Adam asks: I am struggling with finding my unique style. I am quite laid back but don’t want that to come across as boring or uncharismatic. I am also not naturally intense like some of my favourite magicians, such as Nate Staniforth or David Blaine. I am funny but mainly in response to other people rather than through ‘jokes’. How do I hone my unique persona when it comes to performing magic professionally vs with friends?

Your charisma lies in your authenticity.

Leverage Humor in Your Performances:

Your ability to respond humorously to others is a wonderful trait that can set you apart. Rather than relying on pre-scripted jokes, build connections with your audience through witty banter and spontaneous interactions. Develop observational skills to spot humorous situations, creating memorable, light-hearted moments that engage and delight your spectators. That goes down very well with British audiences that tend not to like ‘characters’ as much as natural, witty personalities. Don’t take yourself too seriously, have a twinkle in your eye and a cheeky smile… It goes a long way in making your magic more enjoyable without having to be a ‘character’ A good example of the folly of a serious character is Phil Goldstein’s character Max Maxen. A fantastic master magician… But Phil often hinted himself that the character may have held him back because it was aloof, otherworldly, and relatable.

Personalize Your Magic Routines:

As you craft your magical routines, infuse them with elements that resonate with your interests, experiences, or hobbies. This personal touch adds authenticity to your performances, making them more relatable and memorable. Perhaps you can incorporate references to your favourite activities or use objects of personal significance. By weaving these unique elements into your magic, you’ll create a distinct style that reflects your personality.

Adaptation: Professional vs. Informal Settings:

You might need to adjust your magical persona slightly to suit the context when performing as a professional magician. While staying true to your nature, consider trying a touch of sophistication to meet the expectations of your audience. Understand the demographics and preferences of your audience to tailor your performances accordingly.

But what about when I’m performing my magic for friends and family? You can fully embrace your natural persona when performing for friends or in informal settings. Focus on creating a relaxed and enjoyable atmosphere where your humour and laid-back demeanour can flourish without constraints. These more intimate performances allow your unique style to shine.

Study and Learn from Others:

While you aim to develop your magical persona, it’s important to learn from the masters of the craft. Study magicians who inspire you, like Nate Staniforth and David Blaine, to understand their techniques and stage presence. Analyze what aspects resonate with you and consider how to adapt those elements to fit your magical persona. Remember, the goal is not to mimic them but to draw inspiration from their charisma and stage presence to enhance your performance.

Finding your unique magical persona requires a delicate balance between embracing your true nature, leveraging your humour, personalizing your routines, and adapting to different performance settings. Embrace your individuality and let it shine through your performances. Remember, your charisma lies in your authenticity. With practice and perseverance, you will develop a captivating, magical persona that leaves audiences spellbound professionally and among friends. So, weave your enchanting tapestry of magic, adding your distinctive flair to the world of illusions!

If you have a question for the magicians at Merchant of Magic send me an email via the support section. I try to answer as many as possible and turn some into posts here.

Best wishes and good luck with your magic

Dominic Reyes

A wedding is a joyous occasion filled with love, laughter, and memorable moments. While all eyes are usually on the bride, the groom can also make a lasting impression by showcasing his magical talents. Adding a touch of mystique and wonder to the reception, the groom can entertain and engage the guests with a few well-practised magic tricks. In this blog post, we present five magic tricks that will leave everyone spellbound, making the groom’s wedding reception a truly unforgettable experience.

1. The Linking Rings:

This classic trick revolves around the concept of a wedding ring, symbolizing the bond between the bride and groom. The groom displays 4 small solid rings and makes them magically link and unlink in impossible ways. The core routine is very easy to learn and perform. It could easily be built into the groom’s wedding speech. Powerful magic like this can also be done to music. The magic shop sells a wide range of linking rings that come with full tuition here 

2. The Levitating Card:

One of the most visually stunning magic tricks involves levitating a card in mid-air. The groom can choose a card, have it signed by a guest, and then place it back into the deck. With a flick of his wrist, the groom can make the chosen card mysteriously rise from the deck, seemingly defying gravity. This trick not only demonstrates the groom’s dexterity but also engages the audience’s imagination, leaving them amazed and entertained. Here is a great version of the rising card that is very easy to learn and perform

3. The Mystery of the Wedding Band:

What better way to incorporate the essence of the wedding ceremony than by performing a trick with the wedding bands themselves? The groom can remove his wedding band and place it in a closed box. After a few magical passes, he can open the box, revealing that the ring has multiplied, with multiple rings magically appearing inside. This trick symbolizes the never-ending love and commitment between the couple and adds an extra touch of enchantment to the celebration.

4. The Predictive Mind:

This mind-boggling trick allows the groom to demonstrate his psychic abilities. The groom can ask a guest to select a word from a book or a card from a deck, without revealing their choice. With a moment of concentration, the groom can reveal the chosen word or card, leaving everyone astounded. This trick showcases the groom’s intuition and adds an air of mystery to the wedding reception. For this you would need a Svengali deck or a Book Test.

5. The Grand Finale – The Vanishing Bride:

For the grand finale, the groom can pull off the ultimate magical feat by making his bride disappear right before everyone’s eyes. This trick requires careful planning, coordination, and the assistance of a professional magician. With smoke, lights, and the perfect misdirection, the groom can make it appear as if his bride vanishes into thin air, leaving the audience in awe and wonder. Of course, the bride will reappear moments later, adding an element of surprise and excitement to the wedding reception. If you would like to hire a magician to perform this illusion at your wedding, the magic shop can supply you with a professional magician. A magician can also entertain your guests during the drinks reception or between courses through the wedding breakfast making your reception even more magical. For information on hiring a high-quality professional wedding magician, contact us here.

Incorporating magic tricks into the wedding reception is a fantastic way for the groom to showcase his talents, entertain guests, and create lasting memories. The tricks mentioned above encompass a range of difficulty levels and cater to different tastes and styles. Remember, practice makes perfect, so the groom should devote time to mastering each trick before the big day. By performing these magical acts, the groom will not only add a touch of mystique to the celebration but also make his wedding reception a truly unforgettable experience for everyone involved.

We asked magicians on Facebook for their first magic shop memories and got more than 350 replies. Here are a few of them.

John Lenahan: In the UK, it was Martin Breese’s place in Shepherd’s Bush, London. Great shop. Lovely man.

James Fortune: Gamages, London, with Harry Baron.

Mark Lewis: I worked in that department [at Gamages]! Did you know that Chung Ling Soo’s son was an executive in the store? I think it must have been 60 years ago! It was Harry Baron who told me it was Soo’s son. I think Harry told me, “He doesn’t like magic.” I know he never came near the department even once. He just used to glare or ignore it every day.

Travis Knoll:  Diamond Magic Shoppe, owned and operated by Jack Diamon. I still get nostalgic whenever I drive by the old building in downtown Grand Rapids, MI. My dad was a big supporter of my interest in magic, and took me there. He had no interest in it until I did. Great memories.

Steve Goldstein: Barry’s Magic Shop, Wheaton, Maryland. This is a later photo of the original location [See photo] when the shop was downstairs and the Psychic Ghost Theater was upstairs. Originally the store was only on the second level. I just noticed the “moving” sign in the window. This is a photo taken not long before the building was demolished to make way for an alley.

James L Cox: The old, original Magicland in downtown Dallas. Creaky floors, big oak display cabinets, puppets and hats and masks on the wall. Musty and vaguely sinister. Perfect.

Ian Adair: Tam Shepherds in Glasgow, when I was a boy magician. This was before Roy Walton became the manager.

Dave Williams: Supreme Magic HQ in Bideford, Devon.

Terry Herbert: Gamages, Hamleys, and Davenports when it was in New Oxford Street in 1949.

Eugene Ball:  My first real magic shop was Thurston’s Magic Shop in Bakersfield, California, in 1978. It was run by an old man who was Thurston’s cousin. It was also a locksmith and a bicycle repair shop. What a great guy!

Andy Taylor: The first real magic shop I ever visited was Magick Enterprises in Sheffield over 40 years ago. A proper brick-and-mortar magic shop still going strong today. It’s the meeting place of Sheffield Circle of Magicians and worth visiting for the popular, regular Saturday Sessions!

Adam Stanforth: Yours.. Merchant of Magic

Craig Anthony Perkins: The first magic shop that my father took me to in the 1970s was Chuck Martinez’s Magicians’­ World in San Diego. Years later in the mid to late 1980s, I wound up working at Brad Burt’s Magic Shop. Brad used to work at Magicians’ World a few years before.

Anthony Roberts: As a kid in 1982, whilst on holidays, my dad found a real magic shop called The Magic Den in the Blue Mountains, New South Wales. Awesome memories!

Tom Hind: Kaymar Magic. It was in Upminster, London. The owner was one Morley Budden, and the Saturday lad was Liam Montier. He now owns it. I owe the biggest debt of gratitude to Morley, Barbara Budden and Liam, for the endless amounts of advice, knowledge, enthusiasm and encouragement they gave me. I hope I always make them proud when I perform magic.

Oliver Poesse: Berlin in 1987.

Scott Foster: Hey Presto, Sydney, Australia

Hugh Turley: My dad took me to one in Cincinnati, Ohio, while we were down there on a baseball excursion. We’d ridden on a train down from Sidney, Ohio, where I grew up. He took me to my first magic shop and first big game with the Cincinnati Reds. I bought a finger chopper and Nickels to Dimes. My first tricks. And that was over 70 years ago.

Illusions By Vick: My first (and only) real magic Shop… Denny & Lee’s Magic Studio [Baltimore] when it was on Marylin Avenue. Not only was it a magic studio, but it was also where the magic lived. As a full-time working professional, when I just didn’t feel the magic coming from me, I could go to the shop at 9004 Yellow Brick Road. Going through a particularly uncreative patch, I would go there every Tuesday in the early afternoon. Most of the time, Jerry Rowan was there. Jerry was hilarious; you could give him any two unrelated things, and he could work them into a joke. And it was OK just to sit there surrounded by all the books and photos on the walls. Denny would come and sit at the table (until the damn phone rang), and we’d talk and smoke cigarettes. Much of the time, we weren’t talking about magic, but sometimes we had deep conversations about the art. That’s where the magic lived, and I could find it there.

Paul Warren: Goodliffe’s warehouse in Birmingham. I bought a Magic Inc sponge ball book with Goshman (purse frame?) routine in it.

Thom Chesser: Davenports opposite the British Museum and Alan Alan’s round the corner in Holborn – what a day!

David Hiersekorn: Hollywood Magic – the first Newport Beach store, which was on Newport Blvd. They later moved it to 17th Street. That was about 1980 or so. I was just a kid. We lived a few blocks away. I was in that store WAY too often and WAY too long.

Mike Harris: Tommy Cooper magic shop, Blackpool. Then JB magic, then Davenports.

Peter Hart: Davenports in Charing Cross tube station, and Stephen Mulhern’s dad’s shop in Minehead.

Russell Brown: The Witches Cafe, Blackpool. Cyril Critchlow really great person.

Colin Goodgroves: The Sign of Four, Goldsmith Street, Nottingham, in 1963. My first purchase: A finger mouse.

Sean Boon: House of Secrets, Blackpool, when it was on the seafront. Worked out. I probably got served by a young Paul Zenon. Then I discovered Jokebox Magic and Tommy Cooper’s joke shop. And all the others I’ve visited since.

Dan Lewis: The Merchant of Magic when it was in Southwick.

Paul Forster: Magicbox, a real magic shop in Newcastle. I blame Michael Murray for me spending most of my student loan there!

Tony Miller: When I was a child, my parents took me to New Orleans to see the sites. While in the French Quarter, I said I wanted to find a magic shop and stopped a man to ask if he knew where one was. He gave us directions and went on his way. A few minutes later, we found ourselves in a “magick” shop. I was amazed by everything I saw, and my parents realised we were in the wrong place. The lady running the shop saw the humour in the situation and pointed us in the right direction. I don’t recall the name of the shop she sent us to, but I know it is where I bought my first set of linking rings, and I still have them today. I also have a healthy appreciation of tarot cards and bizarre magick because of that trip.

Al-Prendo Taylor: Magic Box on The Isle of Wight. Got me hooked. Then I followed Kaymar Magic from an art shop in Billericay to its own premises with the late Harry Baron – who had a beautiful collection in a stand in the shop. Then the shop went to Upminster with Morley, his wife and son. I love all the magic shops; something special about them.

Sean Mills: I used to visit The Tommy Cooper magic shop next to Blackpool Pleasure Beach when on holiday (320 miles from me), Davenports, Charing Cross, also a shop in Canterbury, in the back streets near the school entrance, which sold magic in the 80s (it was probably a toy shop). I often visited; sadly, all are long gone now. Canterbury was the closest to me, living in Ramsgate (and still do), and I used to visit often as a teenager. (Yes, I’m really that old!) It’s not the same all online, so Blackpool convention is great, where real people are selling real magic like in the old days! My mother had an uncle who owned a magic and fancy dress shop in Ramsgate that I sadly never got to visit, as I was too young, but when he closed, I remember receiving some joke items. It’s now a Chinese takeaway!

Steven R. Sundheim: Louis Tannen at 120 West 42nd Street, New York. Tony Spina waited on me, with my dad also there. He sold me a spooky silk and trick box that changed colour inside and could be examined by other little boys who I would be performing for. A greatest half hour of my life in retrospect. Life changing. Lou Tannen also came by and introduced himself to me as the “owner of the store and welcome to magic”. And they were a very real magic shop. The best.

Steve Majes: Davenports when opposite the British Museum. Al Woodrow was a very kind and caring demonstrator at the time; it was a pleasure to get to know him over the years. I remember the cabinets full of magic, and I dreamed of one day owning that small silver box that magically contained an endless supply of silk handkerchiefs. I so miss those days of a real magic shop.

David Taylor: Mike Danata’s Magic Studio, Palmerston Road, Boscombe. Sadly closed, but I have so many happy memories of the time spent in the studio. Mike used to get so hacked off by people coming in from the launderette next door looking for a change!

Freddie Wilkinson: Not a proper magic shop, but Chuckles on Skeggy Pier. They had the full range of Eddie Gibson, Tenyo and Chu’s magic. It was the shop that started it all for me, aged eight.

John Bartlett: Davenports, when it was near the British Museum and International Magic. We used to travel up from the Isle of Wight on a day trip (aged 16), and our first port of call was these two shops, followed by a trip around Oxford Street before we had to catch the train back.

Michael Packman: International Magic, London. Jerry Sadowitz served me and did a retention vanish. I was hooked!

Simon Taylor: A juggling shop with a magic counter called Mushy Pea Juggling Co in Manchester. It ended up being my first job after school – running the magic counter and demoing all the new effects. Great times.