Roundup of Alakazam Magic in 2008
It is a cold, wintry Sunday afternoon as I sit down in front of my computer to put together a closing newsletter for what has been another very busy year for Alakazam Magic. The whole idea of rounding up the year in this fairly in-depth manner is really to highlight some of the "best-bits" for us over these past twelve months and also to remind us that without all your on-going support, much of this would not have been possible. So where on earth do I start?
The past twelve months have seen the release of some hugely popular items, many of which have been standout items in the entire magic community and hopefully will continue to be well into the New Year. The most obvious place to start is with the EXTRACTOR deck. Way back at the time we released the RISER DECK, the genius that is Rob Bromley also sent us a new device that he said in passing would change the way people thought about card magic. It sat on the shelf in the office for nearly eight months. Fast-forward to the Blackpool Magicians Club Annual Convention 2008 and Peter decided to take this new device along to show it around informally to see what people thought and show an initial idea he had had with it to do a card to pocket effect. BANG! The card to pocket routine set the convention alight with a buzz that overwhelmed some of the greatest minds in magic and more importantly - they were being fooled by it! Nobody had seen anything like this before and this was just the tip of the iceberg. With rave reviews for Peter's card to pocket coming in left right and centre, it suddenly opened up the creative doors to a device that we now know as the EXTRACTOR. The release of this device became highly anticipated and production began immediately. However there was a drawback - the demand! With each EXTRACTOR being painstakingly hand-crafted by Rob Bromley and the DVD content looking to be over two hours long this was going to be a lot of work to get everything together in time for the release!
With a funky new packaging design courtesy of the artistic genius of ADRIAN GOWER of Monster Creations, two thousand EXTRACTORS ready to go and a tutorial DVD that ran for a whopping 130 minutes, everything was ready to go. I do not think anyone could have anticipated just how big this thing was going to be and on the day of release we set about fulfilling the preorders - which actually ended up taking two days in total, at the end of which we were cleaned right out! So we set about the whole production line again in order to get more of these sought-after devices made again and honestly - we have been on a catch-up with the ongoing demand ever since. The phenomenon looks set to continue in 2009 with more and more people submitting ideas and feedback, a follow-up DVD is planned and EXTRACTED looks set to bring you bang up to date with the latest routines, tips and ideas with the device that has kept us on our toes for best part of the last year. It has been a complete joy to get emails and calls from people that have bought the EXTRACTOR who openly admit they have done very little card magic in the past and now the EXTRACTOR has given them new confidence and they are now blowing people away all the time!
Whilst the EXTRACTOR was a major addition to Alakazam Magic in 2008 the other most notable event was MARK GRAY joining the team and 2009 will see him becoming a full time member of the Alakazam Magic team of staff. Mark has a huge wealth of experience in the world of magic, not only in selling it but also as a full time performer of many years. Working extensively in the kid show market as well as close up there is very little that this guy does not know and Mark will be a driving force in Alakazam's plans to expand our range of kid show props and unique material. Mark will also be in the shop every day so whether you are stopping buy the store or calling up to place an order then you can rest assured that you will be in safe hands with Mark.
With a funky new packaging design courtesy of the artistic genius of ADRIAN GOWER of Monster Creations, two thousand EXTRACTORS ready to go and a tutorial DVD that ran for a whopping 130 minutes, everything was ready to go. I do not think anyone could have anticipated just how big this thing was going to be and on the day of release we set about fulfilling the preorders - which actually ended up taking two days in total, at the end of which we were cleaned right out! So we set about the whole production line again in order to get more of these sought-after devices made again and honestly - we have been on a catch-up with the ongoing demand ever since. The phenomenon looks set to continue in 2009 with more and more people submitting ideas and feedback, a follow-up DVD is planned and EXTRACTED looks set to bring you bang up to date with the latest routines, tips and ideas with the device that has kept us on our toes for best part of the last year. It has been a complete joy to get emails and calls from people that have bought the EXTRACTOR who openly admit they have done very little card magic in the past and now the EXTRACTOR has given them new confidence and they are now blowing people away all the time!
Whilst the EXTRACTOR was a major addition to Alakazam Magic in 2008 the other most notable event was MARK GRAY joining the team and 2009 will see him becoming a full time member of the Alakazam Magic team of staff. Mark has a huge wealth of experience in the world of magic, not only in selling it but also as a full time performer of many years. Working extensively in the kid show market as well as close up there is very little that this guy does not know and Mark will be a driving force in Alakazam's plans to expand our range of kid show props and unique material. Mark will also be in the shop every day so whether you are stopping buy the store or calling up to place an order then you can rest assured that you will be in safe hands with Mark.
Christmas 2008 saw the return of the classic Rubik's Cube puzzle to the UK toy store shelves and they were set not to stay there for very long, with it being tipped to be the hot must have toy as far back as the summer. To coincide with this, we were proud to finally bring Mark Elsdon's RUBIK REMEMBERED to the magic marketplace. This hugely popular DVD teaches Mark's full presentation, routine and methodology for performing the RUBIK REMEMBERED routine - solving a randomly mixed up Rubik's Cube from memory whilst blindfolded. The teaching is excellent and the feedback has been phenomenal, with magicians all over the world now performing the routine to great effect.
Around six years ago Alakazam released E.S..PERFECT by Peter Nardi and it quickly became a popular mentalism packet effect that was used by a few professionals. Well this year after the last few years in development, Peter decided to collate all his ideas using the concept behind the original effect and we put together E.S.PERFECT: THE PROJECT DVD. This instantly shot E.S.PERFECT back to the top of the sales stats and the variations also included on the DVD are now being used and recognised by professionals and amateurs alike all over the world. With the advent of DVD tutorials now becoming almost standard with the release of magic tricks, the re-release of existing effect but now with an instructional DVD is proving to be very popular, since it makes learning a routine far easier than ever before. So watch this space as you see some of the classics reloaded and re-released in 2009 with up to date tips and handlings that have evolved over the past few years along with some brand new tricks too!
PAST MIDNIGHT was a huge success for Alakazam Magic in the run up to Christmas 2007 and this year saw the completion of our second project with BENJAMIN EARL in the form of the much anticipated SKIN, released for the first time ever on DVD. This unique DVD details, in my opinion, the most complete study of the coin bend that has been in a long time. The psychological journey that the spectator experiences within this effect is sure to have a extremely powerful impact in performance and those that take the time and effort to study this DVD will have added am extremely unique and strong performance piece to their arsenal.
Mentalism has played a large part in 2008 for Alakazam in association with INNERMIND PRODUCTIONS. For Alakazam Magic, Simon Shaw's DIRECTOR'S CUT has been a runaway hit with us reaching the end of the year and being completely sold out! This simple concept has paved the way to some very powerful routines and we would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has given us some great feedback and suggestions. Many of you expressed an interest in a second version of the effect but based on horror movies and we have listened! Next year be sure to look out for DIRECTOR'S CUT II: THE HORROR EDITION coming soon! YOUR THOUGHTS ARE MINE saw the DVD debut of British based mentalism LOOCH, of SIMPLE AND DIRECT MENTALISM fame. This DVD release was just one of many through the INNERMIND PRODUCTIONS team and other highlights include THE TOMMY PAD DVD, Tom Lauten's 357 and GLIMPSE 20/20. With more things planned for the New Year, mentalism fans around the world should stay tuned!
JOHN VAN DER PUT also shot to fame through Alakazam Magic in 2008 with the release of his signature effect VDP and then later on a collection of his unique and sophisticated style of close up work in his second hit DVD of the year OUT OF THE ROUTINE. Based on the success of his previous two releases I think we will be seeing a lot more from John in the future. I know he has created a big following so I hope that his fans will not be left waiting too long!
MOZIQUE is an extremely clever man as well as being a long time friend and associate of Alakazam Magic, with such projects as DECISIONS to his name already, the COBRA SHARPIE 2.0 was bound to arouse excitement and anticipation all round when it was finally launched on mass in 2008. Not only was this a revolutionary and truly deadly secret weapon for magicians and mentalists but also I think it set a new standard in magic tutorial, with a unique style and a super slick video trailer. I think it is important to continually push the creative boundaries within the magic world and I think that seeing the development of the aforementioned project as well as other DVD projects and the continually attractive packaging designs we can feel safe that we are doing everything we can to ensure that things are kept fresh, appealing and unique here at Alakazam Magic.
Many of you will remember the big Genii article on Peter Nardi and Alakazam Magic back in the summer of 2008 and this also saw the worldwide launch of our DVD catalogue that shows many of the items from our unique range. Since then we have been delighted to see a massive response and praise for our products and thank you all for your ongoing support and feedback. We will continue to work hard in 2009 to bring you even more fantastic products as well as keeping the DVD catalogue up to date with these additions and above all keep it FREE!
ALAKAZAM MAGIC USA also saw its major launch in 2008! Headed up by the highly respected MICHAEL RAPPA, Alakazam USA has gone from strength to strength this past year and will continue to do so in the next twelve months. As well as a huge product range, the USA site is also home to the ALAKAZAM INSTANT DOWNLOADS section where you can get some great magic from your favourite Alakazam artists on demand! If you have not yet checked it out, log on today at: www.alakazam-usa.com and get downloading!
It really has been a busy year with much to be pleased about and whilst successful products are always a delight, it is always important for us to highlight that it is only possible due to your ongoing phenomenal support and feedback. We always aim to please our customers and use your feedback to keep raising our game as much as possible. So as always if you have any suggestions or feedback then please let us know about it by dropping me a line on: sales@alakazam.co.uk as your comments are always welcome. We have some new and extremely exciting things planned for 2009 and whilst I usually like to take this opportunity to give you a hint of what is to come, this year you are just going to have to stay tuned as the first three new projects of the year are currently top secret and confidential at this stage. But you can be sure that you will be the first to hear about them as and when we release details. So make sure you add Alakazam Magic to your Internet favourites today as well as signing up for the email updates and forwarding this on to your friends if they have not yet signed up.
Once again, on behalf of the whole Alakazam Magic team: Peter, Jenny, Mark, Sarah, Adrian and all the rest of the phenomenal individuals that help to make Alakazam what it is today; I would like to thanks you all again for all your support and wish you and your families and friends a very happy new year! See you in 2009!
