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New Belgian Tenyo-collector, infected beyond repair

Posted: Thu Aug 13, 2015 6:42 am
by Niels_Jitterbug
Hi you guys, fellow Tenyophiles, (as I learned we like to be called).

Let me introduce myself:
Name: Niels
Country: Belgium
Tenyo count: I have currently 100 Tenyo's
Voila, that should give you enough information on my health and financial status.

Just kidding :D

Since i was a young boy, i was mesmerised by magic, I read every book in the local library on magic (all three of them), and once was caught taking the dimensions of my sister. When asked what I was up to, I said: 'I am going to saw her in halves!'. And I did (using a cardboard box) and performed it for my family. Watched the Copperfield specials, made some other cardboard tricks, tip-over-trunk, wooden hand guillotine, rattle box, Genii-tube etc.

I got my first Tenyo tricks as a present from my father from a local shop in Belgium, called Mephisto Magic Studio, in the early 1990's. I believe Diabolicus, Clean Cut, Crystal cleaver, Dragon Altar, Illusionarium etc. I immediately knew Tenyo was for me: easy to perform, affordable, attractive.

Every year or two I checked on what was new, some I liked, and I bought. It never occurred to me to ask about old stock (should have known).

It is only recently, fuelled by the interest in magic by my two children aged 4 and 6, that I too got infected by Tenyo, this time in a serious way. Quality time with my two sons, and the value of some of the tricks are the alibi for spending a ridiculous amount of money on Tenyo. Life's too short, carpe diem, the graveyard is full of rich people (add random quote about spending money and enjoying life here) ;)

So what is the status now? Been expanding my collection from about 20 to 100 Tenyo's in the last two months or so. I am closing up this buying frenzy by acquiring Richard's book Tenyoism. I now have all the great ones I really wanted and the easily available cheap ones. I am not into getting them all, some seem tacky, some ridiculously expensive. Still a few good ones on my wanted list.

I got to know a lot of great guys (where are the Tenyo-girls?) on the net, I feel I owe a thank you, as I dealt with them personally, looked at their inspiring videos, shared information, had great conversations, or bought tricks from them: Killertweety/David De Tenyo, Elly Warman, Dave Boerjan, Alex Brazil, Stereo, Rafael, macmac, Kellebotond, Wally, Simon, Richard, Tristan, MagicPatagonia, Rob Rand, etc (I am forgetting a few, the downside of making lists).

A special thanks to those having websites and putting time and effort into maintaining them: John Mazza, Killertweety, Stereo...Thanks all for the inspiration

That's it for now, as it starts to sound like an award acceptance speech :roll:

All the best,
Niels_JItterbug

Re: New Belgian Tenyo-collector, infected beyond repair

Posted: Thu Aug 13, 2015 7:56 am
by BluBob
Great acceptance speech laced with Mad magazine humor!

I once thought of sawing a deck of cards in half. but it was only a split decision.

Welcome aboard Niels.

Re: New Belgian Tenyo-collector, infected beyond repair

Posted: Thu Aug 13, 2015 9:20 am
by SimonC
WELCOME!!

Re: New Belgian Tenyo-collector, infected beyond repair

Posted: Thu Aug 13, 2015 11:38 am
by Brett H
Great speech! Welcome to the forums!

I too have a young magician who is also a wee Tenyo-ite. 6 year old daughter.

What are your sons favorites Tenyo?

Re: New Belgian Tenyo-collector, infected beyond repair

Posted: Thu Aug 13, 2015 5:48 pm
by Rob Rand
Hi Niels, glad you joined the forum! Another Dutch/Flemish speaking member :)

And totally insane I believe! What others reach in years, you do it in 2 months!!! 100 Tenyos in a short time!
Then you live as if today is the first day of the rest of your life :)

Anyway, Welkom op dit forum Niels, ou êtes-vous peut-être parlant Francais?

And thanks for mentioning my name :)

Re: New Belgian Tenyo-collector, infected beyond repair

Posted: Thu Aug 13, 2015 5:58 pm
by Niels_Jitterbug
Hi all, hi Brett.

Let me think...I guess my son's favourite would be Crystal Cleaver, Soft Coins, Crystal Pyramid, Twister, Clean Cut and Zig Zag Cig. The last two he can do himself easily. Fortune Sticks got a good reaction, and when I performed Birdwatcher for the kids and my wife, that got a good reaction too.

Both boys like to just play around with random pieces of Hungarian Linking Ropes, and do 'tricks' that they invent on the spot, it just amuses me that they 'act' like magicians. But I still have to perform a lot of tricks for them, and some very good ones too...

What are your girl's favourites?

Re: New Belgian Tenyo-collector, infected beyond repair

Posted: Thu Aug 13, 2015 6:15 pm
by Brett H
Niels_Jitterbug wrote:Hi all, hi Brett.

Let me think...I guess my son's favourite would be Crystal Cleaver, Soft Coins, Crystal Pyramid, Twister, Clean Cut and Zig Zag Cig. The last two he can do himself easily. Fortune Sticks got a good reaction, and when I performed Birdwatcher for the kids and my wife, that got a good reaction too.

Both boys like to just play around with random pieces of Hungarian Linking Ropes, and do 'tricks' that they invent on the spot, it just amuses me that they 'act' like magicians. But I still have to perform a lot of tricks for them, and some very good ones too...

What are your girl's favourites?
Man, that's awesome that that you guys have such a slew of Tenyo. I'm trying to get a Crystal Pyramid down the road to show to the daughter. The mechanism for 'Pyramid is brilliant

My daughter also has Clean Cut and Soft Coins! Beyond that she has the Tokyo Disneyland 30th anniversary Dynamic Coins (I still need to get Yen for it), Zone Infinity, Disney Frozen Pendant, and we both share Ghost Card. It's too tricky and fragile for her right now. But that's the ONLY Tenyo that she claims to be 'real magic'

Re: New Belgian Tenyo-collector, infected beyond repair

Posted: Thu Aug 13, 2015 6:36 pm
by Niels_Jitterbug
Rob Rand wrote:
Anyway, Welkom op dit forum Niels, ou êtes-vous peut-être parlant Francais?
Thanks for the welcome.
As I am from Flanders, I am Flemish speaking. Live near Brussels, though, so lot's of exposure to French, and I teach primarily in English.

So:
Bonjour Rob, saw some of your videos on Youtube: fantastisch werk :lol:

Your video of the poor man's Billscape: nice. You seem to have a creative mind and DIY-skills. Even with Lego…And you made your wife perform, is that right? All great.

Re: New Belgian Tenyo-collector, infected beyond repair

Posted: Thu Aug 13, 2015 6:46 pm
by Niels_Jitterbug
Brett H wrote: I'm trying to get a Crystal Pyramid down the road to show to the daughter. The mechanism for 'Pyramid is brilliant

My daughter also has Clean Cut and Soft Coins! Beyond that she has the Tokyo Disneyland 30th anniversary Dynamic Coins (I still need to get Yen for it), Zone Infinity, Disney Frozen Pendant, and we both share Ghost Card. It's too tricky and fragile for her right now. But that's the ONLY Tenyo that she claims to be 'real magic'
Yes, I can - without hesitation - advise you to get Crystal Pyramid. Very Tenyo, she'll love it. The coins have to be rather thin, though, so doesn't work with all coins.

Zone Infinity: also good.

You know that there is a Frozen-Olaf-styled Bare Bones? I will get that in the future, to show to the 4y old.

Yes, Ghost Card is a bit harder to handle, not as sturdy as other plastic tricks, a bit fragile. But when performed right, can look really good.

Re: New Belgian Tenyo-collector, infected beyond repair

Posted: Thu Aug 13, 2015 7:35 pm
by VictorS
Welcome Niels....nice intro ;) seems that we had similar childhood experience. I remembered that I made my first jumbo die box, square circle out of the cardboard when I was a kid. Even I cannot afford myself to buy a magic book because it was so expensive. Luckily the bookstore had the magic book opened (not sealed) and I can read and remember all tricks as much as I can and transformed it into an actual props. However the cardboard props worked most of the times but sometimes not :) Nice to have you here...this is a fun and magical place lots of creative people who are always willing to share their magical brain :)

Re: New Belgian Tenyo-collector, infected beyond repair

Posted: Thu Aug 13, 2015 9:52 pm
by Shan
Welcome Niels!!!!
I love this place and I hope you do too!
It's going to take a while to go through here but definitely some useful information for you!
Again welcome!

Re: New Belgian Tenyo-collector, infected beyond repair

Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2015 2:05 am
by Niels_Jitterbug
VictorS wrote: Even I cannot afford myself to buy a magic book because it was so expensive. Luckily the bookstore had the magic book opened (not sealed) and I can read and remember all tricks as much as I can and transformed it into an actual props. …

this is a fun and magical place lots of creative people who are always willing to share their magical brain :)
Nice one on memorising the book and then making the props. I remember a similar experience. I once went to a magic shop to the other side of the country, asked for several demonstrations (incl. the secret) from the shop owner and when walking around in the 'stage illusion' department couldn't believe my eyes: all these wonderful props and boxes that I only knew from the catalogue description. I measured them up with my hand/limbs and memorised that. When back on the train I frantically made notes of all that I could remember, page after page. And when I came home I started building cardboard mockups and such. When you are a kid on a budget you do crazy stuff, but that's how far passion can get you :P

I recently found back those notes, funny to look at. The secrets for "Jumping Signed bill" and "ring/wand cabinet", and some dimensions for "Thin model sawing" and "Mini Cube Zag" in there.

Re: New Belgian Tenyo-collector, infected beyond repair

Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2015 2:10 am
by Niels_Jitterbug
Shan wrote:Welcome Niels!!!!
I love this place and I hope you do too!
It's going to take a while to go through here but definitely some useful information for you!
Again welcome!
Hi Shan, thanks for the welcome. I indeed realised that I have a lot of reading to catch up on, that's great. I saw your suitcase-archiving-system: nice work.

At this point my tricks are in cardboard boxes, but the plan is to have a sixties-styled wooden 'presentation' cabinet with glass doors exhibit my favourite tenyo's, and the rest in storage, as I am not a real performer. I see ample examples of nice exhibits of collections, e.g. on David DeTenyo's website.

Re: New Belgian Tenyo-collector, infected beyond repair

Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2015 2:34 am
by David DeTenyo
Welcome Niels! What a fantastic intriduction :) Glad you are with us!

By the way, 'Jitterbug', I once came across this dance in a David Lynch movie (Mulholland Drive), his usual music composer, Angelo Badalamenti, composed a Jitterbug dance for the intro. I'm a big Lynch fan by the way. Does your nickname has something to do with that, or is it just a coincidence?

Re: New Belgian Tenyo-collector, infected beyond repair

Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2015 3:12 am
by Niels_Jitterbug
David DeTenyo wrote:Welcome Niels! What a fantastic intriduction :) Glad you are with us!

By the way, 'Jitterbug', I once came across this dance in a David Lynch movie (Mulholland Drive), his usual music composer, Angelo Badalamenti, composed a Jitterbug dance for the intro. I'm a big Lynch fan by the way. Does your nickname has something to do with that, or is it just a coincidence?
Hi David! Thanks for the welcome.
No it is to a reference to that. (I like Wild at heart)
Jitterbug, is my name on an auction site since more than 10 years, and is actually a reference to a geometric model of a transformable structure (one of the things I do research on) by Richard Buckminster Fuller. It is kind of magic when you look at it, the way it changes shape…
An animation here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfViCWntbDQ

Re: New Belgian Tenyo-collector, infected beyond repair

Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2015 4:18 am
by David DeTenyo
Thanks nfor elaborating that Niels, very cool video by the way. There are some members here who are really into puzzle boxes by the way, and even make their own.
My original nickname, Killertweety, has been with me since the ninetees, the days I used to play online games like Team Fortress Classic.

Re: New Belgian Tenyo-collector, infected beyond repair

Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2015 5:24 am
by SimonC
If you like puzzle boxes heres my first attempt from a couple of months ago...

https://youtu.be/TpYHL0M3VRY

Re: New Belgian Tenyo-collector, infected beyond repair

Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2015 6:44 am
by Niels_Jitterbug
David DeTenyo wrote:Thanks nfor elaborating that Niels, very cool video by the way. There are some members here who are really into puzzle boxes by the way, and even make their own.
My original nickname, Killertweety, has been with me since the ninetees, the days I used to play online games like Team Fortress Classic.
Ah the nineties, the age when someone was on the phone, you couldn't use the internet. "Hang up, ma!" :lol: I indeed like puzzle boxes, aren't the Japanese very good at that as well, or the Chinese?

Re: New Belgian Tenyo-collector, infected beyond repair

Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2015 6:50 am
by Niels_Jitterbug
SimonC wrote:If you like puzzle boxes heres my first attempt from a couple of months ago...

https://youtu.be/TpYHL0M3VRY
So you are Jenzo Harmonics ? great. "Where did you hide ze mikwofilm, Mistew Booond?" :twisted:
I love your video of that puzzle, has something magical to it. Great laser cutting skills.

I read on TMC that the new 2016 Tenyo line has some kind of puzzle box trick. If memory serves me right, it was very good, according to Richard Kaufman. Probably something for you, then. Do you have more info on it?

EDIT: I just reread and have to get my facts straight: it is a "jigsaw puzzle in a box", not a puzzle box. So, my memory does not serve me right. :oops: Sorry if I got your hopes up...

Re: New Belgian Tenyo-collector, infected beyond repair

Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2015 7:03 am
by SimonC
I don't no big that sounds exciting, a magic puzzle box!!

Re: New Belgian Tenyo-collector, infected beyond repair

Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2015 9:59 am
by Simon Layland
Welcome Niels
Its good to see you here at last.

Re: New Belgian Tenyo-collector, infected beyond repair

Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2015 9:13 pm
by Niels_Jitterbug
Hi Simon. Thx for the welcome. How is your collection coming along? Are you going for the hard-to-get as well, a complete' collection or just the 'clever', 'great performers', etc…?

Re: New Belgian Tenyo-collector, infected beyond repair

Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2015 11:41 pm
by Simon Layland
Just the best tricks that Tenyo has produced.
I was going to try for everything but decided to buy another car instead if you know what I mean.
I have about 150 Tenyo.

Re: New Belgian Tenyo-collector, infected beyond repair

Posted: Sat Aug 15, 2015 2:27 am
by Niels_Jitterbug
Simon Layland wrote:Just the best tricks that Tenyo has produced.
I was going to try for everything but decided to buy another car instead if you know what I mean.
I have about 150 Tenyo.
I have come to the point that I know exactly what you mean. :D Tenyo does a lot for us, but still doesn't magically get you from A to B, a car does.

150, that is a massive collection. Is it on display, do you have pictures?

Re: New Belgian Tenyo-collector, infected beyond repair

Posted: Sat Aug 15, 2015 7:24 am
by Simon Layland
No pictures yet
I have a lot of other magic effects as well so I've been thinking of separating the Tenyo from them and taking pictures when I get some decent display cabinets.