First Look: Sardines Playing Cards by Squiddle Ink

Here’s the first look at Sardines Playing Cards designed by Stacey Jay Kelly at Squiddle Ink. With this deck, Stacey wanted to walk the line between clean, modern art and vintage detailing to create a deck that could be mistaken for an artisanal product packaged in a Spanish sardines canning factory.

The tuck box will have a nautical theme using anchors, rope, and marine vegetation with the back of the tuck being reminiscent of traditional sailor’s tattoos. The deck will include a custom seal on the flap of the tuck box. The tuck stock is a pearlescent card stock which will really give this deck a nice shimmer. The details on the Tuck will be embossed to really elevate the level of texture and beauty. The tuck box interior will be printed with a yellow background and a wave pattern to give a nice pop of color when opening the deck.

This is where the theme really comes into play. The card back is a two-way design depicting a sardines tin with the lid being peeled back to reveal four little sardines inside. The area where the tin is peeled back will be hot foil stamped as though revealing the silvery metallic qualities on the inside of the tin lid. The placement of the Sardines is perfect for the fish to peep out of the card fans. Stacey is excited to see what Cardists can do with this fan and believes this detail will bring some joy to a flourish.

The Kings celebrate the hard-working sea fishermen with waves crashing around their boats. The Queens are a collection of every fisherman’s favorite, open-water-mirage… mermaids. They are wearing roped robes and marine crowns and their tails can be seen amid the waves. The Jacks are a collection of young skippers-in-training accompanied by seabirds such as pelicans and seagulls.

The custom pip features nautical elements such as Sailor’s knots, seaweed, shells and anchors. Meanwhile, Ace of Spades is embellished with nautical details and, of course, features a sardine tail. The Jokers feature one of the most endearing mammalian ocean predators… the gentleman sea otter. They will be holding ace cards in their paws.

The deck will be printed by Legends Playing Card Company on the durable Viper Finish. This is a hard-wearing card stock that can withstand high levels of humidity, making it the perfect sea-fishing travel deck.

Sardines playing cards will be available to back on Kickstarter from the 10th of November 2022 18:00 PM GMT. Don’t miss out!