The TSA xray tech was a little confused by this.
]]>There is no moral to be learned from this. It's simply the transition from the old to the new. When the Sears catalog launched in 1888 it changed retail in a disruptive way with clear pricing and a different distribution model. Department stores and "big box" stores were all disruptive stops towards the Internet retail apocalypse. And even the online magic shops that boomed in the early 2000's are facing their own problems as they fight for customers, product exclusives, search engine placement while trying to undercut competition and still make a profit.
Amidst this all this is an opportunity for some retail magic shops to survive (besides the touristy ones that sell hovering cards and D'Lites). This involves embracing what makes them special and appealing to basic human needs. Think social and think viral. What social purposes can your shop serve? How can your customers spread your message?
At the end of the day magic shops need to make money. Any kind of interaction with customers needs to directly or indirectly encourage that. Turning a section of your shop into a hang out or a reading lounge usually has the habit of encouraging the same kind of clientele public libraries get during the day: bums. A better approach is to think about different purposeful ways you can use your space and your customers for mutual benefit.
Here are some ideas on how to serve the needs of the shop and your customers:
1. Screen magic television specials
We've all seen them, but have we seen them with a roomful of magicians? Setting up a screening of old (or new) magic specials creates a fun communal opportunity for magicians and gets them in your store. If you happen to have some of the tricks featured on the special available for purchase, all the better. Charge a fee and serve food.
2. Stay open later
Pick one day of the week to stay open until midnight. Have later hours in general. Most of the shops I've dealt with have weird hours and forget that many magicians are more likely to have night owl hours than banker's hours.
3. Sell snacks and beverages
I'm surprised by how many shops fail to do this. There's a reason there's a Starbucks in the middle of every Barnes & Noble. They realized you can make money off of loiterers.
4. Sponsor local magicians
Have a team of local magicians you keep stocked with decks of cards and things like flash paper in exchange for handing out flyers and promotional material for your shop. Give them retail points for every person they send into your shop. Help them and let them promote you.
5. Have shows for the public
I always get asked by people where they can see local magic. I think every shop should do showcases on a regular basis. This can be close-up, parlor or anything in between. Don't just think kid's shows. Do shows in the evening. Do the show on the counter, it doesn't matter. Cross-promote with your local theatre groups. Put fliers in places where people who go see live theatre like to go.
6. Do house calls
It works for Tupperware and adult toys. Why not take to shop to the suburbs? Lots of magicians have friends who might like magic but wouldn't actually go to a magic shop. Think about a magic demo that works in a living room and you give the host a share of the take. This is especially useful if there are cities nearby that don't have a magic shop. Bring the magic shop to them.
7. Provide promotional services for magicians
Can you help magicians get online with a website? Get photography and promotional materials? All of these services are things you can provide for a referral fee.
8. Rent sound, light equipment and illusions
A big part of how music stores make money is by renting equipment. Magic shops can do the same. Most magicians aren't prepared for venues where they have to bring in their own sound equipment. The same goes for illusions. The best part about this for a shop is that you don't actually have to own any of this stuff. Find out who has what kind of gear and work out a deal with them where you handle the rental for a cut of the profit.
9. Rent out your shop
If your shop has a stage, why not rent it out to other magicians? They can use it as a showcase, for private parties or just for their own vanity. I got my first cruise ship job from a tape I filmed on a magic shop stage. You can even rent out your stage (even a small one) as a rehearsal space. Set up a video camera and create a spot for magicians to practice their stuff in ideal conditions.
10. Rent your customers
If you think of your shop as a referral service you can provide people looking for shows a place to find entertainers, you also have a venue to showcase magicians for event planners and other people looking to hire acts. State laws vary, but being a one-stop shop for magical entertainment is way to utilize your customer base and keep them employed to buy more magic.
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The TSA xray tech was a little confused by this.
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Justin Robert Young and I made this video while we were waiting for our flight at Logan International airport. I saw on Twitter that Katie Kenner was at World Magic Seminar in Las Vegas giving out decks to anyone who showed her a card trick (Chris and Katie Kenner are among my favorite people in the world. They get first-class seating in my space ark). I don't really like winning free stuff. I just like winning. Since I was thousands of miles away I decided to do a card trick on my iPhone and send it to Katie in the hopes that I could win a free deck that I actually don't need.
I thought about something that would be fun and quick. Partially inspired by Marco Tempest and by the kind of camera stunts I used to pull back in high school with a camcorder I schemed up a teleportation effect.
In most of my stage shows I do some kind of teleportation illusion. I've even used to do it every night in a small night club in Japan under the most difficult conditions. In there I'd sometimes appear in the middle of an audience sitting on the floor.
I explained everything to Justin and we shot it in the first take (not counting a partial take where I said "Magic Live" instead of "World Magic Seminar" and stopped recording). No editing of any kind. No reshoots, what you see is exactly how it happened. From conception to upload, the whole event took less than five minutes.
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David Copperfield and Chris "One Meter of Fun" Kenner
I had a lot of fun bringing my lecture to the North East. It was great to have Mr. Justin Robert Young along as my interpreter and Mr. Cameron Ramsay as our host. Boy did we give Cameron a hard time. We gave him several nicknames and reenacted painful scenes from his childhood at every opportunity. I'm still laughing at the thought of a chubby kid Cameron getting stuck in a subway turnstile with his toy plastic trumpet. Justin and I will be performing that as a play on the dinner theatre circuit. Of course, Cameron is grown up now and we jealously watched as half the cougars on Rhode Island tried to set him up with their teenage daughters. That might be why someone loaded his internet browser with obscene bookmarks when he wasn't looking. I know it's the reason I'm posting the goofy photo of him trying to ride a stationary bicycle.
The first lecture was at the fantabulous Diamonds Magic Shop in Peabody, Massachusetts. It's the kind of shop that actually has the stuff you're looking for in stock. A rarity nowadays, I know. Eddie and his wife are the owners and super nice folks. Please stop by the shop if you're even remotely in the area. Thanks to everyone who showed up. We actually ran out of chairs!
That night we ended up where every magic lecture ends up: TGI Fridays. The waitress was politely amused by our magic tricks and seemed unphased when Cameron and I screwed up basic tricks in the most basic ways. For future reference to anybody reading this; if I hand you a deck I openly shuffled with the aces culled to the top, please do a miracle for the waitress with the godsend I gave you and don't just shuffle the cards like some idiot who gets stuck in subway turnstiles holding a toy trumpet.
The next day we took a trip to Boston and actually parked a car in Harvard Yard (well, close to it). No trip to Boston isn't complete without a trip to the Boston Apple Store. For MacHeads like me it's like visiting Cathedrals in Europe, or In-N-Out Burgers in LA.
While walking through Boston we came across this rather inexplicable metal plate on the ground.
Speaking of borderline obscenities, we got to watch Justin co-host the NSFW show from Cameron Ramsay's living room.
The next day was the Rhode Island lecture at Cameron's magic club. We had a much larger turnout than was expected and I'd like to thank everyone who showed up. A special shout out to Todd Migliacci (@upcomingmagicia) who may be the only person to have seen my lecture in two states.
After the lecture we took a stop by the infamous Lizzy Borden house where the spinstress (probably) murdered her family in 1892. While there we conducted an impromptu ghost hunting investigation and made a startling discovery. I caught the whole thing on video:
We spent most of Wednesday waiting for our plane at the airport. In an attempt to entertain ourselves we made a video for Katie Kenner who was thousands of miles away at the World Magic Seminar handing out Theory 11 decks to any shemp who showed her a card trick. Not wanting to be left out, I concocted this. It was shot in one take and on the first take:
That was pretty much our entire adventure. Oh, and I also ate 12 Boston creme donuts for no apparent reason. Thanks again to Big Pasta a.k.a Trumpet Boy a.k.a. Cameron Ramsay for being an awesome host.
Sunday 7:00 pm
Diamonds Magic
515 Lowell Street
Peabody, MA 01960 (978) 535-8950
Tuesday 7:00pm
Rhode Island Society of Magicians
American Legion Auburn Post 20
7 Legion Way, Cranston, RI 02921-2730
http://magiccomedyjam.squarespace.com/
Sheraton Atlanta Perimeter North 800 Hammond Dr.
Atlanta, GA 30328
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Want to create and give away an impossible object your audience will never forget?
Create an inside-out balloon right before their eyes in this 3-phase routine.
Phase 1: Rip the knot off a balloon and make it vanish
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In this DVD Andrew teaches his method for tying a knot on the inside of the balloon and using it in an incredibly visual magic routine.
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DVD running time 20 minutes
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