I often use envelopes in various effects and was interested to see this new release. It looks good, especially as I gather some alternative designs and handling of the envelope are given.

Is anyone who has this able to comment?

https://e-mentalism.com/collections/newp......4cb9c8ae

I got it because I like his material. However, I don't think I will be making one up. I own several peek wallets. Why would you replace one with a home made one made of construction paper?

The peek is good enough but nothing ground breaking.

My first thought - Can you make this with a piece of paper with dimensions found in the US?

I consider Jose a friend and regularly share my work with him. He'll often reciprocate with his material and will, on occasion, send me new releases from his site for review.

As a fan of Le Val's previous material I was excited to see "The Reader's Envelope" in my inbox a few days ago. I just completed my first viewing of the two videos (the first, lasting approx. 17 minutes, steps through the construction of the peek device; and the second, at about 9 minutes in length, goes over the handling and a few construction variations that permit different handling options).

I'm sharing my thoughts without putting this fully through the "paces" (of construction or performance) but because it's such a straightforward peek device I'm confident in my initial assessment(s).

First off, to call this an "envelope" is, IMHO, a bit of a misnomer... by that I mean that it functions and looks more like a business card case made out of paper than a standard envelope. In all fairness to Lewis though the product video clearly demonstrates how the "envelope" appears and handles. If you like what you see in the video then there shouldn't be any disappointment.

There are two principle functions for the "envelope" - a peek and a switch - I'll speak about both in turn:

The Peek: Those familiar with the SAW will be right at home here. You'll have about 75% to 85% visibility of the card depending on which variation of the "envelope" you make and you can use many of the same justifications for the peek as you would with the SAW. To clarify, the peek employed is more similar to the SAW specific peek than the SUC feature but you CAN acquire the information without overtly reopening the "envelope" once the card is inserted. It should be stated that the peek doesn't "lock" so some care must be taken so as not to expose it (this really shouldn't be a problem though because there's no reason for the participant to handle the "envelope").

The Switch: This works in a similar manner to Pablo Amira's "USD". It's simple and direct but you might need a small bit of attention control to cover the "move" which enacts the switch.

Although the building blocks of this "envelope" are similar to other tools available I do think it's quite novel to have the above principles combined in one device that can easily be constructed at home using no more than single A4 piece of paper, scissors, and glue.

The Construction: Again, I've not made one up yet but personal experience isn't required to know that this will be EASY. It's literally a couple of folds, a few cuts, and applying some glue. The video demonstrates the process from start to finish. Admittedly, I'm an "arts and crafts" kind of guy - but I don't think ANYONE would struggle constructing this. I do have a number of personal tweaks that I would make to the design (mainly for reinforcement and aesthetics) but Lewis has done a great job providing a strong foundation for others to build upon (if they see fit).

Carrying my business cards around in a construction paper case doesn't fit the image I'm going for in my professional work but I'm fairly confident that I could produce an "envelope" with which I would be comfortable if I used an elegant, high quality paper stock, embossed with my name and contact information. I might also consider creating a batch of matching non-gimmicked "envelopes" that could be given out during mix-and-mingle events to house my business card following a drawing duplication or prediction routine. Taking that idea a step further, I'd be MOST likely to use "The Readers Envelope" in the following way:

-The gimmicked "envelope" is brought out, opened, and shown to contain two of my business cards.
-Both cards are removed - I retain one for me and the other is handed to a participant with the request that she draw a simple image on it.
-The card bearing her drawing is hidden away in the envelope and either placed on the table or into my outer breast pocket.
-I make a drawing on my card and both cards are shown to match.
-On an off-beat (during the aftermath of the revelation) I casually switch out the "hot" envelope for an identical non-gimmicked one, place both business cards in the inside pocket and give it out as an elegant little keepsake.

Overall Verdict: Like j100taylor mentioned above, I won't be replacing my preferred wallet with this - BUT I think this is a worthwhile release because it's a solid device that can be constructed in less than 10 minutes after a trip to any store with an office supply isle. This will ABSOLUTELY be filed away into my "lost luggage" mental folder and I'm happy to possess the knowledge should I ever need it.

Best,

Drew