At that time, operating a magic shop was not in my plans. After some thought, I decided that there was merit in the idea, even though there was a 'part-time' magic shop operating (Friday nights and Saturday mornings) on the outskirts of the City, I grew to like the idea, so leased the small shop for five years. DeLarno's opened late February 1954. In the week that I was setting up the shop, people kept knocking on the window to ask if I would open and sell them a mask or some other tricks, as a magic shop was a real novelty to Christchurch.