Share a trick you bought and expected you would use it, but it ended up int he dranwer, and name a trick you bought and it just was such a good fit it went into the show right away.

Hmmm.

My D'Lites, combined with the Bag-O-Lites and throw coils went immediately into my show, while my floating/dancing/bowing rose is still on the shelf, along with my floating lightbulb.

Bigger Wands went into my show right away without any exception! Everyone said it was the best and they were correct!!

I have a lot of kids props that are big, expensive and colorful that have sat on the shelf for a long time that look great but don't bring in the laughs

My Smokey Mountain Pizza Box went right into the show.

What went into the drawer? Heck, this one went into the trash! About 20 years ago I bought a trick called "Nuttin' There" that was the biggest piece of junk I have ever seen that someone actually had the nerve to sell to magicians. It was a ring-off-rope type thing that used a nut, and the kicker was that it vanishes ... no threads, pulls, alien technology, whatever. The ad read "You do not need to wear a jacket to perform the routine, as a matter of fact you can do it with your sleeves rolled up!!" The gimmick was a magnet glued to an ace bandage that you wrap around your arm -- I kid you not! How you can hide THAT with your sleeves rolled up is beyond me. I can think of about a dozen ways to strip a ring off a rope that won't cost me a double sawbuck.

I don't have a "junk drawer", but I do have plenty of shelves which are used to accommodate the stuff I don't regularly use. Thanks largely to the MC, I have very few items which are genuinely "junk".....but I do have a fairly large number of items which I don't use often, some never. When I have a quiet moment (which these days, admittedly, is a very rare thing), I love to take these props off the shelf, and re-familiarise myself with them. The ones which will probably never make it back into my shows tend to be the old stuff....but I also have lots of wonderful items, which could easily be worked into my show, and great routines created from them.
I don't think it wil be helpful to list those items in question - some are stunning pieces by leading manufacturers. But I'd say that a good performer can use almost ANY magic prop to good effect. It's all about how much time and effort you devote to bringing such items into play. Sometimes I feel I'm being lazy, and should really get such-and-such a prop into my shows. Often, I will get the prop out, get very excited about it, play around with it, but then I'm swamped with shows, and have to re-shelve the item because workload demands routines that I have practised and polished.
The bottom line is that there is so much material available now for performers, and there is only so much we can do. Some of my most exciting props languish on that shelf, and it's my own lethargic approach which means they don't make the shows.
No doubt, many of the best props require a good deal of thought and preparation before they're ready to be included in a full routine.
But I do love having a huge selection of items to choose from, when I'm considering something different and unusual to add to my repertoire.
Potty

Deja Zoo made it right in (after I worked up a better stand for it).

Like Potty I don't want to mention some of the Effects I've bought and don't do because they are good effects that I haven't given enough time to.

But I do think some Items are lousy. I got a pull once that wouldn't even go around my wrist, let alone forearm. Since I have thin wrists I'm guessing it wouldn't have fit many men.

Lots of bad Magic is Magic that can be made well but wasn't, so you have to do a materials search and re-make it before it can go in the show or sell it at an auction to someone with more time and skills.

-Mary Mowder

I saw a puppet in the office of a promoter and fell for it. He gave it to me, and I introduced ventriloquism (badly) to my show that afternoon. It is now an unmissable part of every show.

There are no junk items on my shelves, because I don't buy kids props. I don't like them in my act. I did have a puppet I fell for fifteen years ago. It lay on the shelf for fourteen years. Last year I finally found the routine for it, and now it goes in most of my shows.

And I have a cups and balls set that I have not put into the show yet.

D'Lites went right in and is still in after all these years. What came out of my drawer, coin in ball of wool. It plays big to adults as well as kids. It's n all my shows now.

The Axtell Drawing board went into my show immediately.

I also don't think it's appropriate to discuss effects that I purchased and have "put away." I have no issue telling other performers about props that are trash...but it's a little unfair to the maker to diss them publicly just because they don't fit my style.

D'Lite, for example -- I bought these up at a convention when they were brand new and dinosaurs were roaming the earth. When I got back to town I saw everyone and I do mean EVERYONE doing them. So they retired to my drawer. I am awaiting the next ice age after which I think they will be new again.

Most of the time, it's about giving the props the attention they deserve to round out an interesting presentation. I simply never had time with D'lites...but it certainly doesn't make them bad props...

David

I was not intending to say the drawer props are bad,never said that AT ALL. for my example my drawing board went into the drawer, not because it was a bad prop, but that for my performance style it just wasn't going to fit until I find a way of presenting it that fits.
Perhaps we could look at this in a positive light and examine the drawers in our world and say "why is it in there?" and MAYBE that would make us find a way to bring it out and use it.

Topsy turvey crayons in the show. Topsy turvy bottles on the shelf.

Axtell Off the Meter or Randi Raines Anything Meter, Biggest wands and axtell drawing board went immediately into my show. Simply terrific props that I would never exclude from my shows. Sitting on the shelf are some terrific items too. Too many to list but I simply trade them for items that I think would fit better for my show and my style. As I know, most of the items will fit someone else's style.

Here's an example of a great effect that sits on my shelf. I own Chance Wolfs Cellulator. Everything about this prop is superb. I LOVE it. Why does it sit on the shelf? Well for me, it's too dang nice to bring to show after show and run the risk of damaging it. Now, is it built like a tank! Yes! Would it get damaged? Probably never. BUT I'm protective of it. Lol! Why am I protective? Because they are hard to find. . I use this in select shows and it simply kills but most times sits in the shelf.

Mike

Ps- now you got me thinking more about always having this in my show. Dang you!!!

:) mission accomplished

Lol....

Chico The Mindreading Monkey is in.

4 sponge balls and a box went right into my show after a recent Duane Laflin lecture. I bought the 3" balls from him and the box for a couple of bucks at Tuesday morning, plus a clear plastic bowl. I open many of my shows with this now and it gets laughs and gasps.

I tell the audience I meant to bring my red balls but brought the yellow ones instead. I then put them into the box, one at a time, get the audience to shout the magic words, tap the box with a wand and TA-DA! The yellow balls have changed into...a rope. Oops.

I then go into my stiff rope (world's strongest acrobatic flea) routine.

I'm still trying to figure out a great way to use my Lippencott box, so it still sits in the drawer. Any suggestions?

Sammy patrick smith has a routine for a ring on nest of boxes that, once you have a lipincott box, the rest of the trick cots you like $10 to make the nest of boxes. I use the parents ring of the birthday child, gets a good response...

El Duco's Magic Goblet went right into the drawer (and I later sold it), and like Starrpower, Smokey Mountain Pizza box went right into the show.

Dwight Damon's "comedey chair" and Axtell's "Off the meter" went right in and I probably couldn't do a show without them!

In the drawer: "vanishing coke bottle" by Twister magic. Kids wernt impressed at all.

Some effects which have BEEN in the show but have since been muscled aside by newer / better ones: Crystal-tube, coloring-book, HipHopRabbits, dove-pan.

Hmm...now theres an idea: Unused props as decor.