bob Sanders
Magic By Sander

It was made of silk for compaction but cut like a butterfly about a foot across -- maybe larger

I know of no standard made one. You could buy a printed silk and cut the outline and then hem it.

If you are talking something like Karl Germain used, it involves a mechanism and a specially made silk.
I have consider making one someday but never got around to it.

Richard

That's the way it goes! We discontinued our 24" Butterfly silks in February.

Bob Sanders
Magic By Sander

We have 27" Butterfly silks at Silk King Studios.

Oh! I would hate to cut up a real Rice silk. I hope that it takes a hard to get permit! LOL

Those butterflies are beautiful.

Bob Sanders
Magic By Sander

Frequently, we have slightly or more than slightly irregulars at reduced prices.
These would be more suitable for this treatment.

Thanks Ruth! I feel better already.

Bob Sanders
Magic By Sander

Please make the Germain one Richard ......

Bob, why were they discontinued?

Regan

Regan,

Your question is very timely and significant. I hate to be the one to answer it as a magician, businessman, and economist. Remember the Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show song "I Was in the Right Place but It Was at the Wrong Time."?

As printed silk inventories run out many will not be restocked. We had runs on the 24" butterfly because it had no border and was one of the few 24" printed silks that can be made into the ungimmicked 20th Century Silk (found in Rice's Encyclopedia) and it ran out quickly. All of the Queen of Hearts (any size) are gone too as dragons will be. These two do have borders but were very popular for productions.

Unfortunately, it costs about the same to print a 24" silk (after cutting and waste) as a 36". But it won't bring the price. The streamer salvaged from cutting is not a high demand item. Because of the color, part of the salvage process is making it into a multi color streamer that cannot be accurately reproduced. Thus, they start as rejects.

Current plans are not to reprint soon, if ever.

I am toying with a Tiger silk for next year. Next year (2010) is the year of the Tiger. Tigers and magic seem to go together. Plus, the tiger is the mascot for many organizations worldwide and can be offered in a broader market. Even that will be a gamble.

A spark of hope is that 2012 is the year of the dragon. That is also an election year in the USA. Based upon the perceived international damage to US image at that point, a new decision might be made. Currently, the outlook is very poor. The USA ranks 14th in world economies now but may be lucky to be in the top 30 in the too near future. The world of investment and economics is not limited to the USA. As a consumer market, our capacity to consume may go away as we squander our savings on spending and fail to invest into productive efforts that produce goods and services to offer in exchange with more advanced nations. The non-productive ultimately make very poor consumer markets. The top consumer markets will determine what products are offered. It's just a fact of life.

The year 2014 is the year of the Horse and we have other markets for that besides magicians. Surprisingly one large market is in Australia. Of course, horse owners out number magicians throughout the world. But as a magician (and hardly the first) I have produced horses for the audiences since years ago. They qualify as an animal of magic. However, other markets may actually be the motivation for the product. The USA is a secondary market in the grand scheme of things now.

This is one of the reasons in my silk lectures, I encourage magicians to learn to create their own picture silks with Airbrush, Sharpie Pens, Etc. Necessity is the Mother of Invention!

Don't undervalue your good printed silks. The good ones could be a going away thing.

Bob Sanders
Magic By Sander

PS --- Now you know why I hate to see a Rice Silk destroyed. It's not just a butterfly!

Fascinating, Bob. You have your finger on this one.

BTW, I would like to voice one positive vote for doing the tiger silk! Since my shows have a circus theme, a tiger would be a shoe in...

:)

Mark

Mark,

Thank You! and Thank You!

I can't recall ever seeing a Tiger Silk made for magicians. Yet, what magician has never been asked if he could produce tigers?

Well, so much for tigers. This cat's got to go!

Bob Sanders
Magic By Sander

PS --- I was thinking both 18" and 36" Tigers. What do you think?

You'd be Lion if they asked about Tigers.
You already have the Albino Tiger in a snowstorm.

Bob... yes, 18" AND 36". I can think of uses for both.

Ian, you are too funny !
I think I have several of those in my collection of solids...

:)

Mark