7 Questions with Bill Davis of Pink Boar Playing Cards

Based on the Lunar calendar 2019 is the Year of the Pig. What better way to honor it than to help fund this stylish deck designed in honor of pigs, spread awareness on pig rescue, and promote The Pig Preserve in Jamestown, Tennessee where designer Bill Davis and his family volunteer. Wild Reserve: Pink Boar playing cards are seeking $6,555 in funding goal on Kickstarter. Currently, the deck is already 88% funded with 14 days to go.

The semi-custom deck features standard face cards, custom courts with Bill's profile on the J of Hearts, his wife on the Queen of Clubs and Daniel Madison on the King of Diamonds, a custom Ace of Spades, two custom Jokers, double back and an ad card that provides a description of the rescue and their contact details. The card back features a minimalistic yet intricate and inconspicuous one-way back design.

Earlier this week, we had a chat with Bill about the inspiration behind Pink Boars, design evolution of the deck and Daniel Madison.

For those of us who don’t know, tell us a little about yourself?
I am a psychotherapist by trade but have been doing magic since I was a child. I’ve always been involved in creative endeavors throughout my schooling including chorus, theater, and art. At heart, I am a creator and have made several of my own magic effects, mostly card effects, though I do enjoy performing magic for friends and family at any opportunity presented. While I do dream of one day performing more regularly and have done one professional gig which I enjoyed and at which I received amazing reactions, my current focus is on creating effects, as mentioned, as well as playing cards. I’m obsessed with both. I haven’t marketed any of my own effects yet but plan to do so. I have well over a thousand decks of playing cards, I have several ideas/projects in the works for more of my own decks, and I am always thinking of new ideas for effects and decks to come. I am also heavily involved in animal rescue and fitness.

Can you describe the WILD RESERVE: Pink Boar Playing Cards? And why you are passionate about it?
Wild Reserve: Pink Boar Playing cards are designed in honor of a very special cause. My wife and I volunteer our time at The Pig Preserve in Jamestown, TN where pigs are rescued from a variety of situations such as abuse cases or piglets having fallen off the back of slaughter transport trucks. I have spent time with these animals and have seen what is involved in the care of them. Thus this deck was created in honor of that cause, in honor of the pigs and the joy they bring, and in honor of the workers who dedicate their lives to caring for and rehabilitating them. I am passionate about sentient life and I am passionate about this deck because it represents that.

Talk to us a bit about going from the first draft to the final version. How did you get to this finished product?
The idea for this deck was actually first conceived on our way home from volunteering at The Pig Preserve one weekend. I have another deck that has been on the back burner for some time, and the idea popped into my head that I would like to do a deck in honor of their cause. The rest is a funny story. As my wife drove home I sat in the passenger seat and sketched a cartoon-like first draft of the deck which looked very childish. My friend Steve suggested I create something more stylish and vibrant that would speak to most anyone and everyone. I asked for input from family and friends as I played with ideas, as I find it important to get feedback from those who care about the things I care about.

What was your most brilliant breakthrough when designing the deck?
While this deck has a rather minimalistic and simplistic design, and I wanted to keep it simple as my first deck (versus marking it), I still wanted to incorporate a one-way back design for magicians. I graphically played with the boar’s hair trying to accomplish this but did not have much success. Then, as silly as it sounds, a light bulb went off in my head to flip the image horizontally on one opposing side of the card and… the rest is history.

We noticed some notable names like Brian Brushwood and Daniel Madison helping you promote the project. How did you end up connecting with them and getting them to promote the project?
Although they are two completely different personalities, Brian Brushwood and Daniel Madison, among others including Chris Ramsay and Shin Lim, have been a big influence on me for the longest time. However, I ended up connecting socially with Brian and Daniel specifically. Brian and I connected initially via orders I placed through scamstuff.com, a shop for his Scam School/Scam Nation YouTube channels, from having emailed him questions about various items and small talk has evolved from there. We began corresponding via Twitter around the time my idea for the Pink Boar deck was born when I reached out to him asking if he might be able to help. Brian was responsive, encouraging and gladly obliged.



Madison and I connected somewhat differently. Long story short, Madison, out of nowhere, responded favorably and with praise for this Pink Boar design when I first posted it on Instagram. Having been a long time YouTube follower of him as well, I was highly complimented. I soon after joined his Patreon site where he formed the Madison Alliance, a group of exclusively like-minded artists. Upon flying to England to partake in a related meetup with this group including Madison, to say the least, he and I became close friends. Among other things, we spoke about my project and he offered to help with it in any way that he could. He ended up promoting it in a number of ways including via his “The MADISON Deck Review: EPISODE Eleven!” on his YouTube channel (video embedded above). My deck was also reviewed by Magic Orthodoxy (embedded below).



As you’ll notice from my campaign, I also had help from Lorenzo Gaggiotti of Stockholm17 and Daniel Schneider of Black Roses Playing Cards. Daniel Schneider is also the designer behind the Orbit decks which most people don’t know and for which he doesn’t get enough credit, the humble guy he is, and Madison, Gaggiotti and Schneider are also all behind some of my favorite decks as you’ll see below. (Thus, my seeking their help wasn’t at all coincidental, LOL.)

With so many playing card projects competing for funding, why should potential backers choose your deck? 
Backers should choose my deck because of its unique and stylish design as well as for what it represents. This deck speaks of two main things: creativity and compassion. While there have been several other decks on the market for different types of causes, some which I own and fully support, this deck is unique because it is in honor of an animal so often unknown, unappreciated or misunderstood by the vast majority. The deck combines a cool look on standard USPCC cards that most everyone loves, while at the same time spreading the word about the cause. Also, choosing my deck will allow for the creation of many different types of future decks, as funding this first project will help make that happen. I plan to continue with creative endeavors as a playing card designer and to bring many other designs to the playing card community given the chance.

Finally, what are your favorite playing cards? 
My favorite playing cards include white Madison Rounders, green borderless Madison Dealers, red Black Roses, Polyantha, Le Chat Rouge No. 17 and House of the Rising Spade. The Rounders in white are minimalistic and just… amazing, the red Black Roses are simply beautiful, and the green Dealers and Polyantha are different from the others in their own respect to how they fill the card back with a repetitive design. Le Chat Rouge No. 17 and the House of the Rising Spade Cartomancer/Gatekeeper variant are both absolutely stunning both in color and presentation and are definitely decks I love to show off.

Thanks, Bill! If you like what you've read and what to help support the Wild Reserve: Pink Boar playing cards on Kickstarter, click here!


The deck will be printed by the United States Playing Card Co.'s classic grade card stock with air-cushion finish. Pledge starts at $15!

[post_ad]