Home      Online Shop      Quick Order List    Special Offers      Editorial      General Info      Contact Us    Search

Mark Leveridge Magic

leading the way for quality products and service 

DEALER NIGHTS

Bringing the magic to you!

Here are some comments on previous Dealer Nights

"Wandering around the Dealer's Hall at a modern magic convention can often be a less than rewarding experience. Over the last few years many dealers seem to all stock the same items, wholesaled from Mac's or Murphy's in America. It's getting harder to find a dealer happy to demonstrate the items, with many of them directing you to the description on the outside of the sealed package. This can make buying a bit of a gamble, as you can't be certain that an item is suitable for the performing conditions you have in mind.

Mark Leveridge is now arranging his own “Dealer Nights”, which allow him to showcase his range of exclusive products for a small audience. The third of these events took place at the Chequers Hotel in Newbury, Berkshire on October the 12th. Some twenty two Magicians, ranging from enthusiastic beginners to working pros, enjoyed a relaxed evening of magic and bargains.

After Mark had coaxed us all out of the bar and into the hotel conference room, we were each provided with a badge and colour catalogue. Mark welcomed us and outlined the plan for the evening. There were two “scheduled events”, a dealer demonstration of Mark's newest items and a short lecture. Apart from those, we were free to browse Mark's range of effects along with the “Magicseen” range of publications. We were also free to chat or visit the hotel bar. The evening attracted magic enthusiasts from quite a wide area and it was interesting to chat to people you normally only meet at conventions.

During our browsing, Mark was happy to demonstrate any effects from his range and answer questions as to their suitability for a particular performer. It's always useful to know how much pocket space is required for a particular effect, along with information such as the re-set time and sleights required. This kind of information means that you're in a position to make an informed purchase, knowing you're likely to actually use the item.

After half an hour of relaxed browsing it was time for the Dealer Dem. Mark performed four of his new items and explained some possible variations. I found his explanations as to how and why he'd developed each of the effects particularly interesting. He also credited other performers who had provided him with inspiration for either effect or method.

A further browsing session followed. During the evening Mark held three prize draws for free effects. As I won one of the items, I think this was a great idea! The lecture contained three brand new, never before published, ideas from Mark. Given the range of abilities present, I think Mark pitched his selection of effects just right. His first offering was the fast and visual printing of a business card, using four blank cards. Mark is a very good teacher and he explained the fairly simple handling in detail. I was pleased that he didn't waste time explaining standard sleights and moves, but offered to teach anyone not familiar with sleights such as the “double lift” or “Elmsley Count” on a one to one basis afterwards.

Mark's second offering comprised two new “ring and string” moves. These were extremely effective, very magical and looked well worth the effort required to learn them.

The final item was a card transposition routine, wherein a chosen card from a red backed deck changed places with a card from a blue backed deck. Whilst this routine required intermediate card handling skills, it was very clean and the routining was calculated to achieve maximum effect for the work required. Mark's handling meant that everything was re-set, ready to go again at the end.

During the evening anything you wanted to buy was put aside for you, so you paid for it all at the end. It cost ￡10 for an advanced ticket, but for that, you got ￡20 off whatever you purchased on the night. In addition, there was 10% off all items on the night. Mark's daughter Chrissie did a great job totalling up everyone's purchases and working out the discounts.

I think the format works well. If you like the look of some of the items on Mark's website, attending one of these evenings is a great way of finding out if the effects are for you and then obtaining the tricks you like at a discount." Andy Stone (this report first appeared on MagicWeek)

"It was a great evening, makes a change to be able to talk, see the items demonstrated and able to buy at leisure, I could have stayed for another hour at least. Tony was very impressed by the quality of the products, as an engineer by trade he was very complimentary of the workmanship. He will be purchasing more from you in the future he said. We would definitely come and see you if you ever do another one in the future in this area. Best evening out for ages." Peter Markwick and Tony Christian

"We had a great time, it was good to see you and great to meet some new faces. I was thrilled to bits to get some great bargains" Ian Howarth and Anne Tarrant, Reading

"I thoroughly enjoyed the evening last night. It was very relaxed, easy-going, and sociable - almost like a party. And prizes as well! It was nice to see many items demonstrated without the usual constraints associated with a convention or day of magic. There was time to appreciate the demonstrations, weigh up the pros and cons of a trick, discuss any perceived problems or queries, and decide on the tricks that I absolutely must have." Paul MacLeavy, Backwell

"It was a great evening. Well organised yet relaxed. Very happy too with purchases and prize. Just had a play with Perfect Intuition - very sneaky!" Adrian Burholt, Bromham

"It was good to meet you at long last - I think that I made my first purchase with you 20 something years ago. I really enjoyed the evening and now have plenty of new material to work on over the coming winter months." Philip Brown, Marlborough

"I had a most pleasant evening last night. These days, wild horses cannot drag me to a magic club meeting or convention (I have wasted too many precious hours at such functions over the years). However, your Dealer Night in Newbury was relaxing, informative and to put it simply, a great lot of fun. I was very impressed too with the professional manner in which your daughter Chrissie assisted you. You must be very proud of her. What a lovely girl." Jack Stephens, Chippenham

"It was a great evening at Newbury!" John Williams, Highworth

"I should start off by saying I am a huge fan of Mark Leveridge products. There are very few dealers who only sell material they have created themselves but Mark is one of those dealers. He was been very innovative with events in the past having created and run The British Close Up Magic Symposia and The Commercial Close Up Forums. It was for this reason that I was very interested in hearing that Mark had started up a concept called ‘Dealer Nights’.

The idea behind these nights is quite different compared to anything I have seen before. Basically Mark hosts an entire evening of magic. Throughout the evening Mark presents a mini lecture of unpublished material that has never been seen before. He also does a dealer demo of some of the latest material that he has released this year. In addition to all this Mark is perfectly happy to show you anything from his range or anything Magicseen has produced.

The items Mark lectured on were excellent. The first item he showed us was an excellent way to give out your business card. Following this he performed a couple of brand new ring and string moves. I have always been a big fan of Mark’s ring and string routine and these new moves were very well thought out. Finally he performed a card routine, which fooled the whole room and more importantly was very easy to do.

All of Mark’s magic is commercial and different. Each of his products has a difficulty rating showing exactly how much effort is required to perform the routine. He has developed kids magic, close up and stand up pieces over the years and each item has that Leveridge touch.

The night is set up to be very informal and relaxed. All the attendees get a chance to chat and browse and more importantly ask Mark questions about anything they wish. This alone is something that would not be possible at a convention or a club lecture. I also got a chance to catch up with old friends and meet new ones.

The best part of the Dealer Night is the price. At a traditional club lecture you may have to pay around £10 to see a lecture and then afterwards if there are products for sale these are full priced. Mark charges £10 for the evening but as part of the price you get a £20 gift voucher to spend on anything you want. This means that in effect Mark is paying you £10 to come to his Dealer Night. In addition to this everything in his range is heavily discounted including Magicseen products. I honestly cannot think of a better deal in magic.

If Mark announces one of these events close to you I highly recommend you go. You will save a fortune on new magic, learn some wonderful routines and more importantly have a great night that is different to anything else out there." Craig Petty (as originally published on MagicWeek and reproduced here with permission)

"Thank you for a really great night of magic. Neil, Andy, Dawn and myself thought it was presented very professionally and in a very enjoyable and relaxed way. It really worked well. If you ever do one of these night again in the Midlands area please would you let me know." Marcel Burn, President of the Nottingham Guild Of Magicians.

RETURN to the main Dealer Nights page