Dave Lemberg has been wowing Clark County residents of all ages for many years with his exciting magic tricks. But, his journey as a magician and small-business owner in downtown Vancouver has been one full of magic, too.
Lemberg explains that his passion for magic began as a young child, when he loved performing for families of neighborhood kids that he grew up with. He took his sense of curiosity and wonder into his teenage and adult years, and in the early 90s he earned both undergraduate and graduate degrees in science education and educational technology. In 1992, he attended a National Science Teachers’ convention, and it was there that he saw how he could use magic to help teach people new concepts. From there, his interest in magic was rekindled again, and the rest is history.
Lemberg began performing in various entertainment venues as “Dave, the Magician Who Cares” and he started winning stage magic contests and awards for his tricks. In 2008, he founded an internet magic shop called The Magic Place. The site started to become popular and magicians in the area wanted to start seeing the magic in person, so Dave and his wife Gina decided to open their home every other Saturday night to give people a preview of the magic he had to offer.
“Soon, the magic was too much for the living room and putting it away became a pain, so we opened up the shop in the garage as a permanent fixture,” Lemberg said. “We have had many great magicians to the garage, but as we grew it was evident that we needed to find a retail spot for our shop.”
When their business name was taken by magician Criss Angel, they decided to open the business in 2012 and re-brand it as Dave’s Killer Magic Shop. In 2014, the company moved to its current Uptown Village location at 1707 Main St., in Vancouver. The shop sells all sorts of novelties related to magic, in addition to fun magic tricks, makeup and costume parts. Lemberg explains that Dave’s Killer Magic Shop is the only shop of its kind in the Vancouver area and that they really compete with the internet.
“People like to be able to look at and feel things before they buy them,” he said.
Today, you’ll find Lemberg still teaching high school chemistry in addition to advanced placement chemistry at a local high school, but he’s in the magic store in the evenings and on the weekends, too. The shop also offers regular magic shows and magic lectures. Lemberg’s future goals include increasing their online sales presence in addition to expanding their show and lecture list.
“Our store is just a fun store to browse in, as well as a great place for the new magician to get connected with the art,” Lemberg said.
