History
Our first attempt at authorship was a small manuscript detailing several original sleights, tricks and flourishes we invented. We called it Artifice, Ruse and Subterfuge in the Hands, paying homage to The Expert at the Card Table by S.W. Erdnase. We thought it was clever and since the material was entirely executable in the hands, rather then on a table, suiting too. Anyway, it was such an enjoyable and rewarding experience that we found ourselves authoring another manuscript the following year. In fact, ever since Artifice, Ruse and Subterfuge in the Hands was published in 2000, we have released a new manuscript or book annually.
Eventually, we realized it would be very simple to make a home video explaining our ideas, so we did. We titled it Pasteboard Animations as it focused on our unique card flourishes. We had a local company duplicate several copies, printed out labels and sold them at a magic convention. When they soon sold out, we printed more. When those sold out, we printed even more. Throughout our early high school years, we sold hundreds of these videos either at conventions or online. It went on to become an underground classic. Soon however, video became old fashioned and DVDs took over. With the help of Chris Kenner and Homer Liwag, we produced The System, the first instructional DVD on card flourishes that pretty much changed card magic forever. It spawned a style and influenced a new generation of young magicians and cardists.
The System’s success spearheaded the development of future projects, such as The Trilogy, Surfaced, Smoke & Mirrors, and If an Octopus Could Palm, which taught us most of what we know about film production, graphic design, business and marketing. To date, the number of projects we’ve produced is in the hundreds, and many of them can be found in our shop.
