Category: Uncategorized

The Nest of Envelopes – Update

In playing with different ideas with the Nest of Envelopes, I’m trying to decide if it works better as a bit that’s split up as a running gag sort of thing, or if it’s better and a single trick.

nest of envelopes

The advantage of it being part of a single trick is that the effect and the selection process are much clearer. That’s because it all just happened.

I’m still doing it as a card trick, and I’ve also learned it needs to be done with jumbo cards! I’m personally not a fan of using poker-sized cards where people in the audience need to see that a card is a specific card. Having the reveal of the card bigger will make it hit harder.

This routine has a way to go, but I think it’s a great idea!

-Louie

Close Up Magic for Retirement Community Shows

A couple of weeks ago, I hosted a “Problem Solving Session” for senior shows on Zoom. I didn’t expect to talk about using cameras for close up magic, but the topic came up, and I showed everyone one of the set ups that I use for projecting magic into a screen. Then a few days later this picture of me using a TV for close up magic at a senior gig popped up on the Google Alert that I have for my name.

how to perform for seniors

I’m using jumbo cards, which work when I don’t have projection, but with projection, it makes it play even larger!

I have a few set ups that I use for projection. For retirement community shows, it’s pretty basic tech and you can read about how I use a camera for retirement community magic shows here. The reason for the basic tech, is these aren’t usually in a formal environment, so if I haul a bunch of gear and can only use it half of the time, it’s not worth taking anything elaborate.

-Louie
PS: Click here if you want to know more about performing a magic show in the senior market!


Magic Swap Meet!

Last week the Portland Society of Magicians had their monthly magic meeting and annual swap meet!

magic swap meet

I really liked the less formal feeling of this meeting over the slightly more formal way the meetings are normally done. I sold some props, and picked up a few books:

magic books

I’ve owned the Nick Trost book and Card Craft in the past, but it’s been at least a decade. Both are great books that I’d love to find time to work through again. That may be wishful thinking as there’s a lot of books ahead of them.

I have an idea to make a video series called, “A Toast to Trost” that has updated versions of his tricks, or new tricks inspired by his. This is a back burner project that hopefully I’ll get to someday…

-Louie

The Louie Foxx Magic Lecture

In January, I have two magic lectures: one was last week, and the other is in just over a week. I usually don’t do many of these, as my performing schedule is busiest during the summer, when the magic conventions happen.

I had a blast at the one last week for the Portland Society of Magicians. Here’s a peek at what the 90 minute lecture looks like in 60 seconds:

If your local magic club would like a lecture, feel free to contact me and we can try to make it happen!

-Louie
PS: you can get the lecture notes here:
http://www.magicshow.tips/lecture-notes-2025/

Radio Mind Reading

In my reading of The Bat magic magazine, I found an interesting trick from July 1945. In the magazine, this is called Radio Mind Reading by Professor Elkan M Lipka. Despite the name, I’m not sure how this would work over the radio, but the magazine says it’s a good phone trick that makes much more sense.

The effect is you show the layout below. Someone thinks of a any card and they tell you if it’s in row A or B. Then they also tell the which of the numbered rows it’s in. You then tell them the card they are thinking of.

radio mind reading card trick


I posted this on my Facebook and had people do it. I did make one change: instead of them telling me which rows it appears in, I had them tell me the sum of the rows. I think that buries the method a little bit by adding a variable where you could get to a number multiple ways.

A change I would make is to adjust the method to match a memorized deck stack rather than the ace-to-king order. That would make it a trick that the average person couldn’t backtrack. That said, in either form, all the person has to do is say it’s math or an algorithm, and they’d be right, and there’s really nothing you can do to dispel that.

I think that if you used this with a physical prediction, like an invisible deck, you might have something. If you put the layout image on a projection screen and talked about how magic used to be done, and how it’s done now. Here’s how this trick would look in 1945, and here’s how it looks now.

-Louie

Slippery Cards Gag!

When I open a new deck of cards and have them shuffled by someone in the audience, 90% of the time they will comment that they’re slippery. That’s where this gag comes in.

slippery cards magic trick

When they comment on the cards being slick, I take out a little caution sign and set it on the table. That gets a laugh, and it’s a gag that will introduce the prop. I like using a gag to introduce a prop, another example of this is my Bodega Coin Tray. Also, when you use the prop for a gag, it serves a purpose and is less suspect later, since the audience thinks it’s already fulfilled its role.

What happens is that during your card tricks, at one point, the signed card appears under the little sign (like card under glass). Then later, you say the card is under the sign, but it’s not; however, the sign has changed to say the name of their card! Then, a moment later, the signed card has reappeared under the sign again!

slippery cards magic trick
slippery cards magic trick

I’m having a lot of fun with this little prop!

-Louie

Street Fair Magic Show

Over the summer I was hired to do a show for a street fair. I’ve done many of these in the past, but this one was a little bit different. When I arrived I was directed to my “stage” which was the middle of the street.

magic show

Doing a show in the middle of the street with no defined performing area is not a problem, I’ve done that before. For me the bigger challenge was trying to find a situation where the audience could be in the shade for the 45 min show.

There really wasn’t any shade that wasn’t blocking a business. I didn’t want to tell people to stand under a business’s awning, but I also knew that people would choose the shady spot to watch the show.

Once I started to talk up my show, people immediately filled the shady area directly in front of a business!

magic show

As my friend Skip Banks says, if you make the audience area comfortable, they’ll show up. They were a great crowd, and it was a fun show!

-Louie

Out of Town Shipping Notice

The Daily blog will continue to be updated below this pinned post**

This is a quick heads up that I’m out of town October 4th, 2025 through October 12th 2025.

magic shop out of town

No orders will ship during that period or work on products will happen while I’m away. In stock items will ship on 10/13/25.

**The daily blog will continue to be updated below this pinned post**

The Moisture Festival Podcast – Cyara Hotopp

On this episode of the Moisture Festival Podcast we welcome in Cyara Hotopp. We discuss a wide variety of topics including her law degree, where she practiced law and how she gave up being a lawyer to pursue the circus arts.

We talk about her background as a figure skater and all the lessons she learned from that and their application to ariel. A great conversation with a fantastic performer. 

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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