Where it all began...

I remember long ago I had an affinity for the game Operation. For those unfamiliar, it was a game where you had to remove the vital organs from what looked like an out of work clown from the 1920's. Here’s the commercial in case you wanted to go down a rabbit hole. What captured me about this particular game was the need for complete concentration and a steady hand. I suppose I was destined for a profession where the same skills were necessary.

Many folks often ask about how I began all this. It's a difficult question. I equate it to asking a musician the exact moment they became enthralled by music. In my opinion it's mostly subconscious. When you're young, mystery and magic surrounds you because you're just starting to form rules about the world. So since I can't really say when it all began exactly I will tell you about the moment that convinced me I needed to explore further. I was around six years old, my father was cleaning out an upstairs closet and I was in the same room watching him (or more likely playing Operation). He found a shoebox, dusted it off and removed a gentleman’s silk pocket square. A dusty, old, bright red pocket square. I remember it catching my eye. But that wasn't the amazing part. I remember my father rolling up his sleeves, tucking the pocket square down into his closed fist. In a matter of seconds the pocket square had disappeared.

That's all it took. A simple conjuror's trick convinced me that a life of legerdemain was a life I wanted to live. This shoebox filled with old magic tricks, ephemera and novelties from the 1940's had belonged to my late grandfather. I never had the chance to meet him as he died when my father was eighteen. But I'm told my grandfather had been interested in theater. He had been in his school plays and even starred in a few. But more importantly he learned sleight of hand to entertain his comrades while stationed in India during the war. As you can imagine I was delighted to learn that conjuring was in my blood.

Some of the original apparatus inherited from my grandfather's collection.