7 Questions with Aleksander Feldman of Endless Time Playing Cards

Conceptualized by Aleksander Feldman and designed with the help of Dennis Kostroman, Endless Time Playing Cards is a unique deck combining the hourglass and the infinity symbol. According to Aleksander on the Kickstarter campaign page,

The idea of this design developed from the thoughts about how fast our time is running - on one side we have a lot of it, but on the other side it runs so fast we can not even follow the flow. I wish to create something where time has stopped and to have an unlimited amount of this priceless resource. "Fugit irreparabile tempus" - a Latin phrase which means "Irretrievable time is flying"

The design elements have been featured throughout the deck, from the card backs, Aces, suits to the court cards and Jokers. Although custom, the suits and semi-custom court cards are easily recognisable and hence, suitable for magic routines and game nights.

Last week, we had a chat with Aleksander about his design background, inspiration and design process behind the Endless Time deck.

For those of us who don’t know, can you tell us about yourself and what is your design background?
My name is Aleksander, 24, from Estonia. Finished university in the field of Psychology and Criminal Behaviour in 2017. Currently working in a casino surveillance. Started collecting playing cards in 2012, but have been on and off with this hobby, and sometimes I feel sad about these “off” periods because I missed a lot of great decks. I am more into magic than cardistry, but enjoy watching and doing both. Not a great illustrator/designer myself, but attended a graphic design school in 2012-2013.

Can you describe the Endless Time deck and why you’re passionate about it?
Endless Time card back features an hourglass where time never ends. You can see an infinity symbol played around in the deck, even in the suits that are custom as well! The idea of this design developed from the thoughts about how fast our time is running - on one side we have a lot of it, but on the other side it runs so fast we can not even follow the flow. I have also added a Latin phrase - "Fugit irreparabile tempus" which means "Irretrievable time is flying" - another feature of card back and tuck case. I put my personal thoughts and perception into this deck, as I want to see some kind of story in each deck.

Walk us through the process you took to design the deck. How did you come up with the idea and how did you get to this finished product?
Earlier this year I just printed card back templates and started sketching. As a main source of my ideas I used my old drawings from 2012-2013 that I made while attending graphic design school. One of the drawings contained an infinity sign in a blue triangle and I started playing around this. Eventually it developed into an hourglass+infinity idea so I expanded this a little bit and got an Endless Time in my head. The final and digital artworks were created with the help of great design from Estonia - Dennis Kostroman. It was a pleasure to work with him on this project.

What was your most brilliant breakthrough when designing the deck?
If you can call it a breakthrough then it was the final version of card back design. I am really happy with how it looks like now, that was the most important part of this deck in my opinion.

We first noticed the deck on Instagram. What do you think of the playing card community in terms of the feedback and support that you’ve been getting so far?
Absolutely great. I definitely didn’t expect that positive reaction. I just expected some likes, reposts from people who liked the product, but when people started saying good things about the project in direct messages, it felt like the next level of appreciation. In other words, community gives a great motivational boost.

What’s next? Are you planning to release more playing card decks in the future?
First I want to see if Endless Time gets fully funded. If it does, for me it means that my work is highly appreciated in this community and will give me a green light to create something new. I am not planning to just create one deck and disappear. I already have some new ideas to play around with.

Finally, what are your favourite playing cards?
I really like Monarchs and Sons of Liberty playing cards, for example. First deck I ever purchased was a Tally-Ho (blue circle back), which is still one of my favorites as well. I also respect and admire how Orbit grew and developed as a brand and as a company.

Thank you for your time Aleksander and all the best! At the time of writing, the Endless Time deck is only 53% funded with 21 days to go. If you like what you've read here and would like to support Aleksander, head on to the Kickstarter page here! Endless Time will be printed by Cartamundi. Pledge starts at $11.

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