Revealed: LUXX: Shadow Edition Playing Cards Part II

This is the second part of our first look at the upcoming LUXX: Shadow Edition deck from JP Playing Cards. In part I we looked at the theme colours and the motivation behind creating a new version. In this first look, we will focus on the design, the pricing and the date for the pre-order of LUXX: Shadow Edition.

On the design differences between the two LUXX versions and the price point, Paul said:

No differences in the actual design at all aside from colour and tuck. It’s a colour change, with metallics. We are not ashamed about that but in order to get the price down lower we needed to use those same plates and up the print run, as you probably know. Whilst we appreciate the use of colours is not unique, the idea behind the ‘Shadow Edition’ is that the black replaces the silver from v1 and creates a shadow effect, something that we feel looks unusual and sets v2 LUXX apart.

We’ll have lower pricing for the pre orders along with a special holographic seal for the first 500 of each deck purchased as a thank you to early customers, along with a very cool brick box made of the same tuck stock that the LUXX tucks - and a black nickel v2 dealer coin to complete the set’.

Standard pricing for these decks will be £7.99 or £7.49 each for 2. The special price of £6.99/£6.49 applies during the Pre-Order window only, starting April 30th at 4PM GMT for 2 weeks. As Paul mentioned above, the first 500 of each deck will have a special holographic seal and will be available for sale individually only during the pre-order window.

A maximum of 4 decks with holographic seals will be in any one order, You can order as many as you wish - but only the first 4 will have the seals. It's essentially to give as many people as possible a chance to grab them, If they don't sell out Paul will include them in the split bricks after the release date.

The release date is expected (but not confirmed) to be May 30th. All pre-orders are expected to be despatched by the release date. To find out more about LUXX: Shadow Edition Playing Cards, visit JP Playing Cards - one of the fastest growing collectible playing card stores in the World.

Collections: Sharps Private Reserve by Legends Playing Card Co.

The Sharps Private Reserve decks were released in limied numbers and as of today, according to Legends, there are approx. 300 of each of the color variations still available. No specifics have been given out as to if or when those remaining decks will be released to the public. The decks were released in 3 color variations, Blue, Red and Green. The deck features a Diamond Cut and also showcase's Legend's new Classic Finish. The Classic finish very closely resembles the feel of a USPCC deck which so many have a fondness for. The Sharps decks also feature a marking system that utilizes a "Shade" pattern. The shade system is more about the hues and colors on the back design rather than a straight out "Pattern". Your eyes will need to kind of train themselves to look for the subtle change in color. The tuck box has a nice classic look to it, clean lines and design and once again features a die-cut on the back side to reveal the Legends logo and Lawrence Sulivans initials.

Face and Court cards are pretty much standard, the deck has only one Joker, the all to familiar Legends Dragon, this time surrounded by a Diamond and a Card Reveal. The back design is a repeating pattern of the Legends logo and as mentioned earlie has a marking system. The thin borders and vivid color make the deck stand out a bit, but the overall design is very grounded in a Classic look and presentation.

This deck handles exceptionally well and for those USPC devotee's I strongly urge your to give these a try. One of the biggest reasons I like Legends and Expert for that matter, is their willingness to experiment with finishes and papers. Handling has always been one of the key comparisons, but that gap is getting smaller every day. If you like to "USE" your cards, keep an eye out for when these become available again.  

The Collection segment is produced by Anthony Ingrassia of Kardify. No part of this article, images or video can be reproduced without written permission from the author and Kardify.com. To see more of Anthony's (Sparkz) collection please visit sparkzcollector.com 

Analytics: Kickstarter March 2015

Due to the increased interest in crowd-funded playing card projects on Kickstarter, we are publishing a monthly tracking report as part of our popular Analytics series. The goal is to give an analytical insight into the month-on-month performance of projects and how these numbers are tracking cumulatively year-to-date.

The number of funded projects in March remained stable at 19, maintaining the momentum from February. The chart below shows how 2015 is tracking against the numbers from 2014 as (new) benchmark.

Playing Card Projects 

The number of unsuccessful projects dropped to 12% this month while the percentage of successful projects remained stable at 28% for March.

This is what March look like in numbers:

Majority of the projects were launched towards the end of the month. Graph below:

Here's a look at how projects performed over the month. Generally, percentages for successful and cancelled projects have remained consistent over the month, while unsuccessful projects fell 9%.

Funding

A total of $621k was raised by all projects in February, down $165k from Febraury.

Here is a look at the top 5 most funded playing cards:

Surprise hit Leonardo Playing Cards finished strong at $81.2k and with no surprise, Lorenzo's No.17 was funded at approximately $55k.

The average 2015 funding goal of successful project remained stable at $9.7k, Just below 2014's number of $9.9k. We maintain that the average funding goal to stabilise around the $10k mark.

Backers 

This month, approximately 14.3 backers were recorded across all projects. The average pledge per backer for successful projects ended at $48.81,  a decrease from February's average.

Line chart below is a month-on-month comparison for 2015 with the 2014 average spent curve used as benchmark.

Top 5 funded Projects by backer numbers below:

Launched Projects 

Here are the top 10 most funded projects launched in March:

Regal by Gambler's Warehouse lead the pack followed closely by Crooked King's Werewolf. The momentum carried into the first quarter this year has no signs of slowing down as successful projects continue to surpass those of last year.

We wish to thank our data provider,  for supporting our Analytics feature over the past year.

Deck View: Golden Spike (Gold Edition) Playing Cards

Railroad. Historic. Elegant.

Golden Spike Playing Cards are inspired by the completion of the first Transcontinental Railroad connecting the east to the west and revolutionized transportation and commerce in a post Civil War United States. A Golden Spike was created as a commemorative piece to celebrate the completion of the railroad and was driven into the ground where the Union Pacific met the Central Pacific Railroad at Promontory Point, Utah.

Designed by Jody Eklund, the Golden Spike deck has been illustrated using a cross hatch technique to mimic the style of engraving and lithographs that were common to the time period. Each card has been carefully researched and each illustration meticulously refined. Each court card is the face of a key player in the event and can be a mini history lesson in who’s who in the building Transcontinental Railroad.

Printed by Legends Playing Card Co. For more cool playing cards, check out JP Games.

Kickstarter: Emerald Tally-Ho's by Kings Wild Project

The Emerald Tally Ho's are now LIVE on Kickstarter!

At first glance the Emerald Tally Ho's by Kings Wild Project may look like a re-color, but nothing could be further from the truth. The Emerald Edition has a completely new and unique back design with a beautiful green and purple color pallet. The Emerald Edition continues the Jackson Robinson Series which began earlier this year with the Scarlett Tally Ho's. Both decks have a visual connection, as well as a family connection and eloquently go together, but at the same time stand alone as individually unique, much like the people who inspired them.

"As an artist, I feel designing cards should always be something more than just putting 56 pieces of paper in a box and call it done. Stories are what inspire me so I try to start every one of my projects with a story to tell. In the case of the Scarlett & Emerald Tally Ho decks, that story is my family. Without getting to sentimental, there is no better inspiration for me than my daughters. They are the reason I do what I do and it is a no brainer for me to create a deck that will give them something to give to their kids one day. That’s why I gave the Legacy Edition the name I did"

- Jackson Robinson

The Emerald Tally-Ho’s are scheduled to launch Saturday, May 2nd at 12:00pm Central on Kickstarter. The project will offer a variety of reward tiers appealing to a wide variety of playing card aficionados. Emerald starts with the  Limited Edition for those who just enjoy Jackson Robinson’s work and rounds off with the LTD Emerald Legacy Edition for those seeking the rare and collectable and if you want to keep that Collectable sealed, the project will once again offer display decks at a very attractive price point.

Emerald Tally-Ho Variations:
 - Limited Edition Emerald Tally Ho – QTY 700
 - Emerald Tally Ho Silver Edition (Silver Gilded Edges) – QTY 200
 - Emerald Legacy Edition – QTY 50
 - Display Decks – 6 deck limit per pledge

If you want to keep up to date on this project as well as other projects and concepts coming from Jackson Robinson and Kings Wild Projects be sure to follow him on Facebook, and if your interested in some of KWP's previous projects be sure to stop by the Official Web Site.

The Emerald Tally Ho's are now LIVE on Kickstarter!

Kickstarter: BRuT Playing Cards by Uusi

The team at Uusi is back with a modernist playing card deck. The BRuT Limited Edition Playing Card deck is a companion to the Tarot deck that is currently funding on Kickstarter. The project is already 148% funded with 25 days to go.

The artwork is inspired by Early 20th Century Modernism, Art Brut (or Outsider Art) and the forceful, geometric look of Brut Architecture. All imagery in this deck is hand-painted using gouache – a type of watercolor medium that is similar to watercolor but more highly pigmented.

The BRuT Playing Card deck features 52 playing cards and two jokers all with original, eye-catching artwork that makes them ideal for magic and card games, yet at the same time very familiar and recognizable by players and spectators alike. Pledge starts from $12, BRuT will be printed by EPCC on their famous Master Finish card stock with a linen finish. Only 5000 will be available.

First Look: "Fuego!" Playing Cards by Cellar Window Part I

Coming soon... "Fuego!" Playing Cards by the team at Cellar Window. This Mexican revolution themed playing cards and was inspired by the work of Jose Guadalupe Posada, a Mexican political printmaker and engraver whose work were influential in the development of 20th-century Mexican art.

The team at Cellar Window has certainly been busy and designed some of the most notable decks over the past few months. From Crooked Kings' Get Made!, to the recently funded Lux Playing Cards' British Monarchy, each deck is a unique work of art. "Fuego!" playing cards will be their first individual project.

The deck will be printed by LPCC and the tuck will come with embossing, interior print, perforated seal and also that classic long flap.

Deck View: Russian Folk Art Playing Cards

Traditional. Folklore. Russian. 

Successfully funded on Kickstarter, the Russian Folk Art Playing Cards is a deck of playing cards inspired by Russian Folklore designed by Natalia Silva. These fascinating playing cards features designs inspired by traditional folk art that have always played an intrinsic part of domestic culture across Russia and represents the rooted artistic perceptions, traditions and practices of the citizens. 

For example, nature has always been a common theme in Russian Folk Art and that different design elements serve as symbols to protect, bring wealth, health and love. Birds, sun, wild flowers and berries are prominently featured on the face cards, while the court cards are inspired by Matryoshka or Russian Nesting Doll.

With 100% custom faces and court cards, they combine beautiful design with the peerless quality of the United States Playing Card Company. Available at nataliasilva.net

First Look: Final Teaser for Omnia

Here's the final reveal of the mysterious Omnia Playing Cards. For those who still don't know, the designer of this incredible deck is none other than...

Giovanni Meroni!

Giovanni's Evil deck won the Discourse Deck Design Contest and his Delirium Playing Cards was picked as United Cardists' 2014 deck. We are honoured to have Giovanni here to tell us more about this beautiful deck and how Omnia came to be.


I started designing a “Thirdway Industries standard deck”, in January 2015. The first inspiration was a classic Bicycle deck, re-designed with my modern vector style. I am very crazy and impulsive when I work, so I may start with an idea, and end up with another one. The biggest turning points on this project were when I decided to call the project “Omnia” and use Uroboros, the immortal God-snake who eats its own tail, for the back.

With a such sumptuous theme, I almost redesigned all the deck to adapt it (If you remember my Evil Deck interview, redesign decks from scratches is my favourite sport). I used a lot of gold (metallic inks and foil on the tuck), and made the courts baroque, enigmatic and epic. There are a lot of references to Egyptian, greek and Scandinavian mythology.

There will be 3 versions of Omnia Deck: Omnia Oscura (Black tuck box, gold foil-  unlimited), Omnia Suprema (Red Foil on black tuck box and black cards- Limited to 500) and Omnia Illumina (White tuck box, gold foil- unlimited but stretch goal).

The faces will be different in each versions (I mean, in dramatic way, not just a recolor). Aces and Jokers will be redesigned from scratches in the limited Omnia Suprema.

The Kickstarter is planned for June 2015, after Delirium and Evil Deck is delivered. Omnia will be proudly printed by Expert Playing Card Co. They worked closely with me for Delirium and Evil Deck, and gave me valuable printing and materials advise. They are already working with me to find the right stock, finish and foil for Omnia versions.

It's been a year since the Evil Deck. During this year,  I've gained a lot of experience, bought a lot of inspirational decks and made a lot of friends involved in playing cards world. Omnia is inspired by a lot of great decks, but I want mention the ones who inspired it most: Rick Davidson’s Origins (color scheme) and Lorenzo Gaggiotti’s Heretic (symbology, theme, style). Lorenzo gave me also a lot of hints and I asked his advice on Omnia from the start. I think you need to thank him a little too if you like Omnia as it is :) Hope you like Omnia, and Audentes Fortuna Iuvat.


Thank you Giovanni and Happy Birthday! :D

Kickstarter: 7 Questions with Simon Bruno of the Glassback Playing Cards

Designed by Hyun Yoo and Simon Bruno, the Glassback Playing Cards are an eye-catching deck inspired by the minimal stained-glass design. The unique 4-colour back design accentuate card flourishes and displays, making fans, spins and cascades look incredible! Glassback consists of 52 cards and features a custom Ace of Spades, 2 custom Jokers and a side tuck with blind embossing of the Glassback logo.

We caught up with Simon after Cardistry-Con and had a quick chat about his design background, inspiration and idea behind the Glassback deck and Kickstarter.

Can you tell us about yourself and what is your design background?
So a little about me, I am a freshman at Siena College in Albany NY. I have been into cards ever since I was a kid. Whether it be a poker game or a magic trick or a card flourish I have always loved cards. As far as my design background, I wanted to go to art school for the first 3 years of my high school experience. Around my junior in highschool my cousin started a clothing line and brought me in on it. I immediately fell in love with branding and business. Even though we ended up moving on to different things, I knew I wanted to do something where I could combine art and business. I sat on this concept for a long time.

Almost 2 years went by until I figured out that playing cards would be the perfect way to combine my passions. Once I had the idea, I had the help of a talented young designer from Siena, Hyun Yoo, help me bring the Glassback playing cards to life.

This is your first playing card project on Kickstarter. Why Kicksatrter?
Why Kickstarter, even before I had the Glassback idea I had a thing for Kickstarter. I have read tons and tons of articles on Kickstarter and have view hundreds if not thousands of projects. Kickstarter is the perfect platform to bring a community together for a good cause: really cool ideas. Doesn’t get much better than that and once I found my excuse to make a Kickstarter of my own, I jumped on it. 

What is your inspiration behind the Glassback Playing Cards? How did you come up with the idea?
Here’s the thing. The first time I showed our first design to the playing card community it got ripped to shreds. No one liked the colors. So we changed the designs to what they currently are. The second time around people loved them. The most common statement I heard was wow that looks like stained glass. Once the designer and I caught the drift we changed the design even more to embody this theme and we have not looked back since! Plus we have been getting great feedback on the name, Glassback. I love the way it sounds and looks and I hope everyone else does too! Believe it or not, the name was one of the hardest parts of making this deck. I lost a lot of sleep over the name of this project!

Walk us through the process you took to design this unique deck. How did you get to this finished product?
I sat down with my designer, Hyun Yoo, and we looked through her entire portfolio. She really had some amazing work but I didn't see much that I could picture on a playing card, until the end of our meeting. We finally found a piece that looked like it could work. We used this piece as our inspiration. Our first few tries at making a design failed miserably but we stuck with it until we found something that people liked and appreciated. Feedback was crucial in the design process. Without honest feedback the design would be much different than it is now. We did focus groups and feedback sessions and those really helped shape the final design.

What was your most brilliant breakthrough when designing the deck?
This is another interesting story. Our biggest breakthrough was realizing that our first design was awful. Once we realized this, we worked with what we had to make something that people actually liked. Criticism and feedback was key. We wanted to make something not too minimal but not too complex yet was still bold and eye catching. I think we did just that.

With all the projects competing for funding, why should potential backers choose the Glassback deck? 
The next time you pull out a deck of card I want people to turn their heads and say, “wow I have never seen a deck of cards quite like that.” I wanted to create something bold and out there. Something different. Let’s be honest here, the current trend is to slap a logo on a card and call it deck. I wanted to break that trend and create something different. The tuck box for the Glassback Deck is completely unique and holds within it a powerful tool, high quality unique playing cards. Whether you’re a cardist, magician, or gambler, the Glassback deck will add to your craft.

Finally, what are your favourite playing card decks?
Oooooo, I’ve been waiting to answer this one. I am a cardist at heart so I have to say that the blue sealed old stuff (Tallys, Bicycles, Aristocrats) are my favorites. I love the way the older decks feel. I am working closely with the EPCC to get a great feeling stock for the Glassbacks. As far as some of the more modern stuff I love D&D’s new Antler deck. It matches the look and feel of an older deck, really cool.

Thank you for your time, Simon and all the best! At the time of writing, the project is 59% funded with 28 days to go. If want to support the Glassback deck, you can find it on Kickstarter here. 


Pledge starts from $12 and the deck will be printed by the EPCC. There are multiple add-ons available such as uncut sheets and signed posters.

Collections: Empire Bloodlines by Kings & Crooks

The long awaited follow up to Lee McKenzie's original Empire deck, Bloodlines, leaves off where the other ended so to speak. The design concept, look and feel of the deck connects Bloodlines to Empire in a great way without seaming redundant. The Subtle embossing on the tuck with just a touch of silver foiling make it both appealing to the eye, but keep it in the "Working Deck" category. The tuck also features a soft touch feel to it, along with a fully printed interior and custom seal.

The deck itself handles beautifully on it's Bee Casino Grade stock from USPC and maintains the bold look of its predecessor. Completely custom down to the intricate pip design, Bloodlines is sure to please a wide range of Playing Card aficionados. The courts feature an exploded center pip design that continues the bold look, while maintaining its overall connection to the theme. In addition the Bloodline face cards sport a nice watermark that fills the card nicely. Bloodlines was available in 2 Standard versions, Royal Blue and Emerald Green, along with a Limited Edition which puts all it's features on the inside, a foiled tuck interior and metallic inks and a limited print run will appeal to collectors.

I've always liked Lee's designs and this one is no different, my favorite part of this deck is that's its an everyday deck with an eye catching design. Magician's and Cardists alike should enjoy this decks look and feel. I like the return of the "Signature" belly band, and as much as I like the original Empire deck, I wasn't upset the indices "Banners" didn't return. Overall another beautiful project by Lee and Kings & Crooks, I would say my only disappointment was in the Limited Edition, I thought the tuck could have used something more to make it stand out as a Limited Edition.

If you missed out on Bloodlines, they, along with other items, will be available on the Kings & Crooks website very soon!

The Collection segment is produced by Anthony Ingrassia of Kardify. No part of this article, images or video can be reproduced without written permission from the author and Kardify.com. To see more of Anthony's (Sparkz) collection please visit sparkzcollector.com 

First Look: Second Teaser for "O"

Last week, we got a view of the upcoming deck codenamed "O". The image was just enough to grab the attention of the community to speculate who the designer is.

Now we have two images to share before the final reveal.

According to the designer,

Special care was dedicated to the queens, very different from the classic ones... and sexier! To make it cool for magic and cardistry, Omnia will have a clean, intricate design with perfect symmetry.

Cardistry: Cardistry-Con, New York Day 3

Instagram: @cardistrycon

The inaugural Cardistry-Con in Brooklyn, New York ended successfully after an amazing three days of cardistry! Thanks to Simon Bruno, designer of the upcoming Glassback Playing Cards on Kickstarter, April 14th, we are able to share several images from the final day of the Cardistry-Con with you. This is the final post of a three day series. Read about the first day here and second day here.

The final day of the con began with an announcement by Zach Mueller.

Talks highlights for the final day includes Workshop on Isolation with Franky and Hector and Con-Versation of Custom Playing Cards with The Virts, Zach, Dan and Dave and Tobias.

The first rule of Cardistry-Con is: 

Other headliners for the day were David Padersen, Spencer, Aviv and Andrei. Magician Dan White and Blake Vogt dropped by.

Images of the Cardistry-Con was provided by Simon Bruno designer of the upcoming Glassback Playing Cards on Kickstarter, April 14th. No part of this article or images can be reproduced without written permission from the Simon and Kardify.