Brent Smith and The Vanishing Rabbit Magic Store – IncredibleInside MagicMagic News Updated Daily for the Professional Magician

Brent Smith and Lovely Assistant

It is my habit, when visiting any new town, to look through the Yellow Pages for magic shops or magicians. Most of the time, I don?t have time actually do anything more than just drive by the shop or leave a crank call for the magician in between meetings. When I do have time, like during this vacation, I get as excited as a kid going to a Ritalin store when I visit.

Brent Smith has a wonderful store in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It was my honor to visit his location and suck up his time for a couple of hours. He was kind enough to show me his shop, the newer and newest tricks and practically demonstrate every trick in the shop. I will tell you about some of the stand-out effects in a second, but first let me give you a bird?s-eye lowdown on the physical plant and Mr. Smith.

Read On . . .

Located on Centre Street, not far from the Calgary Airport, Mr. Smith?s store is called ?The Vanishing Rabbit? and is exactly what you would seek in a magic store. He has magic, books, gimmicks and audio-visual materials for every level of magician. The store stocks over 4,000 items from basic, starter tricks to full-scale illusions. You can pick up a set of Sponge Balls, beginner?s magic set or instructional DVD all the way up to the latest in mentalism or illusions such as a beautifully made Thin Model Sawing a Woman in Half or two types of Sub Trunks.

The Vanishing Rabbit Magic Shop

The prices were great; so great that I bought several tricks with the full intention of returning this week ? on my way out of town ? to buy some more. This is the first store I have found…

Brent Smith and Lovely Assistant

Read On . . .

The Vanishing Rabbit Magic Shop

The prices were great; so great that I bought several tricks with the full intention of returning this week ? on my way out of town ? to buy some more. This is the first store I have found anywhere that had the Ultimate Card Index from Bazar de Magia in Argentina or any of the great tricks from Bazar de Magia. I have looked for this utility for two years.

I supposed I could have ordered it from Argentina but I am so into instant gratification, I couldn?t wait the two days for the shipment. One day, soon, I will ask you to name a card, any card, and your selection will just happen to match the prediction card I had set in my pocket. So, please forget you read that I bought the world?s thinnest Card Index from my new friend in Calgary. It will seem more impressive then.

The magic store I found is exactly the kind of magic store I long to own. It is clear a magician owns this place. It is also clear that it is owned by a magician who cares about cultivating customers and a culture of magic in the city.

Inside The Vanishing Rabbit Magic Shop

The magician behind, under and in front of the store is Mr. Smith. His name may be common ? it?s like ?Smith? in the United States ? but his dedication to magic is uncommon and laudable. Do you recall the discussion on the Ring 2100 a few weeks back addressing the demise of the brick and mortar shops in favor of the price-cutting Internet locations? I am happy to report that the news of the magic shop?s demise was exaggerated. It is alive and well here in Calgary.

Okay, let?s talk about what Mr. Smith brings to the magic table other than a heart set on expanding the magic community. He has won the Close-Up Award from Ring 66 several times, started classes for budding and established magicians, performs seven types of shows including Kid?s Shows, Strolling Magic and Stage. He has developed an Umbrella Routine in which he produces ? what else ? umbrellas and animals appear on stage.

He has both performed and produced full touring shows throughout Western Canada and received great reviews from clients as diverse as Air Canada and AT&T to West Tek Industries and West Jet. Former CFL Star, MVP Vince Danielson summed up Mr. Smith?s work, ?Excellent!? (By the way, I would say the same about Mr. Danielson?s ability as a receiver and slot-back).

One of the things for which I must thank Mr. Smith, is exposure to a local magician, Scott Imler. As regular readers of Inside Magic are aware, I know everything about magic. I know every trick, every nuance of every effect ever made or even thought of by anyone. Well, mostly. Okay, not at all; but enough about me.

Scott Imler’s Incredible Lotto Vision

When Mr. Smith showed an effect invented by Mr. Imler, I had to admit that I was completely baffled. (For those of you keeping score that would be the fifth time in the last 96 hours I have admitted my bafflement. The other four: 1) Mark and Jinger?s version of the Alan Wakeling Sawing; 2) Rick Thomas? incredible variation on Asrah; 3) Meir Yedid?s Fadeout; and 4) Kelloggs? technique for getting the strawberry filling into Pop-Tarts without breaking the wonderful flakey crust.

Mr. Imler?s effect Lotto Vision should engender him a Nobel Prize for Magic. (By the way, I cannot believe Inside Magic got passed up for this prize again. It is frankly no excuse that no such prize exists, it still hurts.)

Lotto Vision is pure genius. Here?s the effect: you show and hand out for inspection a few items that will go into your experiment of random choice and prediction. You have a piece of steel perforated with 52 holes, a plastic case lined with a white placard displaying the cards of a deck, and 52 steel ball bearings.

You ask your volunteer to hand back the balls, the clear plastic case and steel plate. In return, you hand her a deck of cards and ask her to deal until she desires to stop. The next card is placed facedown and moved aside. You now ask the spectator to take the 52 balls plus the one powerball. You explain that the powerball is slightly larger than the holes in the steel plate and the remainders are small enough to fall through.

The spectator collects all the balls in a small container, shakes them to her heart?s content, and then pours the balls into the plastic case. The balls all fall through with one exception. The powerball is over one card (not the same card each time ? by the way) and that one card matches exactly the card selected by the volunteer.

I am sure my description has not done the trick justice. You need to see this. You need to own it. It requires no set-up, no sleight of hand, and the method is ingenious. My Psychic Hero, Bob Cassidy, teaches that a trick MUST have a break in the logical chain of method to be effective.

If a spectator could repeat your result by doing exactly as you have done; it is not magic, it is a recipe. Mr. Imler?s Lotto Vision meets Mr. Cassidy?s criteria perfectly. All of the moves appear fair and honest and, as I said, there is no sleight of hand, and yet there is a break in the logical chain of method. Unbelievable.

The best thing I can say about this effect is that once you buy it and read the instructions you will be amazed at the secret. You would never have guessed the method. In fact, here?s my challenge: buy it, open it, take the instructions and put them away without reading them, now figure it out. You won?t succeed. Not because you aren?t competent and knowledgeable, but because the method is so ingenious. At $40.00 (CDN) this is the steal of the century. Here is the link. Visit the incredible Mr. Imler?s website here.

Brent Smith Demonstrates

A second effect produced by Mr. Imler, Melt Down, is a smart, simple and effective illusion that can be done within inches of your volunteer. You show three Bicycle cards; two blue back and one red. You fairly show all of the cards front and back ? no sleights. You now put the two blue cards together and make a tunnel through which you insert the red backed card. Both ends of the red card are seen on either side of the two blue cards. There are no tricky moves but there is a trick ? there has to be because the next thing your volunteer sees is the red card melting through the bottom blue card and coming free of the tunnel. You show the three cards again, both sides.

I know there are some of you thinking this is the old high-powered laser-based hologram method where the image of the card is projected into space to appear that the red card is between the two blue cards. I thought the same thing when Mr. Smith showed it to me.

But I didn?t see the 220 volt iridescent laser generator that is usually chugging from within the backpack you had to wear; and I didn?t receive the occasional laser burns that resulted from that method. Plus, the cost was not $32,300.00 like the old laser method. It is only $11.00 (CDN). Again, as I said above, the method is ingenious. Buy this, buy this now. Here?s the link.

So there we sit. I was so fortunate to have time to stop by the Vanishing Rabbit Magic Shop in Calgary, to meet Mr. Smith, to find my long-sought Bazar de Magia Card Index, and to learn about the incredible magic of Scott Imler. I believe it will be your good fortune to connect with Mr. Smith and the Vanishing Rabbit store.

We?ll put Vanishing Rabbit in the Links of Fame.