I'm looking for a decently sized servante for cups and balls. I've been considering the Kozmo servante from the ambitious card but feel like it might be too big for the cups. What fo you use?

I prefer a pouch, but when I use a servante, I use a tool bag from the home depot. Put some eyelets in it, screw some hooks into your table, and you're good to go for around $30 total. The one I use is about 5" wide on the inside, 10"-12" long, and maybe 8" deep. 8 internal pockets. Each barely big enough for a deck of cards, elastic across the pockets adds 8 fake pockets, which will also hold a deck of cards. 8 external pockets, 4 deep ones, 4 shallow ones, and one for a couple business cards.

When I do parlor shows, I can put my routines in the pockets in order. Have one currently loaded with: tossed out deck, needle through balloon, couple mouth coils, a regular deck or two, a 5 card repeat, chop cup w/hat load, prof. Nightmare, razor eating routine, spongeballs, couple extra wands, couple sets of coins, sharpies, more TT'S than I need, a straitjacket, and a 4' bullwhip. Could probably fit a small set of rings in, if I'd ever get off my butt and learn a routine I like. It just barely zips closed. If I'm not worried about closing it, I can fit a couple small torches for fire eating and a fuel canister. The fire extinguisher, unfortunately, doesn't fit.

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Greetings and Salutations,

At one time Frank had a servante similiar to Kozmo's. Without looking it up, it's a bit smaller in size and price. I've used it for several seasons now, and it's served me well, when my gig calls for a servante.

At other times, I use a gib and a waiter's apron, with the pocket-seperator seams removed, taking it from three pockets to one.

It depends on you and what you need. I tried a couple of "let's see if this will work servantes." Save yourself some time and trouble and look long and hard at Frank's.

This is not a paid endorsement. Frank makes good stuff. The trouble is, the stuff doesn't wear out, so I haven't shopped with him in a while. I can't make a better endorsement than that.

Joe Zeman aka
The Mage Ulysses

Believe me, I know Franks work. I have already had two porches by him. I'm thinking I'll just have him make me a custom pouch but wanted to know if anyone used the Kozmo servante for cups and balls or if it was two big.

It depends on what you want to put in it.
Kozmo likes to keep his hat in his servante and everything else so it makes sense for him.

My servante is quite a bit smaller but holds a heck of a lot.
If you don't mind walking to and from your pitch with your hat on your head this one works great.
In fact my original which never made it to my website was half that size and I loved that as well.
I still do, in fact. It's only 9x7x7 or so.

The table servante has a footprint about the size of a full-sized computer keyboard. 18x7x7.
Kozmo's is far larger even tho it doesn't sound like it 20x10x10.

If you have any specific questions just ask!

Here's the table servante


Here's the Kozmo

Frank, I've been wanting to ask, could you make your 18x7x7 servante with the inside pockets and center pouch the way the Kozmo servante is made?

Yes that's no problem. The design of the interior of mine is quite flexible so I'm not sure it's necessary but it's do-able.

James, the best solution for you is to be able to use a servante to see just how it works for you personally. I can think of two ways to do this - one to get to borrow various already-made ones [from other ball workers or manufactures] and use them for a few outings. In other words, use some servant that is already out there.

The other approach is to think of commissioning your own designed. Start by making a mock-up of what you envisage for the size and layout and see how it works in practice. You could make a mock-up out of corrugated cardboards. It's not going to look pretty, but it's trial material. Don't ask me how you keep such a thing suspended from your table or you waist. This approach could be costly to produce as a one-off.

I don't do the Balls but for my busking I can use a modified woman's shoulder bag that fits around my waist. Low-cost but effective.


Frank, what's your thinking of using Velcro for internal wall dividers rather than clip-studs [is there such a word?].
That way inner walls between pockets could be altered to suit the performer. I think the female side of the tape would need to be fastened to the wall of the servante, and the male side would be on the detachable segments/walls.

One thing I'm sure of - don't let silks get in contact with zips, Velcro, rough edges and surfaces, and the like - it pulls the silk threads and ruins the good looks of the silk.

Magicol, I've got a pretty good idea of what I wanf. I've been using my Busker Pouch from Frank as a servante and it works great but its a little too small as I also want to be able to have some space for my bill in lemon routine. I agree about the lining, especially since I have snall ammounts of lemon juice in my pouch from the prepped lemon. It's not a bunch but even a little can get messy on the wrong material.

I hate velcro and only use it in very very few instances in any of my products. It's loud, it's cheap looking, and difficult to free with one hand.

With that in mind, the flexibility built into my servante was accomplished by attaching the dividers to the edges of the servante only. Using this unusual method, you can either "use" a divider or "ignore" it, pretending it's not even there. In this way, my servante can hold rather large items like a coconut, a miser's dream bucket, or 6 large oranges just by filling the center of the servante and bypassing some or all of the dividers.

If you look closely you'll see that the cocount and the miser's dream bucket are neither one inside a pocket/divider.



Acts change, the need for dividers come and go. I felt this was the best design to remain useful for a lifetime.

We also make a velcro friendly gig bag which is basically just an empty bag. Then the performer can buy accessory bags/dividers with velcro sewn to them, to fill it as needed for things like linking rings, card slots, utility bags or something of your own design. A similar concept could be used for the servante.

Frank, thanks for taking the time to elaborate. I appreciate that.

I have one of the table servantes on order from Frank. I can’t wait to get it in the mail. Is going to help free up space and keep everything in order.