BY BETH DEDMAN
Vanishing Inc. Magic, an online resource for buying magic kits, learning tricks and watching magicians perform their craft, is experiencing a surge of sales during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Owners Joshua Jay and Andi Gladwin created the world’s largest online retailer for magicians 10 years ago, and have been busy helping other magicians stay motivated, entertained and educated by putting on online events and providing free resources to other professional magicians.
“We decided we wanted to create our own magic brand and it was supposed to be a small thing among friends and now it’s a major magic brand,” Gladwin said. “Now, we have some of our tricks featured in magic shows in Las Vegas.”
Jay lives in New York City and Gladwin lives in the UK, which led to Vanishing Inc. Magic being an online resource from the beginning. Because of this, Jay and Gladwin had no problem integrating video conferencing and virtual experiences into their company’s day to day practices.
“We set out to start the kind of magic shop that we would love to shop at,” Jay said. “We tried to make it the most visceral curated magic experience you could have without actually walking into a magic shop. These things are pandemic proof.”
When shelter-in-place orders went into effect, they broadcast a show online that included acts like David Blaine and Justin Willman to perform to 30,000 magician attendees.
“When you perform magic you bring a whole audience together,” Jay said. “We are figuring this out during this pandemic how to bring people together and create a sense of community. Community is everything, I always say.”
Jay is releasing a book in June called Magic Mail. The book, which looks like a mailbox, contains 31 letters, written by Jay, about his trips across the world. There is also a magic trick for the parents and kids to learn together every night.
More information about Vanishing Inc. Magic is available on their website.
