The Green Room

Branding lives in the moments people remember — not the ones you plan. A recent delivery of three bottles of Mrs. Meyer’s Iowa Pine hand soap became the unexpected spark that proved exactly how brand associations form in the real world.

Over the course of several decades engineering and fabricating illusions, tricks, and props for magic shows around the globe, I’ve learned a thing or two. First, for my friends not in the magic biz, here’s a little precursor. Magicians usually come to guys like me with a loose idea for some cool new trick. It’s then my job to ask all the important questions: What’s the venue like? How are you transporting this from A to B? What materials make sense? What’s the absolute must-have element here? We also have to narrow down the solution, using those deep secrets of the magic world that actually make the stuff work, all while keeping an eye on the budget – and that’s not always in that particular order.