Hell’s Tea Towel

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Hell’s Tea Towel

Postby Tom Lauten » Aug 31st, '09, 01:26



Hell’s Tea Towel

Available from:
http://www.aptricks.com/product_htt.php
And many magic retailers

Price:
$39.95 + shipping (direct)
£27.22 + shipping (World of Magic in UK)

Category
Magic utility with routines

Difficulty:
1=Self working
2=No sleights, but not self working
3=Some sleights used
4=Advanced sleights used
5=Suitable for experienced performers only


2-3

They say:
This newly designed utility device disguises itself as an ordinary looking tea towel while allowing you to perform amazing feats of magic in your home, in a seemingly impromptu manner. Entertain your family, friends and guests as you are able to make household items magically vanish, appear and change in front of their eyes.

You remove an egg from it's carton and cause it to vanish within the folds of a tea towel, only to reappear a moment later back in the egg carton.

You drop a bunch of grapes in the folds of the tea towel and cause them to transform into a full glass of wine.

You place a fork in the folds of the tea towel and have your guests focus their energy on it. The center of the towel is then seen to mysteriously rise and fall as if it were breathing. A moment later the fork is removed and is seen to have bent itself in an unbelievable manner.

This precision made tea towel does most of the work for you and can even be used as a regular tea towel when not in use for a magic trick.

Included:
Hell's Tea Towel
Instructional DVD (with routines from the mind of Aaron Paterson)

I say:
Ok, many of us know exactly what this is and I won’t go into the basics behind this variation of a time honoured magic utility. This is as much about the style and presentation as the prop itself.

The advertising is quite accurate. You get what is promised, the prop is very well made and should last years. The stitching is well done and the cloth used is (a real towel) of a very robust quality. It comes in a tidy and well-presented cardboard box with a full colour label along with your DVD.

Beyond the three routines offered, and nice ones they are, (more about them in a bit) you will have a uniquely “non-magic-y” looking magician’s prop. That’s the hook on this product. The concept of Aaron Paterson’s is simple and direct… why not have a seemingly innocent magic prop lying around that allows you to do some cool stuff when friends are over and want to see a trick? Hang the towel on the oven door (as we all have seen endless times) or lying on the kitchen counter and you are ready to perform. Nice. If you do comedy magic or children’s magic it’s equally no stretch of the imagination to envision a way to use this in you act. The fact it seems so ordinary and everyday is its advantage.

Aaron’s routines are very nice indeed. The egg vanish and reappearance is basic but very eye catching and simple to perform, it will get you used to the prop and will offer a nice magical ice breaker for you guests. The grapes-to-glass-of-wine effect is classy and impressive despite being slightly “Las Vegas in the kitchen”…hey, why not. It’s magic isn’t it…who we trying to kid here?

For me the best of the three of these solid routines is the fork bend. The animation of the forks is simple and effective and uses all of the props to good, economical effect. The golden, creepy and frankly startling moment for me is when the horrifically bent and the unbent fork drop from the folds of the towel onto the counter top.

The DVD is well made and crystal clear with no rambling or tedious hyperbole or “cleverness” that might make you want to strangle the presenter. Aaron gets to the point and illustrates everything clearly using good camera angles and plain talking and then moves onto the next bit. Thanks for that!

You will need to practice the blocking of the effects and the handling of the towel to avoid giveaway flashes and messy accidents but you’ll being doing that practicing anyway…won’t you?

Resets are down to you and your routining but I can’t see this being done too often by table hoppers or trade show performers anyway…unless your character is a waiter…hey, not a bad idea! Mine…it’s mine! Angles are again down to your handling but they are pretty forgiving by nature.

The only thing I might suggest is possibly including a matching, ungimmicked towel with the set… not totally sure why but I bet someone will come up with something to use it for.

Rating 1-10: 8

Overall:
I really like this. I think it is not only a useful prop that is well made but the idea behind it offers the opportunity for a fun and convincing way to perform with a seemingly innocent utility in the most casual place… your home. Nice one, can’t wait to see what else Aaron Paterson brings out from his “Home and Garden” stable

If we can hit that bullseye then the rest of the dominoes will fall like a house of cards... Checkmate!
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Tom Lauten
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Postby Replicant » Sep 1st, '09, 14:18

Perhaps there is a gap in the market for magic props that don't look like props. I know you can get a chop mug that looks like an innocent coffee mug, but I think the idea is worth exploring further. Magic props that look exactly like household objects. Interesting concept. (Thanks for a great review).

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Postby daleshrimpton » Sep 1st, '09, 15:46

I doubt very much that i would buy one of these.
I do have two very nice supreme original dh's

( Actually they are mephisto hanks, rather than devs. They have a "no bulge" feature) :)

you're like Yoda.you dont say much, but what you do say is worth listening to....
Greg Wilson about.... Me.
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Postby Tom Lauten » Sep 1st, '09, 16:01

Glad you mentioned the no-buldge aspect. Hell's Tea Towel has also been manufactured to help eliminate this problem... on the whole.

If we can hit that bullseye then the rest of the dominoes will fall like a house of cards... Checkmate!
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Tom Lauten
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Posts: 859
Joined: Mar 14th, '05, 21:56
Location: 46 and undergoing mid-life crisis #6... Inverness, Scotland

Postby cactus mx » Sep 1st, '09, 18:11

i follow replicant's thoughts: when performing an unbelievable trick with everyday objects (be it coins, wallets, and hey, even cards), spectators are wowed even more. i like the idea of the tea towel very much, it's something nobody would suspect especially if you could pull it out in a table hopping manner or such.

cactus mx
 

Postby daleshrimpton » Sep 1st, '09, 18:59

the one thing that i do notice from the advert is, this is not being punted towards working magicians.


It's being sold as something to use at home.

you're like Yoda.you dont say much, but what you do say is worth listening to....
Greg Wilson about.... Me.
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daleshrimpton
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