Where to get things made?

[Maaz Hasan]

So I'm curious, where do people & companies find manufacturers who make specific gimmicks made, the kind you can't make yourself? I mean tricks with gimmicks such as Odyssey, various ITRs, etc. Even things like the leather Switcheroo by Michael O Brien. Where does one go to get those made? Also, could you get just 10 or so made? Or would it always have to be a large order?

I see 2 things: A) you get it made in a large order, but that way, you wouldn't have the time to actually go through and perfect the design and the actual trick itself (a lot of these effects will take years to perfect). B) You get just a few made, but why would the manufacturer take the order?

So how, where, how much of the product, and from whom do you get it made?

 

[DisasterTheory]

One thing I've always been pretty decent at is finding a way to make things like this happen.

For example, I do mostly card magic/handling. Over the years I've invented a few different effects. The latest ("The Reaper"), I needed to have cards (regular deck with a few gaff options included) professionally made. I found MakePlayingCards. They will actually print one deck at a time (costs a little more than if you buy in bulk, but they'll still do it).

I'm also the owner of a clothing/shoe/skateboard brand. Since I started, I focused on apparel and skateboards because I was able to make those myself. When we decided to go into shoes, I needed a manufacturer to do that. It took some time but I found one that will do one pair at a time for us, at our specs.

Sometimes finding these things takes some time and patience, mainly because of ourselves and how we research.

Go to google and start broad and general with "custom magic manufacturers." You may find some in there that will do one item at a time. If you're unable to find what you're looking for using those keywords/terms, adjust it to be a little more detailed or even vastly different...such as "gimmick coin manufacturers" etc.

I'd try to give you a hand on this but I don't own any of the effects you referred to so I'm not quite sure the type of gimmicks/apparatus/etc you're looking to have made.

 

[WitchDocIsIn]

What he said.

It's mostly a process of finding a designer or manufacturer that does what you need done and hire them.

Some will only do large orders, some will allow smaller orders at a higher price per unit, etc.

 

[RealityOne]

It really is a matter of finding the people who have the tools and the skills to do what you want. For small numbers of items, you are probably dealing with custom fabricators. Lynetta Welch can do anything with fabric. Cliff Wiggs at Proline can custom make linking rings and similar gimmicks. Roy Keuppers, Jamie Schoolcraft and Todd Lassen are the guys for coins, Donnie Buckley (Rings N Things) for metal spinning (cups, Benson Bowls, Zombie Balls).

 

[Maaz Hasan]

It really is a matter of finding the people who have the tools and the skills to do what you want. For small numbers of items, you are probably dealing with custom fabricators. Lynetta Welch can do anything with fabric. Cliff Wiggs at Proline can custom make linking rings and similar gimmicks. Roy Keuppers, Jamie Schoolcraft and Todd Lassen are the guys for coins, Donnie Buckley (Rings N Things) for metal spinning (cups, Benson Bowls, Zombie Balls).

Thanks!

 

[Aquaknight]

What about custom gaff cards, I would like to have someone make “the shrinking deck” with monarch cards.

 

[Maaz Hasan]

What about custom gaff cards, I would like to have someone make “the shrinking deck” with monarch cards.

Not sure if he'll do custom orders, but you can contact Jeremy Hannerhan I know he's made custom gaffs for people before.
http://gaffguy.com/contact/

Alternatively, you can try making your own I guess.

Btw, there are ways to perform the Shrinking Deck without the gaff. Keep practicing and keep an open mind and I'm sure you'll find one that works for you.

 

[obrienmagic]

Generally speaking, you will find that the larger your order the cheaper it is per unit to manufacture. Some manufacturers have the ability to do custom molds for you so for example if you want to manufacture linking rings, you will buy the mold then have them use that mold to produce the rings. One ring may cost $50 to make, but if you order 1,000 of them it may bring the cost down to $5 per ring instead.

I personally have my holdouts for the “Switcheroo” made by hand by a leather craftsman. The cool thing about that is that every gimmick is hand crafted and tested before packaging it making it extra special imo.

3D printing is another route you could take and may even be the most cost effect of them all. A buddy of mine 3D prints his Rubik’s cube gimmicks for his skittles production. Cost him about $15 or so to make 1 gimmick after adding labor and material costs. He wants to do my Switcheroo gimmicks but I personally think the leather handmade gimmicks are much nicer and work better than the plastic ones.

It is all dependent on these things though that you need to consider:

-quality
-cost per unit
-bulk costs (discounts for large orders)
-Minimum quantity restrictions
-personal preference

There is someone out there that does what you need done, it just depends if it is worth it for you or not. Haha