Vanishing Birdcage!

Here’s the newest addition to my vanishing birdcage collection.

Vanishing Birdcage

This is the first vanishing birdcage in my collection that has the perch go the long way across the cage. This vanishing birdcage has the spoon (sleeve guard) still attached, that’s something that’s frequently broken off of these older cages.

This one had been damages and had a repair:

Vanishing Birdcage
Vanishing Birdcage

Unfortunately this cage’s repair is bent, so it’s currently an non-functional cage. I’m scared to try to bend it back. I don’t want to undo the repair and end up with a broken cage.

This is a great addition to the collection!

-Louie

Out of Town Shipping Notice

**The daily blog will continue to be updated below this notice**

I will be out of town performing at the San Diego County Fair in San Diego, CA from June 22nd to July 6th, 2026. That means no orders of physical items will ship until I return on July 7th, 2026.

Digital items will still be emailed during this time!

magic shop

You can also get many of my magic products from TrickSupply.com in Las Vegas. You can order my magic from them at:
https://tricksupply.com/product-category/louie-foxx/

**The daily blog will continue to be updated below this notice**

Film Can Refurbishing

The film cans that I use for my Film Can Dice Force aren’t made anymore. They still make film cans, but the ones currently made don’t work for the gimmick. I have to source mine on the “used film can market”.

The last batch that I got were super beat up and I had to refurbish(?) them. The can on the left is what they look like when I got them:

The middle can is after I gave them a wipe down, and the can on the right is after I buffed them with my Dremel! The amount of labor that goes into making the Film Can Dice Forces is way too much for what I charge for them!

-Louie

Magic Poster Museum in Everett, WA

There’s a restaurant in Everett, WA that has a magic poster mini museum! Here’s a quick tour of it at Shawn O’Donnells!

Here’s a close up of a few of the pics:

vintage magic posters
vintage magic posters
vintage magic posters
vintage magic posters

If you’re in the Everett, WA area, swing by and check it out! Also, Shawn (the owner) is a magician, so you’re supporting magic!

-Louie

Close Up Pads as a Disposable Item

Close up pads used to last me for years, now not so much. The difference is that I use them frequently for roving magic, not just practicing at home. That means they have to look clean or at least not gross.

Between replacing these for my close up/roving magic and my stage magic show’s consumables, my show generates a lot of trash. I wish it was less, but that’s how it is.

I’m really liking the economy close up pads. They’re not the best, but for an item that I replace sometimes after a single gig, I’m willing to compromise for the price. Also they’re slightly lighter than the nice close up magic pads, so that’s handy if I’m flying to a gig.

close up pad for magic

If you use a close up pad in your work, really look at it closely and see how clean it is. Sometimes comparing it next to a new one will show you how beat up your old one really is!

-Louie

Vanishing Birdcages – Don’t Buy The Hype!

Vanishing Birdcages from India have been popping up on eBay with way too high prices and descriptions. Here’s the image on one that recently popped up:

vanishing birdcage

Let’s take a closer look at what those instructions say:

vanishing birdcage

There’s so much wrong with that ad copy!
1: That cage isn’t a “Lindhorst Style”
2: That cage hasn’t been used thousands of times
3: Gene Anderson has never really been associated with the vanishing birdcage trick
4: Highly unlikely that this cage belonged to Gene Anderson
5: How has it been used by Gene thousands of times, if it’s “never used”

Then the red flag is the $110 price point, those cages are less than $50 new and still being made and easily available!

If you’re looking to buy a vanishing birdcage and aren’t sure if it’s a good one, feel free to contact me and I can give you my opinion on the one you’re thinking of.

-Louie

The Moisture Festival Podcast – Oroki

On this episode, we welcome Oroki. We discuss the many aspects of Oroki’s performance life. We learn how it started on a date to an aerial class and how that led to producing theatrical shows all over Seattle.

The Moisture Festival Podcast - Oroki

We dive into Oroki’s background in dance, choreography, and a little parkour. A great conversation with a fantastic performer.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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Strait Jacket Escape Routine

I was driving home the other day, and I was thinking about the strait jacket escape. In the past I’ve done the Strait Jacket Escape with 50 Feet of Chain. Many routines are done against a clock but I like the idea of doing it against someone else doing something (completing a task). It sets up a head to head sort of challenge. My buddies Scotty Walsh and Steve The Pretty Good both did that in their routines.

The routine I was thinking about would be:

  • There’s a box or container of some sort that has a lock in it.
  • $100 is put into the container and locked.
  • The key is mixed with other non-working keys.
  • I’m put into the strait jacket.
  • I have to get out before someone from the audience find the correct key and opens the box.
  • I get out when there it one key left.
  • The final key that they didn’t try opens the box, and I get to keep the $100
  • I offer them a 2nd place prize, which is another box with a lock.
  • They pick any key they already tried and it opens that box, inside is $5 that they can keep!

I think it reads a bit more convoluted than it flows, or how I think it will flow.

I need to go out and try it out and start figuring out if it works or doesn’t.

-Louie
PS: There’s an essay in one of my older lecture notes about how I created my comedy escape The Straight Suit.