I’ve spent well over a thousand hours in the dealers’ room at magic conventions, mostly working behind the booth for my own brand. I find this is the most genuine way to sell magic—there’s no hiding behind flashy trailers, misleading ad copy, or hyperbolic testimonials. Often, the person selling the item is the person who made it. At this year’s Blackpool Magic Convention, I walked through the dealer halls and met many artists sharing and pitching their work. I sat down with three of them—Yves Doumergue, Rudy Weber, and Auren Squire—to learn how their brand, Conjuring Lab, approaches selling professional-grade products in an authentic way.
Conjuring Lab is based in Lyon, France, and specializes in building technology-
based tools. I was introduced to the brand after seeing a friend perform Akronym in his parlor show. An audience member navigated to several different Wikipedia pages on her own phone, and the choices ultimately revealed her partner’s first name. It was a unique effect, and the final revelation on a large sketchpad was visual and memorable.
After learning more about Akronym I found the method, routine construction, and user experience equally as impressive as the plot. I was reminded of Vernon’s teachings to “be natural”—this applies to phone magic just as much as it does to card and coin magic. People handle their phones dozens to hundreds of times per day, so any awkward actions would immediately be noticed. There are no fishy moments where the magician hides the screen from the audience, and no trace of the method is left at the end.