Looks pretty plain and simple.... NO retail items will be sold after existing products are gone and no more will be made!
Fortunately I have orders in route and I think I'm gonna dig up another coffee can to get while the gettins good!

To clear the air about the announcement on the home page. The current RNT II line is being disolved.
The other cups will still be produced, including the Biro, Ken Brooke along with the others listed.
Also cups or projects that are projects currently in the works will be retailed on our site, unless otherwise
stated.

I'm currently going through all odd inventory, and boxes as I find anything I'll either post it hear
under the forsale section or I'll be putting it up on the RNT II site if multiples are available.

There are still 2 current retail projects in the works that will go under the SBL line, they are both Combo
sets, one will really knock your socks off, I promise you

My daughter and I have had a long discussion and she wants to continue onto college studying Medicine. I can't very
well expect anyone to have obession or passion for this that I had if it's really not there. Had she chosen wanting
to be a mechanic, then I would have chained her to the lathe

The decision to shut down the RNT II retail end was not a hard one. Over the past years between unbridled growth and
my health conditions, it has become unfair to the consumer on the wait times. Even with my Dr. setting guidelines
I found it difficult or almost impossible to keep up with both private client projects and retail sales. While I
have tried to bring in help, none met up to the standards and I found myself have to replace or not redo pieces myself
entirely, so the avenue chosen was my only choice.

Look foward to seeing the ideas of others that have felt confident enough that we can make them evovolve into
new products on the market place. These are some very unique and refreshing approaches to cups and other items
that indiduals, some even being from long time Café members here have entrusted us to make in the highest quality
possible.

Over the next several weeks I will be catching up on all back orders to get them cleared up as quickly as possible.
As products sell out eventually on the site, they will be moved to the archive section of the site for reference purposes.

Please note there will be no one in the office from December 19th, through Jan 2, 2008. While no one will be in the office
to take phone calls I will be working in the shop on back orders. I will try to answer all emails as quickly as possible.

We want to thank everyone again for the patience, their support and your understanding in this decision. A very warm and
blessed holiday season to everyone here on the Café and to your families. May 2008 be a wonderful and healthy filled year
for all!

Sincerely,
Jake



RNT II cups will no longer be produced, but rather client projects. There are no longer any authorized dealers for us except for Stevens Magic who has commissioned us
to make Ken Brooke cups along with some other items for them.

Thanks
Jake

In case anyone else wasn't clear, Jake confirmed the SBL line will continue into the new year. Good news for those of us wanting some of those amazing cups.

Also, the future of RNT2 and the cups & balls world sounds very exciting!

-Todd

Yes. Sounds like 2008 will be a very promising year for the cups...

3 new sets of cups on the front of our home page for other clients. The JM2 cups, 2 different sizes and the SBL Pro Standards.

Cheers,
Jake

Nice cups, Jake!

Can we get some closeup pics jake???

-todd

Those look nice

Thanks for the kind words. Richard, our webmaster resized the pictures. Each cup in each of the combo sets all weigh the same and the gaff is undectable, no worry about the spectator seeing the inside of the cups.

Jake : BTW, how are escalating copper prices affecting production costs for copper cups now? I remember last year you posted something on this. Just wondering whether the situation is improving, worsening, or about the same.

Fortasse

Prices with our vendor jumped 6%, I'm hoping to place a large enough order and bring it down with a 20% discount on the order. I'm cutting back on most items in brass, that way I can place larger orders of copper to discount the order with our vendor.

On the bright side I just and I just mentioned this to Bill yesterday, I purchased 100' of copper wire and the bundle was down 27.00 from last year, I was considering making flea circus copper cups

Best
Jake

I just checked http://www.rnt2.com and the SBL Pro Standards are only $200! That seems like a steal for cups like those. I hope the JM2 cups are just as affordable.

Posted: Feb 5, 2008 8:04pm
Jake, I hear that you are feeling better!

Also, how much will the JM2 cups cost? I'm considering selling my Foxy II.V's to get a set of the JM2's. I think tennis balls are a little bit large for my hands to load into the cups. Also, I have been itching to work with a combo set of cups.

I hear ya... I was wondering the same thing. I was thinking about getting the Tenis size though.

Matt, I would be interested in those II.5s if you do decide to sell.

-todd

If you're performing close-up for a really small group of, say, half a dozen people seated smack in front ot you, using smaller cups with smaller loads would seem to make a lot more practical sense that using bigger cups with tennis ball sized loads - especially if the playing surface is relatively small,say, 18 inches wide or so. Cups the size of the Paul Fox/Danny Dew cups would seem ideal, with loads the size of lacrosse balls or fruit of equivalent size.

Fortasse

For a group that small, an even smaller set might be appropriate, say a set of Mini Monti's, Riser Mini cups, Van Dokkum Mini's or a set of GA Golf cups.

I regularly perform for groups up to a dozen people with a Little Don Alan chop cup.

Good point, Bill, except that in my case I find mini cups much more difficult to work with than medium-sized cups like the PF/DD. I must say,though, that of all the mini cups I've worked with, the Riser minis are the best for me....great little cups.

Fortasse

If you could find some really tiny chicks to work with...

Quail chicks should work.....(maybe)

I agree that mini cups are rather hard to work with. Well, it's actually that the balls are hard to work with. For me it's impossible to pick up a mini cup and load a working ball.

I thought cups that take a tennis ball load were "standard size" until I bought some more cups and balls DVDs. Rafael Benatar, Bob White, Al Schneider, and Michael Ammar all produce loads that are smaller than lacrosse balls. Also, their working balls appear to be .75" rather than 1" (the most common size).