One thing that saddens me when I see contests at (many) magic conventions : the tables of the close-up, card magic and parlour categories.
How often have we seen a simple, plain table decorated with an ugly piece of material? “Attached to the table with gaffer tape, or not.
U‑G-L‑Y and thoughtless, without love, cheap.
You know it, you have seen it.
Just a few thoughts:
Magic organisations spend a lot of money on many things: advertising, flights and hotels for important personnel, catering, prize medals, figurines, diplomas and other things, so why not invest in a proper performance table for the close-up competitions (often one of the main attractions of the convention)?
There are cheap, good-looking folding tables available. Affordable stuff. I am sure we could find enthusiasts in our large magic community who are skilled with a sewing machine. And the heart and generosity to help FISM, Blackpool, SAM, IBM and who knows what else, maybe even for free and “for the good”?
The right material to cover the table isn’t that expensive. Use billiard cloth straight away — it will stand up to a lot of wear and tear and has been designed for real-life use on billiard tables. Don’t use fluffy felt.
A piece of non-slip underlay won’t cost the world. They use it to stop carpets sliding around — why shouldn’t we use it on our competition tables? It thickens the work surface and prevents the cloth from sliding around.
Before designing such a table, it would be helpful to talk to experienced performers and competitors. Perhaps some “features” could be included that many card, close-up and parlour magicians would find helpful. For example, an accessory such as a proper height adjustable chair.
Another interesting idea is a clear, transparent table. For those performers who do not need to lap, they would simply place their close-up pad on top and everything would look modern, clean and stylish. For those performers who need to lap, they are free to use a nice cloth. Performers who want to lap on a transparent table would have to come up with new techniques and tricks (I have been working on this).
Each performer knows in advance what kind of environment they will be in, and this encourages creativity. Everyone has the same chances and so everyone can show what he/she makes of the situation.
Every year there are close-up and card competitions. A nice table like this could help make everything look more sophisticated. A lot of things would be easier. Maybe it would even be possible to create the official “FISM approved” competition table? In chess this has been done for a long time with the official FIDE chess pieces, timers and boards. Why not FISM?
If I were a decent and capable businessman, I would make these tables and rent or sell them to the magic organisations.
But I am not, so this will probably remain in the realms of my pipe dreams…
