1-ON-1: Robert Adams of Deck Finesse

Deck Finesse is a UK based company run and owned by Robert Adams. Robert is a long time collector and magician but decided to try something different than producing his own custom playing card deck. The product that came to be is a beautiful table top Playing Card Display.

As the industry grows its no surprise that enthusiast are always looking for a new way to present their "Prized Possessions". The display is available in two versions, one a solid top and the other a glass top.

I had the opportunity to talk to Robert about himself, Deck Finesse and what's next for the fledgling company.



I want to thank Robert for making some time to talk to us, especially since he's in a different time zone and stayed up a little late to collaborate on the video, it was greatly appreciated. We wish Deck Finesses all the best on this project and hoping for more items and accessories from them in the future.

If you interested in one of these beautiful displays or have any questions for Robert, we've included some information on the display as well as some links to Deck Finesses website and media outlets.

Glass Top Display

Description and Information:

Description:
A real show piece – displaying twelve decks of cards in a most elegant fashion, 
this glass topped case is your personal tabletop gallery. At last you can keep those 
extra special decks both well protected and in view, beautifully framed like the works of art that they are.

Sustainably sourced quality hardwood finished with furniture grade varnish.
Laser engraving on the underside of case.
Protective pads prevent scratching.
Accompanied by a numbered and signed certificate of authenticity.
Elegantly gift-wrapped with luxurious custom packaging.
Perfect for decks of 65-66mm width.


Product Dimensions: 300 x 210 x 65mm, Internal width 266mm (+/- 1.5 mm). Weight: 2.1kg

Pre-Order Pricing:
Wood Top 145 Pounds (Limited to 80 Units)

Glass Top 185 Pounds (Limited to 120 Units)


This exclusive 1-on-1 is produced by Anthony Ingrassia of Kardify. No part of this article or video can be reproduced without written permission from the author. You can check out Anthony's awesome collection on his Collection Blog "Sparkz".

1-ON-1: Alexander Chin of Seasons Playing Cards

Seasons come and go, but two particular “Seasons” never made their way to the light of day, until now. In 2012, Chicago-based designer Alexander Chin introduced the world to his Season’s Playing cards. The 1st two decks released were the Seronda and Primavera decks representing Spring and Fall. The decks received high acclaim from collectors and enthusiast alike. Now, a few years later Alex will be completing the circle by releasing Verano and Inverno, Summer and Winter, on Kickstarter to the anticipation of many.

As designers go, Alex has a style all his own and the elegance and quality of his work is to be admired. At a young age Alex was a bit introverted and found a passion for drawing to help express himself. Along with drawing, Alex found other hobbies to occupy his time, such as swimming and piano and a few not so common hobbies such as contact juggling and later in junior High School, card magic. But of all of these interests, drawing was the one that made Alex feel truly creative.

“It's easy to get lost and flustered when you're at the defining age of social awkwardness, but when I sketched I was absorbed into a world where communication of myself was so easily captured on paper.”

Nearing the end of his junior High School years, Alex’s expression started transferring more and more to magic, specializing in card magic.

“The practicality of impromptu card magic was so much more vast than props. These cards were little pieces of artwork that I would carry around in my pocket. But when I took them out they would delight people everywhere I went. It amazed me and I became infatuated with them. To this day I have not found a simpler or cheaper way to spread joy than to delight someone with surprise. It had turned into an extension of who I was.”

In High School, like many young magicians, Alex came across the release of the Black Tiger deck by Ellusionist. It was the 1st custom deck Alex had seen…

“It opened a Pandora's box to the world of card collecting. I think this happened to a lot of people who were in the magic world at this time.”

Standard Edition

Limited Edition

At 14 Alex was met with an awkward confrontation with his mother at 1AM. What could a 14 year old boy possibly be doing on his computer at that time of the night?

“…my mom is a good hearted person, but she wasn’t born yesterday, so when she sees her teenage son up late at night using the computer she’s going to assume certain things. So Detective Mom storms over to see my screen to verify her worst fears. Instead of tantalizing women looking to hook up in my local area, I had actually stayed up to snipe on a card auction at the last minute for cheap. I was hooked to say the least.”

After completing High School, Alex attended the University of Illinois where he majored in architecture leveraging his passion for illustration and design with his desire to change the world.


“Freshmen usually tend to dream big don't they?”

During his college years Alex found his passion for drawing started creeping back into his life. Becoming more interested in the organic, abstract and kinetic, and with the sudden burden of school work off his plate with graduating college, Alex found himself with a window of opportunity before having to return home and venture out into the world and his career path…

“…before returning home and facing the scary reality of a job that would define the rest of my life. I decided that I would take this time to discover who I was.”

With soul searching at hand, Alex tried to commit himself to working on his art all day, every day. It helped express his emotions and discover the direction he wanted his life to take. He would create something and then abandon it, create some more and repeat, looking for something to click, which was the normal “Spirit” of each day. Of all the projects Alex started, there were two in particular that seemed to break the cycle of abandonment. One was a tea company called Mood Garden, the other was Seasons.

Mood Garden was a tea company that Alex had started with a friend that expanded his interest in package design. Mood Gardens, as Alex puts it, had mild success with two full product lines receiving incredible press both online and on Blogs like TrendHunter. Alex also found himself penning the forward of a book due to the exposure of Mood Gardens.

“ We tried launching a Kickstarter for it and never ended up getting funded. I think there was a culmination of inexperience on both our ends coupled with a fear of commitment to such an investing project having just graduated college with student debt. It sadly never came to fruition.”

With the lessons learned from the Mood Gardens experience, Alex’s other “Itch”, Seasons, started to develop and Alex finally found a concept and design that he was proud of and ready to be introduced to the world. Timing, as they say, is everything. During this time there was a bit of transition in the Playing Card industry, it was expanding and the larger companies, new to all this unexpected success of these pieces of paper, were in for a rude awakening. Like anything that meets unexpected success, the industry started developing a not so earnest approach to their products, delivering very little in terms of time spent truly creating custom decks and just “Marketing” tactics to gain profits. Alex was about to show what a lot of blood sweat and tears could translate to.

“I was lucky enough to have been in the game right when the market was starting to expand. I think I owe a lot of success to the court cards of that deck. It was at the height of when larger custom card companies were being called out for their efforts in deck creation. The biggest differentiators between the little guys and the big guys were the willing time investments into those faces. From there you know the rest. “

Standard Edition

Limited Edition

When asked about his current professional and personal goals Alex expressed how he returned to Seasons after such a long hiatus as well as his interest in running his own design studio specializing in interactive packaging design with a built in brand consulting service.

“For the longest time I was looking for a career which was the main reason why there has been such a gap between the first set of Seasons and now. I was working with a large holding company for about a year and a half designing and managing different brands and product lines for them. Eventually I quit after seeing an absence of creative fulfillment and made the jump to doing Seasons again, shifting my track in life from career to calling. I don't know if I'll do Seasons forever but for now it provides the type of autonomy that gets my creative juices flowing in an arena that I was born and bred in.”

As Alex concentrates and builds on his vision he does find himself missing magic, but is still an avid collector. The collector in him developed as his studies increased during his school days, causing the time he had to practice magic to decrease. Collecting gave Alex a way to stay connected to the world of playing cards without sacrificing his studies; it was a way to achieve a balance between the two. During this time Alex also dabbled in cardistry, but found the same pitfalls he came across with magic, not enough time to practice and as they say, practice makes perfect.


“I had a brief stint back in the heyday of D&D of cardistry but realized that it required a similar amount of practice as magic had with a less satisfying response from audiences. That kind of niche is something you truly have to love to get good at. As of now I am still a collector but I miss magic dearly. I hope that once I've created a stable enough environment that I can start investing some of my time back into learning how to delight people again.”

Verana Tri=Panel

Inverno Tri-Panel

So here we are the new Seasons decks on the horizon. Scheduled for release on Kickstarter on August 27th, the decks will be Black and White featuring an accent color to connect each deck to the Season it represents. The Tuck cases will also undergo some changes to support the more “Holistic” approach Alex is taking with these decks and satisfying both newcomers as well as the existing fans of the Seasons decks. Alex also has a few other playing card projects he’s been investing his time into, taking a more “Thematic” approach to these decks but striving to keep the mystery, intrigue and detail that Seasons supporters have come to expect.

“As a collector myself, it's those timeless decks that keep their spot on the shelves that make my collection complete. In everything this company does, it does with the mindset of raising the bar and changing design.”

Seasons Playing Cards have always been synonymous with quality and artistic design, I know I’m in the majority when I say I can’t wait to add the new Season decks to my collection and I’m also very excited to find out that there are new projects with new directions and concepts that we can all wait for with great anticipation. It was my complete pleasure to collaborate with a fellow Chicagoan, great designer and fantastic person on this piece, I strongly urge everyone to mark their calendars for August 27th so you don’t miss out on a sure to be amazing project. Alex was nice enough to give us some of his time during his busy schedule and was also nice enough to answer a few final questions.

What has been occupying your time and interest since the release of Primavera and Seronda?

My biggest current interest is this little social experiment I saw online called the 100 Days of Happy. I don't participate through social media but the gist is that once a day you call out something that you are grateful for and makes you happy. Over time it's proven to change your outlook on life. I took it to a physical medium and every day I'll do a 15 minute sketch of something. Over time this book has become a record of mundane little experiences that just make me grin like a child. It's one of the best things I've done for my personal well-being besides daily exercise. I'm also into branding books. Lots of them. A nerdy amount.


I’m sure you’ve seen the explosion in the industry, what are your thoughts on the recent boom?

I remember being on the UC forums before the renovation of the site and talking about this. It was during a time where the Brimstone had already come out and the Vortex was an upcoming Kickstarter I believe. At the time I think there was only 1 deck a month and the average for decks were around 25K. I predicted that with this social proof of success, there would be a large bubble in the market that would eventually burst causing people to choose and leaving only the good designers in the arena. I figured the increased competition would be good for the art.
Looking at the market now I think I was on the right track but the bubble grew much faster than I would have ever thought. I didn't anticipate the crossover of artists from other fields to begin participating. What also surprised me was the change in behavior of collectors. I had assumed the increased competition would force choice but instead I'm noticing that people will still usually back a project but just reduce quantity. It makes absolute sense for those trying to diversify their collections, but for me I'm usually a brick or two kind of guy which sets the investment a little higher.
The increased competition has made it near mandatory for court cards to be custom now (something that's even seen in the big companies today too). I'm glad for that. Competition pushes us to do better. I have a hall in my apartment that is full of uncut sheets by other companies. A lot of people ask why I don't display my own. Seeing my own work creates complacency of having done something while seeing the work of others make me feel motivated to do just as good, if not better.
There is an increased competition for crowdfunding decks now but I do anticipate a similar amount of deck projects in the next couple years before any drop. With the introduction of new production facilities that require a lower startup cost, having a successful deck funded isn't hard which will probably feed the momentum the next few years.

You’re a talented designer, do you have any projects, past, present or future, outside of the playing card industry that you’re proud of and enjoyed working on?

I mentioned Mood Garden earlier and I have a few international branding projects that I was pretty thrilled to create while under employment at my previous gig. I really do enjoy working on interactive package design and hope to start pursuing some new personal projects in the field of alcoholic beverage packaging soon.

Do you have any final thoughts or comments you would like to share?

Your interview was absolutely enjoyable. It got me to do a lot more self-evaluation than I'm used to which is a good thing! I hope to launch another deck soon to get an excuse to talk with you again haha. It was an honor to be here on Kardify.


I can’t thank Alex enough for his time and collaboration. Be sure to check out the NEW Seasons Kickstarter project launching on August 27th for Verano and Inverno, the next chapter in the Seasons decks. You can also keep up with any developments from Alex and Season’s playing cards on their Facebook Page and you can also visit the Seasons Playing Card website for products and information.


This exclusive 1-on-1 is written by Anthony Ingrassia for kardify. No part of this article can be reproduced without written permission from the author. You can check out Anthony's awesome collection on his Facebook Page Sparkz Collector.

1-ON-1: Jason Brumbalow Part Two

Welcome to Part Two. 

This segment is all about RUN, Jason goes into detail about the inspiration and story behind the deck as well as some 1st looks and availability information.

Enjoy!



Once again I want to thank Jason for his time and collaboration, it was great fun!


This exclusive 1-on-1 is written by Anthony Ingrassia for kardify. No part of this article can be reproduced without written permission from the author. You can check out Anthony's awesome collection on his Facebook Page Sparkz Collector.

1-ON-1: Jason Brumbalow Part One

Something a little different with this 1ON1. 

So a few weeks ago I approached Jason Brumbalow about doing a 1ON1, in the same manner I've approached everyone else who's been kind enough to collaborate with us. We went back and forth on schedules and ended up making an appointment via Skype to discuss what we wanted to do.

From that meeting we came up with a date and time for our "Interview" we felt the easiest way to do this was via Skype once again and I could go back through the conversation and build the "written" piece from there.

A few days later when I started working on the piece I sat there for about 20 minutes pulling bits and pieces out of the video capture and kept getting distracted by the conversation itself. So while the notion of making this a video interview was bantered about, Jason knew it might be a possibility, we really didn't set out to do that. So while this is a bit crude, and not how I would do it in the future, I think the "piece" is much more interesting coming directly from Jason than anything I could have written.

So ignore the guy on the left and I hope you enjoy Part One of our Jason Brumbalow 1ON1



I want to thank Jason for his time and willingness to be a guinea pig on this new format, it's greatly appreciated.

Coming soon Part Two of our Jason Brumbalow 1ON1...stay tuned!

This exclusive 1-on-1 is written by Anthony Ingrassia for kardify. No part of this article can be reproduced without written permission from the author. You can check out Anthony's awesome collection on his Facebook Page Sparkz Collector.

1-ON-1: RJ Tomlinson

Artists across history seem to have to face adversity as they move along their career, maybe that’s where the term “Starving Artist” comes from. The silver lining in many of these stories is that not only does adversity seem to make these artists stronger and more focused, but also seems to open the door to their true calling. Many of the people I talk to start off doing one thing, mostly out of necessity, to keep their families fed and the bills paid, but seem to find that light, that glimmer that keeps pushing them to chase their dreams and not give up………always gaining more focus on the bigger picture.

Robert Tomlinson is no different. RJ has worked hard to keep his dream alive, and it shows. Now in the middle of his 3rd, soon to be funded, playing card project on Kickstarter, Colonial Unrest, and RJ knows what he’s working for and has seemed to hit a winning formula with his historically themed decks.

RJ’s surrounded by a very artistic family, starting with his wife of 13 years Diane and their two children. It’s a true family affair. Robert was inspired at a young age, like so many others; by Disney movies and the intricacy and detail he would be in awe of when he would visit the Disney Theme Parks. 

Robert studied graphic design at the Pennsylvania College of Technology in Williamsport PA. and upon graduating made a few stops working for various small town newspapers doing graphic design, page layouts and found himself steadily working up the ladder and eventually landing the position as Editor of a Farm Newspaper. While there was no doubt the hard work that Robert put forward showed, the lofty title didn’t exactly make his financial situation all that much better, small town papers just don’t pay as well. 

“Being a small community, graphic design jobs don’t pay what it takes to survive. The first few years of our marriage we knew what it was like to go hungry. There were nights when I would call my Mom to say I missed her cooking just so we could get something to eat.”

To make things better Robert found himself working in a factory for many years, in more of a hard labor situation stoking furnaces and swaging wire. Determined as always, Robert found himself once again moving up the ladder and into a Quality Control Group Leader position that he still holds today. But the way things are now days, the uncertainty is always looming.

“The pay is good but you always feel your job is on the line due to downsizing and outsourcing. Almost every year we have a sizable layoff. Last year I was only spared from layoff (about 30 more people and I would have been gone). In 2009, I wasn’t so lucky that year… my job was cut and I found myself on layoff for over 9 months.”

With time on his hands and needing to have an income, Robert returned to his graphic roots designing logo’s to make ends meet. Eventually Robert was called back to work, but this time it was very difficult to return, it was not as easy and once again necessity took the upper hand….but the creative juices were still simmering and Robert continued to take on graphic work on the side.

“It was at this time I turned to my graphic design roots to fight for survival.  I started doing logo design work to help make ends meet. When work finally called me back… it was hard to go. It was hard to leave something I enjoyed doing to go back to factory work. But in the end, health insurance and a steady pay check outweighs anything else.”

The everyday responsibilities of a regular job and the hours you put into that job sometimes start to eat away at your time, and that did start to affect the amount of time Robert spend on Graphic Design. With the every looming fear of being laid off once again, Robert started to find himself preparing for the unlikelihood and also stumbled across a crows funding site called Kickstarter.

“For a while I stopped doing graphic design work because I was working so much overtime that I didn’t have enough time for anything else.  But during last year’s slowdown where I was barely spared from layoff I decided it would be best to get things rolling so I would be ready for survival mode. That’s when I discovered Kickstarter and the world of playing card design.”

Wanting to make his mark, Robert took to Kickstarter to figure out what he could come up with using his graphic design skills, what would be the right product and how to go about making something that would get the attention of would be backers.

“I’ve always wanted to be able to create a product and bring it to the market place. Kickstarter just happens to be the best way of doing that. Playing cards happen to be the best product you can make because of their collectability. So, in the end, creating something for my kids to remember me by when I’m gone is also a big motivation when it comes to designing playing cards.”

That was then, this is now. Robert’s 1st two Playing Card projects, Civil Unrest and Global Unrest, both funded on Kickstarter and his current project Colonial Unrest has already funded and is still receiving backer support until Aug. 3 2014. The winning “Historical” formula seems to have found its market and Robert finds himself continually wanting to improve his skills to continue to offer better projects and creations. While Playing Cards are a wonderful foot hold for Robert’s talents, he also finds himself wanting to improve his career and life in other ways.

“My goals include improving upon my design skills at the same time build a foundation for a business that can help sustain my family if times ever get hard again. I would like to create a business that my kids can take part in as they become older. Currently, my wife helps me out a lot… so in many ways we already have a solid family business. Personally I would like to improve my health.”

Many Playing Card designers find themselves so attached to the cards they design they start to amass a collection of their own, and while Robert doesn’t consider himself a full blown collector, he does recall how history became such an important part of his designs process and his introduction into Playing cards. 

“Over the last year I’ve been collecting several decks of cards. But I’m not ready to call myself a collector yet. I mainly support fellow card designers on Kickstarter. I came to designing playing cards last year while we took a weekend trip to Old Sturbridge Village. When we were there we learned that about how early Americans produced playing cards featuring George Washington because they didn’t want anything to do with Kings and Queens. That little history lesson sparked my interest in playing cards. Later that summer we went to Gettysburg and realized it was the 150th anniversary of the battle there so I decided our first deck should be based on the American Civil War.”

The rest, as they say, is History. 

I can’t thank Robert enough for taking some time to collaborate on this piece; with running his current project his time is greatly appreciated. If you haven’t checked out Roberts current Project on Kickstarter, Colonial Unrest, you should, check it out and become a backer!

Before parting we did have a few more last minute question for Robert that he was nice enough to answer for us:

Why do your projects so connected to history?

History runs in my family. My father’s side of the family can trace our roots back to 1592. On top of the, we can trace every generation since we came to American in 1632. When you keep such detailed records you can make many connections to notable people. For example, we’re direct decedents to Gideon Tomlinson (former Governor to Connecticut). We’re also distantly related to several US Presidents and television star, Lucille Ball. To me, knowing where you came from is the best way to see where you’re going.

With a few successful projects under your belt, does it get any easier?

Yes and No. In the end, if you have a deck that appeals to people you don’t have too many issues getting it funded. With Colonial Unrest it was funded sooner (and the first time around). With both Civil and Global Unrest I had to retool and re-launch to get those two decks funded.

How much research and planning go into your playing card projects?

I spend anywhere from two to six months planning a deck of cards. A lot depends on how much already know about the subject. I’ve been planning my next historical deck (Titanic) for about five months now.

Are there any plans to create a deck of playing cards not using history as its concept?

Yes, I have a long list of projects I would like to do. Some of the projects I’m working with my wife on are more based on fictional stories rather than just history.

Any final thoughts or comments?

Over the course of the last year I was able to get to know several great people. I really appreciate the help and advice I’ve been given along the way.

Thank you Robert for the little look into your background and the future of TomlinsonPlaying Card Co. I’m sure that we’ll continue to see bigger better projects from you in the future and I'm sure we’ll be seeing your business flourish. 

This exclusive 1-on-1 is written by Anthony Ingrassia for kardify. No part of this article can be reproduced without written permission from the author. You can check out Anthony's awesome collection at sparkzcollector.

Coming soon to 1-ON-1

1-on-1: Lee McKenzie [Updated]

[Update] Yesterday brought some much anticipated news to the Playing Card community, something that’s already caused quite a bit of buzz and excitement, the long awaited follow up to the very successful Empire deck from Lee McKenzie. 

The new project is Empire Bloodlines and will be launching on Kickstarter on July 15th. In the meantime, if you would like to learn a little more about Lee McKenzie, take a moment to read our Original 1-ON-1 Series piece about his background and road to card design. 

 Enjoy!

I would find it hard to believe that if you’re a collector of playing cards, a magician or cardist that you don’t know who Lee McKenzie is. If by chance you don’t, you surely know his work. Lee supplied us with some truly amazing concepts and visions that materialized into some of the most recognizable decks created to this day. Designs such as the Arcane, Infinity, Artifice and the Fathom decks all came from Lee’s vision and creativity.

I truly enjoy talking to all these people; everyone has such a great and interesting story. They all seem to hit the proverbial fork in the road along their walk through life and I was sure that Lee was no different. Although, when the opening statement from your interviewee is…”I was almost arrested when I was 11, and I never felt more alive.” You just hold your breath and enjoy the story…so, enjoy.

Born in Manchester in the UK, Lee has always considered himself creative, although he really didn’t define himself as such, but more so was just being Lee. As a youth Lee was obsessed with Ninja’s, Magic, Spies, Martial Arts, Drawing, Movies and B-Boying, and by his own admission, these things still have a hold on him as an adult.

“Anything you could do with your hands, body and mind that seemed completely impossible or just incredible to see, fascinated me. Day dreaming about the possibilities and then trying to make it happen in reality was something so exhilarating”

So of course being the Ninja Lee was, or is, we all know that practice makes perfect, or almost lands you in jail because of it…

“I vividly remember one night 2 of my best friends and I almost got arrested because of it. After being chased for an hour over rooftops and around our local area, the police thought we were thieves trying to escape a robbery or something and we had been reported. The truth was we were just three 11 year olds on one of our regular ninja training missions. Somehow we were seen and failed to remain hidden in the shadows, but it was a hell of a ride. "They gave us a real run for our money" one of the police offers told my friends Dad. We felt so alive!”

During Lee’s early school years he started to lean heavily towards graphic design and really started to get a feel for what his future would hold, or at least the direction he wanted that path to go.

“…I knew that whatever I ended up doing after school had to involve creating some kind of visual delights for people. It's those obsessions I have that make me come alive.”

With an A* GSCE (UK high school qualifications) for graphic design in school, Lee went on to study Multimedia in College at ND and HND levels, graduating with a Distinction qualification. This opened up an entirely new world for Lee’s creativity. From photography, interactive design, animation, 3D Modeling, motion graphics, and editing web design, Lee found his passion and was in his element. He even ended up teaching underclassman…

“I loved it and ended up being asked to teach 3d design, along with my friend, to students in the year behind us! “

Shortly after College Lee interned at a design agency in Manchester, a job he landed when a college friend had given the agency a good word on his behalf. When funding ran dry at the agency Lee decided to get together with one of his best friends and his older entrepreneurial brother to launch their own design studio. To help spread the word and get their work noticed Lee entered competitions, and actually won many of them, garnering not only the attention they were looking for but enjoying the swag and prizes that came along with the award.
Entering competitions slowly took its toll. Lee realized it was part of paying your dues, but during that time he made sure not to lose sight of his current goal…learning to design movie titles.

During the same time period Lee came across a company in Manchester that specialized in DVD menu production, visual FX for TV and other video production processes. After getting his foot in the door spending a brief time subtitling the children’s TV shows, The Teletubbies and Chronicles of Narnia, Lee started feeling that he had hit a bit of a wall and wasn’t really getting anywhere. Spending his lunch and spare time leaving interesting little graphic treats on his computer for the company to “stumble upon” and not getting any feedback, Lee eventually parted ways with the production company. Later, standing firm on his goals Lee actually turned down the offer to produce a brochure for the company, which was the more graphical role he was interested in, but not exactly what he wanted. He was determined to stay the course and realize what his true ambitions were. 2 months later Lee was contacted once again by the same company, this time with a much more appealing offer, that of the DVD Designer position.

Not to sit back and relax, Lee kept busy on the side with a little help from his friends. Entering short film competitions, producing shorts for local TV stations, and teaching himself the ins and outs of visual effects. Just to keep things “bubbling” as he put it. During this time, and always loving magic, Lee learned about Ellusionist and got his 1st glimpse of the Black Tiger and 1800’s decks they were producing. There are those moments in life when you just have that light bulb go off…..this was Lee’s.

“Incredible. My mind was racing and my heart was thumping. I loved magic. I loved graphic design, why can't I do this? In fact I knew I could do something, maybe even better than what was there, because I had the burning passion and knew I had the ideas for it.”

After a visit to Rome, Lee came back inspired and was ready to set the wheels in motion for his 1st deck design. In an effort to have his deck alongside the other products he admired from Ellusionist, Lee sent his work to Brad Christian in hopes of not only showing his talent, but also start to break into the industry he loved and pursue his dream. With a lot of excitement and nervous nights, Lee got the news he was hoping for…Brad Christian loved Lee’s work, and that hard work was about to pay off. It was 2008 and Lee McKenzie was just about to start designing the 1st of a long and illustrious list of custom decks for Ellusionist, the Arcane deck. As time went by Lee focused and put all his energy into creating and designing some of Ellusionists best-selling products, all the while knowing that he wanted something more…

“I knew one day I'd have my shot, but I didn't have the balls just yet…Ellusionist was such an amazing experience”

In early 2013 Lee had left the freelance world and ceased working with Ellusionist with quite a list of credits to his name. This was also when he launched his 1st independent design on Kickstarter…Empire. At that same time, Lee found himself more determined than ever to realize his dream. We all have personal catalysts that move us along at times; during this time Lee was flying back to the UK to be with his Grandfather, who sadly had passed away while Lee was visiting. His Grandfather’s memory and life helped push Lee forward. As the Empire campaign progressed with all of Lee’s time, effort and income, Lee put everything he had into his dream…

“I had no more income and my girlfriend Megan and I were living on the floor of my incredibly gracious friend’s house. However, I was more determined than ever to prove I could do this, and with my Granddads memory powering me forward, I put everything I could into creating this future.”

That “Future” culminated with the funding goal for the Empire deck not only reached, but surpassed and the realization of Lee’s own company, Kings & Crooks. With the successful campaign, the enormous support from around the world and the “Humbling” compliments Lee received from people, his direction and focus for Kings and Crooks was never clearer.

“The future of Kings & Crooks will be heavily focused on pushing the playing card industry forward by creating fresh ideas and creating many accessories and lifestyle items to complement the magician, hustler and playing card connoisseur in raising their game in their art and life.Taking risks and breaking molds for our art so you can do the impossible with yours, that's my aim. For too long, magic and collectors have had to endure a less than favorable image in the press and minds of people outside the industry. I want to bring innovative style and substance to re-enforce a positive, stylish, powerful image by creating bold lifestyle products and tools to help complement and inspire the talented hustlers, artists and collectors among us. Give them the unique tools to express their passions, to help them come alive and make their mark.”

In the end Lee still has goals and an attachment to the item that has driven his dream for so long…Playing Cards.

“The smell, the feel, the sound. I love everything about playing cards and the possibility they represent.”

He is still passionate about magic, gambling, sleight of hand and still has a sentimental memory that he still hangs on to, memories of himself as a young boy getting his 1st Tally Ho deck. He still loves seeing amazing things done with cards. Whether it’s an amazing trick or well executed flourish. And of course with all of these loves and interests one can’t help but start to build a collection of cards of his own. His goals are very similar to a lot of people, but with a creativity and drive that’s all Lee…

“I want to do what I love, every day, for people who like it and in return make a living from my passions. To elevate the world of playing cards, evolve the industry and make awesome sh** for awesome people. To be able to continue to travel the world, injecting each day with creativity and purpose to enjoy a fulfilled and meaningful existence. To inspire others to take risks for their dreams, make them real and to show that not only is it possible, that it's worth every scary new step to get there. Kings & Crooks is bigger than just playing cards, and I hope in time I can show you all exactly what I mean by that.”

So here we are, 2014 and Lee is more driven than ever. He has great plans for Kings and Crooks, along with the follow up project to the Empire deck. The Kings and Crooks website will be up and running soon, if you haven’t checked it out and signed up for notifications yet, I would recommend doing so. Lee has some great sneak peaks scheduled along with some giveaways planned for this upcoming year and you don’t want to miss out.


Lee was nice enough to share his story and even nicer of him was answering a few more questions:

1. Was it difficult to leave Ellusionist and take that 1st step to fulfilling your dream?
It was difficult in the way that I was effectively cutting off all income, until; hopefully my Empire Kickstarter was successful. It was a risk quitting freelancing cold turkey, but what felt so completely right was that I was doing it for the right reason and every single bone in my body felt it. I had a great run with Ellusionist, but I wanted what seemed impossible for them to give, and something I know I couldn't ask for. To not just be a gun for hire, like any other freelancer, but to be a part of each product that I poured my soul into. If I didn't like magic or playing cards so much and I was just a random designer, things would have been very different, but I knew I wanted to make this a bigger part of my life. It meant so much to me. I felt I was hired to build someone else’s dreams, and I wanted to build my own. They gave me such a great experience and freedom to express myself and I enjoyed every second working with them. It was just time for me to take my shot.

Freelancing has been very tough which is why we went to live in Thailand to save money and live so much cheaper than we could anywhere else. The famous "noodle-diet" was our 1 meal a day and I lost so much weight. However, we loved living there and got a chance to really experience a new life, working on our future without it costing us everything. All I wanted was to share my passion with the world and make a living in return, but it's never that simple.

My Granddads passing shown me we don't have a lot of time here and that no matter what you believe, right now in this very moment, we all have this one life to live. You can spend it in regret, always thinking, “I should have done this… I should have done that…” Or you can take a step toward something much more. Do what makes you happy and brings happiness to others. Everything else is secondary. It's never easy, but nothing worth doing ever is. Plus, it’s so much more rewarding.

I believe you should earn your existence. Contribute to something greater than yourself in life and above all, don't live with regrets and "what ifs". When things around you are quiet and you can finally hear the little voice inside you, take note of what it says, take steps towards something happier and don't listen to anyone else who tries to stop you. There will always be resistance.

2. Do you have a “Creative Process” you go through when working on a new project?
Not so much a process, but a selection of things that help to realize a new idea. First of all, being under the open sky creates a powerful stream of imagination that opens me up to so much possibility. My best ideas for everything have always benefitted from some time outside. My head seems like a little theatre that plays movies of all the possibilities I'm thinking of. Joining the dots. Things just come together and I get so excited. Next, to solidify these thoughts and notes, I love to punch relative keywords into Google and see what random things show up. This creates further insight into strengthening and visualizing a much more real idea. Then, it's playtime. Crank up Photoshop or Illustrator, get a sketchpad going and let the floodgates open. Add, subtract, test, move, recreate, delete, and start again.

This is how it goes until something emerges and a story starts to be told in front of me. It becomes like a quest of perfection, creation and destruction over and over until something clicks and feels right. It's hard to nail down the way creativity flows, but that's a bunch of ways that seem to be common in my approach. If there was an actual "process" I feel things would be more efficient, sure, but maybe at the cost of being less inspired. Pumping out the same lackluster execution can definitely still “do well”, but I can’t sleep at night knowing I short changed anyone else, let alone myself. Some people can. I’m just not him. Betraying yourself or anyone else’s trust for dollars is a dirty game, wrapped up in nice packaging and hard to see.

3. Is there a story behind the name “Kings and Crooks”?
It's possible for you to be the magician, the performer, to exist as the entertainer and showman delighting audiences with your miracles and talent. To lead and serve, to deceive with a smile and to give to the people things only you can. A power only you possess. A King. Or, the very same person could take those hard earned skills, leave the spotlight behind and enter underhandedly into dealings and deceptive practices built to strip others of their cash, their belongings and have no one be the wiser. The darker side, the Crook. The same deceptive talents and skills could serve you in the light or in the shade. The choice is ours and people choose different paths. Both paths involve stepping out into the unknown with your art and doing whatever it takes to make your mark on the world. A bolder breed that play in the spotlight or shadows. Give or take. Delight or deceive. They are the Kings and Crooks, the original hustlers.

4. With Empire marking your 1st independent project and 1st Kickstarter, what were the few days before going live like?
Horrible. Back and forth between sickening nervousness and excitement. I cared so much about this, my first move on my own. I worked solidly for almost a year on this. The trailer, the art, everything took so much from me and here I was days before thinking to myself, "what if no-one even cares?” My worst fear. No more income, we were literally living on our last few hundred pounds. It all came down to this. I've faced a lot of challenging situations before through travelling and trying to walk my own path, but this was about to be public. Judged in front of thousands. What if they hated me and I failed. My entire future depends on what people I don't yet know think of my work and me. It was one of the worst feelings, which soon became one the absolute greatest.

I couldn't believe how soon we got funded and how much everyone loved Empire. I could have easily backed out, and the world would never known. But I'd know and I'd have to live with that every day. I promised my Granddad and myself that I would never live to regret again. So, I took the step and even though I'm nowhere near being able to make living doing this for people, I know its worthwhile journey and more importantly, that it's possible if I keep doing things that scare me and move forward. I have such great support from family, friends and relatives; I'd be letting them down now too, which is always a good way to remove any doubts that creep in along the way. If I didn't care so much about this, I wouldn't be so affected. I guess that’s a good sign and a true testament to the hustling it takes to make your mark on the world. That has become some of the core values of Kings & Crooks.

5. Are there any new projects on the horizon or in the works?
So many projects on the horizon I can't begin to tell you. Playing cards galore and lots more incredibly exciting ideas to complement them. It's a bright future, and if I can count on the support of all the amazing people who've backed me so far, it's going to be a great ride for all of us.

As always, any last thoughts or comments for everyone?
Go, do and be anything you want to. It's almost cliché but life IS too short to choose things that don't make us happy. Every choice we have ever made has brought us to where we are now. If you don't like something about where you are now, you need to start making different decisions. Our destiny is reached not by chance, but by choice. It's not something to be waited for; it's something to be achieved. Smile, travel, do what you love and be happy. When something hits you and you know that it would make you really happy, it might seem risky, but just know that the real risk is standing still and not pursuing it. I've come to see fear as a sign that usually means that you should do something. "The brave may not live forever but the cautious do not live at all". As Bruce and my awesome Morgan Freeman impersonator said in the Empire trailer, "Live a life worth remembering"

Finally, thank you Anthony for this opportunity to share bits of my story with you and your readers. I hope it's an interesting read. And thank you to all everyone who's supported me on this ride, before and after Empire was launched. It may only seem like a deck of cards to many, but your support means more than you'll know.

Onwards and upwards.

I can’t begin to thank Lee enough for taking the time to share and collaborate on this piece with me, Lee’s definitely on the list of people I would love to meet in person. Full of energy, drive, passion and creativity…what’s not to like. If you want to keep track of Lee’s upcoming playing card projects you can visit his site and subscribe at kingsandcrooks.com, follow on Facebook, on twitter. You can find Lee personally at @leemckenzie.

Until next time!


This exclusive 1-on-1 is written by Anthony Ingrassia for kardify. No part of this article can be reproduced without written permission from the author. You can check out Anthony's awesome collection at sparkzcollector.

1-ON-1 UnCommon Beat

In late 2012 the designing duo of Scott and Sara Perry, better known in the card community as UnCommon Beat, released their first project via Kickstarter to great support and backing. The deck was Urban Punk, a Graffiti Street Art Inspired Deck that lent itself to the rebellious undertones and punk subcultures.

” We viewed both the physical cards and traditional designs as a “washed out” concrete wall where the bits of stencil-style graffiti imagery are the energizing and vibrant pop”

About a year later the duo once again took to Kickstarter and the release of their second deck, The Black Book of Cards, a beautiful typographic deck that was a complete change of direction from their first project. The unique design concept and intricate detail, along with the “Book” theme that carried through the debossed leather like texture of the tuck and onto each individual card in the deck struck a chord with collectors and enthusiasts alike. Built on a simple statement…

“We all have a card within the playing card deck assigned to us based on the day we were born”

The project funded in approximately 12 hours of launching and kept a steady momentum reaching over 3000 backers.

Currently working on their new project, Manifesto, Scott and Sara were nice enough to find some time to collaborate on this piece and give us all a little insight into UnCommon Beat.

Tell us a bit about how you ended up at this point, with your careers as well as UnCommon Beat:
“After being in the corporate grind for 7+ years in Chicago directly after college, (Scott worked his way up through the ranks at a Software Development Company and I was in the Advertising/Media world working with some of the largest Consumer Package Good Companies in the US), we knew we wanted something different from life and so we made a hard decision to pack up and start out on something new.  We were both excelling in our fields but knew there was so much more we wanted to do that our lives at the time would not allow.  It was not an easy decision, and at times felt like we were stepping off into an enormous unknown abyss.  The short version of the story is that this journey took us across the world and back again, to places like Singapore, Netherlands, England, Vietnam, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Thailand and Mexico.
We’ve experienced a lot during that time, met a lot of amazing people, and it has brought us to where we are today…two dedicated individuals with a combined background in Computer Information Science – Software Development, Graphic Design/Arts, Marketing, Product Management and a whole lot of gumption☺. setting out to create an entrepreneurial experience for our supporters that brings to life new and unique ideas to the market.  Now a days, you will most likely find us with our heads down focusing on what’s next, chatting with our Kickstarter backers, and drinking lots of coffee.”

With the design background you both have, what attracted you to playing cards as a medium?
“Our love of playing cards started with our love of card games.  Eventually this led to seeing playing cards as an artistic medium and collecting.  But it’s not just the amazing designs on playing cards that we find fascinating but the time, attention, and quality of the playing cards themselves.  Not many canvases out there involve a team of nineteen plus people to produce, extremely expensive machinery, proprietary methods/materials, and have such a rich history.  When getting a deck of cards, you get the whole package (beautifully design cards and a well-crafted medium) and we feel that is extremely unique.  Playing cards are a fantastic way to express an artistic idea through an affordable, tangible, and usable medium - something complicated and dynamic yet so compact that it all fits in the palm of your hand. 

That in itself we think is just brilliant.”


The Black Book of Cards is such a unique deck, how much time went into the design concept and creation?
Roughly a year went into the design and concept.  When we started working on the Black Book of Cards, we decided we really wanted to push the envelope with both the design and the concept of the deck which meant doing something we had never seen done before at a scale we had never seen it done.  While coming up with the design idea and refining the concept for the Black Book, we decided there would be two different deck series stemming from the BBoC.  One deck series would focus on the design idea that we created for Black Book and the other one would focus on the concept of the Black Book of Cards – the concept that we all have a card in the deck (mine’s the three of diamonds and Sara’s is the two of diamonds☺) and that every card in the deck should be completely unique, collectible, and a piece of art in its own right.  (This is where the launch of the next deck in the collection comes in…the Black Book Manifesto coming to Kickstarter this July)
When it comes to the design of the Black Book of Cards, we spent months creating and building the different elements…which includes our signature expansion of the pip designs to our approach to achieve perspective and form.  All of these choices were made to achieve a design concept that would both be signature to the Black Book and allow for flexibility in designing future decks using these same design concepts in different ways [i.e., a black book version using pattern, one using symbols, etc.].
All this and the fact that every single card was completely unique, translated to loads of testing, working/re-working and refinement to 54 different designs.  We ran hundreds of test sheets to make sure that every card was something we would be proud to have as “our” card. 

The Black Book of Cards was quite a different direction than your 1st deck, Urban Punk, why a typographic deck for your second outing?
Urban Punk was originally created to accompany a game we had developed where the concept was about changing the rules and doing things your own way.  Looking back now, we can see how Urban Punk truly reflected a lot of what we felt in our lives at the time…the breaking out from the norm, striving to do something different, and celebrating the differences in those around us.  
The Black Book carries on some of the same undertones.  One idea we were hoping to promote through the Black Book was the idea of taking a moment to see and celebrate the characteristics of those around us.  We even tried to continue this via our website through the “Email a Friend their Card” feature.
As for why we chose typography for the Black Book, it was because of two main reasons (outside of our love for typography of course).  The first reason, as we mentioned earlier, was to do something completely new, something that would both challenge our skills AND push the limits on what had been achieved on playing cards. 
The second reason we chose a typographic deck was that it was the ideal way to introduce the concept that everyone has a card, every card is unique, and each card could be meaningful in different ways. 

Do you have a "Creative Process" you go through when coming up with a new concept?
The process typically starts with verbally brainstorming an idea and talking through every aspect of that concept.  This would be followed up by rough sketches, a collage-type draft board to see if the concept has visual appeal.  If we feel like there’s teeth in the concept, we feel passionate about it, and it fits into our current work load, we then move to pursue it. 
Once we decide on the concept, from there, the actual design process can take on different forms depending on the project. In the spirit of our upcoming Black Book Manifesto Kickstarter, we thought it would be fun to share a development piece of the Queen of Hearts.  When tackling the court cards, we envision it almost like it’s a block of clay where we mold the design - continuously refining, adjusting, and shaping to form each face.

One interesting fact about the Manifesto deck is that all of the face cards are based on the Arrco standard court card faces☺.

Outside of card design, do you have any other design projects that you are involved in currently or would like to explore in the future?
We have a host of other design projects we’re currently pursuing but there is one that we’re particularly excited about which, even though it does have a big card design aspect, reaches far beyond.
As we stated earlier, we have plans for a series of decks which will be based on the concept behind the BBoC. 
Since the Black Book Collection is about treating each card as its own piece of artwork based on the notion that we all hold a card within the deck, we wanted to expand on this concept by teaming up with different talent artist to create the art for each and every card.  (A concept that I’m really excited about as I find myself checking every deck I buy for the two of diamonds to see if it’s something I want to put on my wall.) 
This series will not only provide a nice addition to card collections but reaches far beyond into the tangible space.  Imagine walking into an art gallery and seeing 54 paintings from different artist all with cohesive elements representing different cards in the deck.  It’s a way we can help take this medium we have all come to love so much and re-introduce it to others in a new way. 
The feedback we have heard from different artist has been so positive that we could not wait to get backers involvement to help make this series one of a kind.

This is where the Black Book Manifesto comes in.  The Black Book Manifesto deck, which will be launching on Kickstarter July 9th at Noon EST, will be the foundation for this Artist deck series to follow.  How?  To see more about the Manifesto deck and what’s to come…check out the feature page we developed to explain further:  The Black Book Collection: Manifesto

Any final thoughts or comments?
We realize that you’re typically the interviewer but we would like to take a second to ask you a question…a little lazy Susan interview action if you will :). This is completely off the wall and completely goofy but that’s how we roll….☺
If you had to describe your personality as a tuckbox, what would your tuck box be like?  Covered in bling foil, minimalistic, etc…

Well, usually at this point I’m thanking people for collaborating on the piece, but I wouldn’t want to be rude to Scott and Sara and just brush off their question. So, how would I describe my personality as a tuck box, hmmmm, well I would be a dark rich matte brown or other earth tone, with a bold design and intricate line work that would be embossed and gold foiled……..ya, that’s it.  Oh who am I kidding, look up the Bicycle Brosmind deck……..I’m a little goofy and always looking at the lighter side of life ☺

Anyway………I really want to thank both Scott and Sara for taking the time out of their busy schedules to share a little of their background and future plans. The Black Book of Cards is one of my favorites, I love the concept and the tuck on its own is just beautiful, but more so, it was my very first Kickstarter deck, so it holds a special place in my collection, and Scott and Sara were one of the first designers I reached out to, just to make conversation about the product and they’ve been nothing but pleasant and fun to deal with over the last year. That being said, I’m very excited about Manifesto and I encourage everyone to visit the web site for more insight into the project.



You can find out more about Manifesto and all of UnCommon Beats projects, past and present by visiting their web sites UnCommon Beat , The Black Book of Cards ,  as well as follow them on Facebook to keep up to date on all the newest happenings.


This exclusive 1-on-1 is written by Anthony Ingrassia for kardify. No part of this article can be reproduced without written permission from the author. You can check out Anthony's awesome collection at sparkzcollector or follow him on Facebook-SparkzCollector

1-ON-1: Uusi

In 2010, husband and wife team Peter Dunham and Linnea Gits opened the doors to their new design studio in Chicago Illinois with a very telling idea in mind:  that life is worth the meaningful effort, and its reward is one of discovery.

That design studio was Uusi (Finnish for “new”). Their client list eventually grew to include Herman Miller, Design Within Reach, Chronicle Books, Sharpie, Draft FCB, and Prismacolor. Their work is presented in many diverse media, from Fine Art, Illustration, Graphic & Interior Design to Photography and Woodworking.

Linnea and Peter had been collecting Playing Card decks for years as inspirational objects, and in 2012, decided to design a custom deck of their own. That deck was Blue Blood, which was launched and funded on Kickstarter with huge success and accolades from their backers. Uusi had brought a long-missing Fine Art feel back to the playing card community and opened the door for a creative surge that is still going strong today.

With the success of their first deck, Uusi released their second deck, Bohemia. Its bold “Street art meets Baroque” hand-painted design was release to much of the same success and acclaim which Blue Blood had garnered. With the release of Bohemia, the studio also revealed that it and Blue Blood were the first decks in a planned six deck series, Bohemia being the second deck in the series.

In 2013 Uusi released their next 3 installments to the series, Royal Optik, Blue Blood Redux and Pagan, all via Kickstarter, and all reaching the same success and praise their previous projects had enjoyed. Royal Optik is described as the combination of two art styles “Op Art and Woodcut – coming together to create one completely original playing card deck”. Released in two color variations, Royal Optik was deck 3 in the series.

Blue Blood Redux was the next release, and marked the return of the “Indigo Monarchs” of Blue Blood to an established and new audience that may have missed out on the original Blue Blood deck. Redux was much the same deck as the original with some minor changes consisting of a new tuck box image and some changes to the court cards. They also added unique diptych cards (a “diptych is a work of art in which two image “panels” create one continuous image when joined together) and two new Aces. Redux was not meant to be one of the planned six-deck series, but more of a “companion deck” to Blue Blood. I guess we can call it deck 1B in the series. That is not an official statement, by the way. ;)

The fourth deck in the series is Pagan, returning to one of the oldest mediums in art: oil painting, and drawing inspiration from a personal place for Linnea and Peter:

“Our inspiration for Pagan came from our love of the great forests and lakes of Northern Wisconsin and Michigan's Upper Peninsula. The smell of the woods, their silence and the enormous beauty of the forests and lakes in that region of the US has always inspired us. When you are deep in the forest, the feeling of wilderness is intense - and it was that feeling that became the creative starting point for our new deck.”

The fifth deck in the series, Hotcakes, which is currently Live on Kickstarter, draws its inspiration from traditional 17th Century, full-figure (non-reversible) court cards combined with a mix of Pop Art, such as Andy Warhol’s playful style and Charles Pry’s one-off art decks and Italian designer Emilio Pucci’s pattern work. All these elements combine for a playful, colorful vision of courts of old.

Peter and Linnea were and are very busy with their current project, but still found the time to discuss aspects of their work as designers as well as what Playing Cards mean to them and what the future holds:

Uusi is about much more than Playing cards, which non-playing card project have you been most excited about, either past or present?

Peter and I began as artists and transitioned in to design about ten years ago. Our first design job was with Herman Miller, the renowned US furniture and design company, where we were contracted for a series of murals for their showroom in Chicago. They loved the work so much that we were given the job of creating murals for their National Design Centers in LA, New York and DC as well as their company headquarters in Zealand, Michigan. They also commissioned Peter for site-specific cabinetry and myself for added graphics and desktop items for their showrooms and headquarters. We continued to work in the commercial design market for private clients and large companies like Draft FCB, before starting Uusi in the fall of 2010. Our decision to start our own design studio rose from the desire to get back into the studio process again; focusing on material exploration, craftsmanship and the luxury of refining an idea outside the mainstream of the marketplace. Creating Uusi and this kind of environment has really been our favorite overall project to date!

Do you have a "Creative Process" you go through when taking on a new project?

Our Creative Process depends largely on whether it is a job for one of our clients, or a project for our own company. Client jobs come with their own set of limitations, expectations and deliverables that structure the creative process from the very start. Work for our own company tends to unfold more slowly, and is guided mainly by our passion for a genre and our intuition for what we want to see come to life there. Once we decide to pursue an idea for an object, we start by researching its history. It is important to know where something came from in order to take it somewhere else – we want to continue the conversation (so to speak) within a genre instead of just echoing what is already there.
For the playing cards we have created for Uusi, we used this research process which included not only reading about playing cards and their history, but collecting vintage decks – mainly from Europe. As we began to understand the deck's specific uses and the many ways the artwork had been created, ideas began to take shape on how we wanted to contribute to that story by adding something new to it and making it uniquely our own. At the time we got into designing custom decks – about three years ago – almost all of the new decks we saw were created using computer-based artwork. What we wanted to see was artwork created by hand and using traditional art mediums with a modern theme.

Given our Fine Art backgrounds, this was a natural path for us to take and we decided it would be cool to use as many mediums as we could to fully explore the hand-drawn line and color in the decks.

Another thing we wanted to do was change the way the tuck box was presented. So many decks use the traditional "banknote" design approach – borders that contain imagery and copy. When done well it is very appealing and just what you expect a deck's tuck to look like, but if you push the borders off the box you move into a different packaging realm and can create a more unique look and style that is distinctly your own.

Once we had decided how to approach our own contribution to this genre we were off and running. Knowing our approach to the overall process meant that each deck would have its own unique theme and a new art medium would be chosen to express that theme. The sketch process is the first step in resolving the theme and is often the longest one. Once a final direction is realized though, things move fairly quickly; final artwork is created with small adjustments in design getting worked out along the way and lastly, all artwork is transferred into a digital format for print.


Who are some of your artistic inspirations? Whose work do you really enjoy?

We draw artistic inspiration from so many things!! The natural world is a great source of inspiration as is the Fine Art world. Peter is a big history buff and also loves the mechanical side of the design process – figuring out how things work and the craft involved. With playing cards we are mostly drawn to old European decks. The colors, line work and patterns are really beautiful on these decks as were the processes that created them – chrome lithography, hand-brushed and stenciled colors right down to the way the paper was made – and led the way for so many of the decks we see in use today. We were some of the first designers to employ hand drawn imagery for the artwork in our decks and it has been very cool to see many of the designers that have entered the market after us appreciate that approach and try to incorporate an element of hand drawn work in their decks as well. But ultimately, the way you make your art really doesn't matter as much as your ability to express what it is you want to say successfully – for us it just so happened that a more traditional process was the best one.


There is a question that seems to be on many Playing Card aficionados’ minds as of late. Uusi had gone into this card series stating it would consist of six decks. Well, we're getting close to the end of that series...will we see Uusi deck designs after this series reaches its end?

Well...I guess the rule of thumb here is to say, "never say never"! But in all honesty, this series has taken an enormous amount of time to create and there are definitely other projects we have been itching to get to at the studio. We just signed a licensing contract with the wonderful, Brooklyn-based design manufacturer, Areaware, for our wood animals sets that we are really excited about and for whom we will also be designing other objects and functional items for the home. So I think when deck number six is finally finished and shipped we will feel a great sense of accomplishment in having created such a considered catalog of work, but we will also feel an equal amount of relief to be at its end. I am sure we will always remember this experience as one of the most enjoyable we have had as designers – but since we are not at the finish line yet! - and we are still very much immersed in this community, we are mostly just enjoying it as it is unfolding and whatever the future brings it brings. We hope after we are finished with this series though, we still can participate on some level with the people and companies we have gotten to know and respect and who have made this whole journey so much more enjoyable!



I can’t thank Peter and Linnea enough for their time and collaboration on putting this piece together. Uusi truly has its own unique vision and style, and it’s evident not only in the five decks that they’ve brought to us so far, but in their non-playing card work as well.

If you would like to learn more about Uusi and the work they do, you can visit them on their website or on Facebook.  And don’t forget to check out the newly released Hotcakes Playing Cards now Live on Kickstarter!

This exclusive 1-on-1 is written by Anthony Ingrassia for kardify. No part of this article can be reproduced without written permission from the author. You can check out Anthony's awesome collection at sparkzcollector.

1-on-1: Lotrek

 
In the late 1800’s, French painter Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec - one of the most well-known painters of the Post-Impressionist period - produced some of the most elegant and provocative images of the Paris lifestyle of that era. His work has an unmistakable style all its own and the “Everyman” is probably most familiar with his works inspired by the French cabaret Moulin Rouge, which have been reproduced in poster and print editions for years.

Have you caught the connection? This month I had the opportunity to chat with Lotrek from Half Moon Playing Cards. In our early conversations, I just had to ask where the moniker came from, I was pretty sure that wasn’t his legal name, and he shared that it was in homage to the French Painter and for now he enjoys the mystery of having an "Alter Ego".

Lotrek hails from Greece, a country with a long artistic history, glorious past and a somewhat-troubled present. While you may not see his heritage in his early works, there is no mistaking that he draws on a European sense of artistic inspiration in his more recent designs. Lotrek has studied art and has worked for several years as a freelance illustrator and graphic artist.

In 2011, around the holiday season, he met Russ Stevens of RSVP Magic (Butterfly, Timeless, Dark Deco).

“I met Russ Stevens online in 2011 (it was Christmas time), when he was looking for an artist to design the "Timeless" deck and I was looking for alternatives to my freelance illustration work”

The work with RSVP immediately inspired Lotrek to such a high degree that he became obsessed with Playing Cards. That inspiration became evident to Russ Stevens, who - with some minor guidelines - gave Lotrek complete creative freedom with his work. Timeless was a very successful project and quickly became one of RSVP’s biggest sellers. His success with RSVP continued with the follow up to Timeless, Butterfly

“I found this theme strange for a deck of playing cards and finally I decided to make the courts as humans with Butterfly wings. This was an idea used by art nouveau artists, so the whole deck has this art nouveau feeling.”

Success didn’t go to his head and, much like the classic artists of eras long gone, Lotrek is driven by creativity above all else.

“My goals are rather personal and artistic rather than financial or commercial. I want to evolve as a designer with each new deck I produce.  I want to push my work a bit further every time I get my pencil to draw, even if it’s just for a pip.”

The most interesting thing I learned from our conversation is that Lotrek really doesn’t have a strong tie to Playing Cards. He’s not a magician, although he would love to learn, he’s not a collector in the sense that we might assume. He has decks he’s been given from fellow designers and a few he feels are important to him, but he is definitely not what we would think of as a card aficionado.

“…but I love playing cards as an object. I can perfectly understand someone’s obsession with cards. I’m obsessed with designing them.”

With the release of his third deck – Venexiana – in 2013, Lotrek took the next logical step in his design career and started Half Moon Playing Cards. Since then he has devoted himself to playing card design work and has just finished a very successful Kickstarter campaign of United Cardists’ Annual Deck, Grotesque, which was inspired by ancient Roman decorative art and has some very unique and intricate design elements.

2014 holds some great offerings by Lotrek and Half Moon Playing Cards. With a scheduled “Part 2” to the Venexiana deck and a new, yet top-secret project that will be announced sometime in September.

“…in September I’ll be launching a deck which I consider to be my most important (to me at least) until now.  It requires a lot of research and I’ve been working on the idea for almost two years. I cannot reveal more about it yet though.”

Like many, I can’t wait to see what Lotrek will have to offer next. For now, he was kind enough to answer a few final questions for us:

What inspires your style when you produce a deck (or any art for that matter)?
Difficult to answer. Basically the style of the era my deck is referred to. But also my personal view on it.

Having a few successful decks under your belt, does it get easier or harder with each new project?
It gets easier and also it gets harder. It’s easier because with each deck a larger audience is built, but it also gets harder because each time, I want to produce a better deck than the previous. I don’t want to disappoint people who support me and also I want to satisfy myself, which is –believe me- the most difficult. I know that some of my decks will be more successful than others (financially speaking) but I don’t care about that. I’m not greedy, the only field where I want more and more is the creative field.

When developing a concept, is it difficult to keep the functionality of a deck, while still realizing your vision, design and customization?
I’d say that this is the challenge. I don’t forget that these are meant to be used by people to play with. For me, playing cards are not a showcase for extravagant design. So this limitation makes the designing process more interesting. How will I come up with a new style for the pips and indices while at the same time they’ll be easy to read? That’s the game.

As an Illustrator, where do you see the Playing Card industry headed?
Truly, I cannot predict. One thing is certain, that more and more interesting designs and artists will show up. Bad news for collectors’ pockets but good news for collectors’ hearts!

As with everyone else who has been nice enough to share some of their stories, I want to thank Lotrek for his time and collaboration on this piece.  Lotrek, much like his namesake, has a very unique style that brings very intricate designs as well as an almost classic artistic style to his playing card projects. If Timeless or Butterfly is missing from your collection, I would highly recommend them. They are still available in the marketplace.


You can keep up to date with all the latest Half Moon Playing Card projects by visiting Lotrek on his Facebook Page or visit the Half Moon Playing Cards site.

This exclusive 1-on-1 is written by Anthony Ingrassia for kardify. No part of this article can be reproduced without written permission from the author.