Making a Difference with Midnights Playing Cards

Midnights are a unique deck of playing cards currently seeking funds on Indiegogo. This is not just another deck of playing cards: they represent a poignant, important, and meaningful story, and by owning a deck you’ll be helping to make a truly magical difference in people’s lives. 

Under the umbrella of ‘Breathe Magic’, Breathe Arts Health Research runs the Breathe Magic Intensive Therapy Programme and the Breathe Magic for Mental Health Programme. Both programs are underpinned by scientific research and use the art of magic to help improve physical and mental health. 

The Breathe Magic Intensive Therapy Programme specifically works with young people with hemiplegia to improve physical and mental health. The incredible impact of this programme has been recognised with several awards, accolades and prestigious publications. Following this success, Breathe developed Breathe Magic for Mental Health, reaching a wide range of young people and adults, encompassing work with mental health, stroke, brain injury, communication, well-being and memory loss.

Breathe is a small not-for-profit social enterprise that has to fundraise year-round to continue delivering its programmes. Every deck of Midnights helps Breathe to run more magic programmes; address the long waiting list of children hoping to attend a Breathe Magic camp and fund more discounted places for those facing financial hardship.

Midnights have taken over 18 months of numerous designs, tweaks, and creative collaboration with magicians, playing card collectors, cardists, and designers.

Designed from the ground up by Jez and graphic designer Claire Speight the deck features exclusive court card detailing, unique ace designs, 2 complementing Jokers, and center pip details on spot cards. All of the face cards have larger than average indices in the corners so it doesn’t matter which way you fan the cards, you’ll still be able to see the indices.

The card backs feature a mirrored design with celestial details in a midnight blue colorway. The deck is packaged in a midnight blue tuck box embellished with stunning silver, with a matte lamination over the top. Beautiful to look at and handle. 

Printed by Cartamundi on true linen B9 stock with No9 Cardistry & Magic varnish for super-smooth handling. At the time of writing, Midnights playing cards is only 58% funded with only 3 days to go. To show your support, head to Indiegogo, and pledge starts at $20.

Indiegogo: Alice in Wonderland Playing Cards by Sasha Dounaevski

Designed by Sasha Dounaevski, the Alice in Wonderland Playing Cards is a fully custom illustrated deck with characters from Lewis Carroll’s iconic children's novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. The deck is beautifully crafted with love to each character and affection to details, but still, leaves some space for imagination.

As a card collector and a designer, Sasha realized that she wanted to create her own deck of playing cards.

The decision to create a deck based on the "Alice in Wonderland" was accepted for two reasons. First of all, it is still one of my favorite fairy tales, which always excited my imagination with its absurdity - even in my childhood, while studying at an art school, I wanted to draw illustrations for it, but I did not do it. Secondly, I wanted the idea that is directly related to playing cards and allows me to build the internal logic for the arrangement of illustrations.

The work on the deck was long and with interruptions - about two years. According to Sasha,

First, I tried to paint with watercolor and pencils, but I did not like the result because I was never a good painter. Then I drew with a black graphic pen, but I was not happy either. At some point, I scanned my drawings and after several attempts to process them, I got the idea for my style - a linear drawing with fine lines. Almost all the royal cards were reworked many times, from the characters themselves and their location on suits to color schemes. Finally, I came to the version that you see - in my opinion, it is both gentle but sharp, absurd but logical, "primitive" but rich in detail, just like the story itself.

Each suit represents a scene from the story and features iconic characters such as the White Rabbit, the Caterpillar, the Cheshire Cat, the Hatter and the Queen of Hearts. The cards will be printed by Legends Playing Card Company on Diamond Finish.

The Alice in Wonderland Playing Cards is currently raising funds on Indiegogo and is only 3% funded. If you like what you read here and want to support Sasha, head over to the campaign page and claim a perk.

News: 5 Things You Did Not Know About Butterfly Playing Cards

The gorgeous Butterfly Playing Cards are conceptualized by Ondrej Psenicka and meticulously designed by Swedish graphic designer and magician Stefan Eriksson. The deck features a beautifully designed card backs, gorgeous Ace of Spades and two butterfly silhouette jokers. It has standard US faces as it is intended mainly for magicians who prefer standard faces as they are familiar and easily recognizable by the audience.

1. The Butterfly Playing Cards can do miracles no other cards can do. More performance videos here.



2. It took four years to develop the marking system of The Butterfly Playing Cards.

3. The design has been drawn around the marking system, not the other way.

4. Ondrej will personally supervise the production of the cards in Cartamundi's mother factory in Turnhout, Belgium.

5. The casino vision check at Cartamundi will be especially adapted to guarantee a first class cut to The Butterfly Playing Cards. For a perfect registration of the edges, any deck containing even a single card that is off-cut for more than 0.5 mm gets discarded.

Pledge starts from $15 and available now on Indiegogo. Don't miss out!

First Look: Butterfly Playing Cards by Ondrej Psenicka

Butterfly Playing Cards are conceptualised by Ondrej Psenicka and beautifully designed by Swedish graphic designer and magician Stefan Eriksson. The deck has been in development for almost 4 years! Stefan created several different prototype designs and only one was selected after going through many stages of refinement.

Designed specifically for the magicians in mind, this groundbreaking deck features a unique marking system hidden in its back design.



Butterfly Playing Cards will also appeal to cardists, collectors and fans of design and beautiful cards! The deck features a beautifully designed card backs, gorgeous Ace of Spades and two butterfly silhouette jokers. It has standard US faces as it is intended mainly for magicians who prefer standard faces as they are familiar and easily recognisable by the audience.

Earlier, we received the prototype decks beautifully wrapped in colourful high-quality paper reminisce of the colourful wings of the butterflies. Very nice personal touch and a delight to the deck's recipient.

The cards will be printed in Belgium by Cartamundi on their brand new card stock. The Butterfly Playing Cards will launch on Indiegogo on November 16.

Don't miss out! Follow Butterfly Playing Cards on Facebook for updates and performance videos. 

Indiegogo: VIGOR Playing Cards by Alvin Herp and Edo Huang

Just launched on Indiegogo, the VIGOR Playing Cards deck is a collaboration between cardist Alvin Herp and designer/magician Edo Huang. VIGOR was officially unveiled during Alvin and Edo's Cardistry workshop in Tangerang, Indonesia back in September. According to Alvin,

Vigor Playing Cards is just my first take on designing a custom deck, like a chance to show people what my own deck of cards would look like. The deck is named Vigor because I think when doing whatever we do in life we all need a bit of enthusiasm, and we have put a lot of it in this deck and we cannot wait to see people shuffle with vigor as well.

Vigor has been crafted with cardists in mind and features custom tuck box, borderless card back, custom Ace, courts and jokers. On the card design, Alvin said,

My passion is cardistry so that's why I want to make the cards look beautiful in motion. What I really love about this deck is the court cards. They are built upon one hexagon frame and all the shapes and the lines just grow from there.

Alvin continued,

Edo has been extremely helpful in this project. He handled several things, especially the back design. We love it and we hope people love it too.

VIGOR Playing Cards will be printed by Bomber Playing Card Co. in Taiwan and pledge starts from $10. Check it out here on Indiegogo!

First Look: Enigma Playing Cards by Enigma Cards

Launching NOW on Indiegogo are the Enigma Playing Cards. Produced by Enigma Cards based out of Monterrey, Mexico and founded in 2007, is currently Mexico's largest playing card retailer. Founder Héctor Pérez Bejarano has built the company with a passion for cardisty and magic.

We strive to give the best experience possible to our clients when they are looking to buy playing cards, and in this journey we set a challenge to ourselves, how could we reimagine a deck of cards different from what is available right now. 

Enlisting the help of Anagrama Studio, a world-renowned Mexican design team know for their work on architecture and branding, Enigma was presented to them as a challenge.

We were looking to create a deck that would set itself apart from any known deck available in the current market, using elements not commonly used in playing card designs but at the same time we wanted this deck to be our presentation card to the international world of card collecting, magic and cardistry.

The concept of the deck is based on the definition of the word Enigma, a puzzling or inexplicable occurrence. The goal was to bring the "Definition" to the deck without an overly complicated design.

The back design uses horizontal traces to maintain and enhance the movement and flow of cardistry moves. It also suggests the idea of a riddle, a labyrinth, some might think there is something hidden in it. At the same time the back design produces an optical illusion were the spectators brain might try to fill in the empty spaces between the horizontal traces enhancing the decks presence when performing.  

The court cards have been designed with the same minimalist approach as the box, stripping down all the “heavy” elements from the court cards and making them simple and sleek.

The ace of spades it's our mascot, the all seeing eye embedded in a big spade that is being pierced by 2 swords. It's the only eye in the whole deck (all the court cards are missing their eyes).

Enigma is being printed by The Expert Playing Card Co. and single deck rewards start at $14.00 (Includes FREE shipping to the US and Mexico). The project will also have a few stretch goals attached to it, including, embossed tuck box, full custom court cards and a custom seal. Included in the campaign will be some awesome "Enigma" add-on's such as shirts, close up pads, coins and a few other special items.

Enigma is a bold, retro project and we appreciate the time and information Héctor has given us. We would also like to acknowledge the entire Enigma team for their hard work and dedication to this project.
+ Co-founder: Claudia Sepúlveda
+ Design Team: Maria Rosa Pérez Bejarano
+ Operation Managers: Jose Luis Cantu Gonzalez, Noe Cantu Gonzalez and
+ Sponsored Cardists: Raul Torres, Luis Faz, Fran CG and Saúl García has given us.

[post_ad]

Indiegogo: 7 Questions with Khanh of Doong Doong Playing Cards

Just launched on Indiegogo, Doong Doong Playing Cards are designed by Khanh. This exotic deck is inspired by the pattern motifs on the Dong Son bronze drums and Lac Viet culture. From the circles, triangles, Viet bird and deer, the Doong Doong deck is designed according to the characteristics of the ancient culture in Vietnam with a modern twist and brings a touch sophistication.

With this being Khanh's first venture into the custom playing card arena on Indiegogo, we were happy to have a chance to talk to him about his maiden voyage, and concept behind Doong Doong Playing Cards.

For those of us who don’t know, tell us a little about yourself and iV?
My name is Khanh and I’m a cardist from Saigon, Vietnam. I started cardistry about 5 years ago and I’m also an illustrator. I love drawing and create something with all my art. iV is an organization about cardistry based in Saigon, which I founded in 2012.

You are a really good cardist! What motivated you to create your own deck of cards? Thanks, the thing that motivated me to created my own deck of cards is I want a deck of cards exclusively for iV. The other reason is because I like to design playing cards. Here's a fun fact, I want to put the faces of everyone in iV to the face design of playing cards. I realised that I could use all the face and make my own deck of cards.

What is your inspiration behind the Doong Doong Playing Cards? How did you come up with the idea?
I love everything that does not adhere to any rules. The break will create many new and exciting things. Instead of following the norm, why not remove the barrier and make up something different? That is why most of the elements of the back design are not located under a certain circle (for example, Viet birds, deers, etc). The deck is mostly inspired by the Doong Doong pattern motifs on the Dong Son bronze drums and Lac Viet culture. From the circles, triangles to the Viet birds and deers, Doong Doong is designed according to the characteristics of the ancient culture in Vietnam with a modern twist and brings a touch sophistication.

I came up with the idea when I saw the pattern on the Dong Son drum and asked myself, "Why can't I put the pattern of the Dong Son drum and Lac Viet culture and make it more modern?” I then started collecting material on everything related to the Dong Son bronze drums and Lac Viet culture, starting with the smallest pattern details to the characteristic motifs, the design has undergone several updates and now this is what you see on the backs of Doong Doong Playing Cards.

I know you put a lot of time and effort into your work, how much time has gone into the deck? About 2 years from concept to illustrating the patterns. Initially, it is very difficult as I have identified the difference between the various cultures of the bronze drums in Vietnam. After that, arranging the pattern motifs on the back of the design, and then picking the color.

Originally, the backs of Doong Doong playing card did not have the black background and yellow motifs. It was white motifs on the dark blue background. However, I wanted to make it really elegant and classy. So I decided to change the color. This was on my mind a lot when I was conceptualizing the design.

From the project page, what are a few of your favorite perks and why?
My favourite reward is the uncut sheet. I love to see all the cards framed. It looks like all my artwork I've done and then framed. Believe me, you guys will see a beautiful uncut sheet if this campaign is successful.

What’s next? Can we expect to see more card designs in the future from iV?
Yes, sure. You can look forward to more playing cards design and some great cardistry products from iV in the future. We just need more time.

Finally, what are your favourite playing card decks?
There are so many good decks out there now, and it's impossible to pick just one. Having said that, I love Bee Erdnase, Rarebit Copper Edition and all the version of The Virts.

Thank you for your time Khanh and all the best! If you like what you’ve read here and want to support Doong Doong Playing Cards, you can find it on Indiegogo here. 


Printed by Legends Playing Card Co, Doong Doong Playing Cards are designed with card enthusiasts, cardists, sleight of hand artists and poker players in mind. Pledge starts from $14 and add-ons such the uncut sheets are available.

First Look: Doong Doong Playing Cards by Khanh

Two years in the making, Doong Doong Playing Cards are designed by Khanh.This exotic deck is inspired by the pattern motifs on the Dong Son bronze drums and Lac Viet culture. From the circles, triangles, Viet bird and deer, the Doong Doong is designed according to the characteristics of the ancient culture in Vietnam with a modern twist and brings a touch sophistication.

The intricate back design is made out of four Viet birds flying around the rhombus features detailed characteristics adapted from Lac Viet culture.

According to Khanh, the four Viet birds represents the number of years since iV, a cardistry and sleight of hand group in Saigon, Vietnam, was established- "VII VII MMXII – VII VII MMXVI".

On the court cards, Khanh said,

I wanted to design something classic but contemporary in nature, hence no borders, no standard faces and new weapons.

Printed by Legends Playing Card Co, Doong Doong Playing Cards are designed with card enthusiasts, cardists, sleight of hand artists and poker players in mind.

Doong Doong Playing Cards is scheduled to launch on Indiegogo in July 2016. To keep up to date with Doong Doong Playing Cards and anything iV, follow them on Facebook or Instagram.

First Look: Pearl Playing Cards by Toomas Pintson

[Update] Pearl playing cards are now LIVE on Indiegogo!

Pearl deck is a new custom deck of cards designed by Toomas Pintson - an Estonian card magician, playing card collector and multimedia designer mostly known in the card/magic community for his photo realistic playing card 3D renderings.

Pearl playing cards are inspired by the beauty of nature. Designed from ground up this deck features an unique and very colourful hand painted back design and elegant custom court cards that nicely complement the back design and vice versa. Pearl deck also comes with 4 custom aces and two jokers. This deck will be printed by Expert Playing Card Co.

[Update] Pearl playing cards are now LIVE on Indiegogo!

Pearl deck will be available on Indigogo tomorrow 3rd August 5pm UTC and early bird perks are available. So, don't miss out!

Keep up to date with the Pearl deck, follow pearlplayingcards on instagram.

Indiegogo: 7 Questions with Benjamin Loo of Mantecore Playing Cards

Inspired by their love for this majestic beast, Mantecore Playing Cards is a bold deck of cards designed by Edo Huang and Benjamin Loo. The deck was named as a tribute to magicians Siegfried and Roy's famous tiger.

Fully custom, Mantecore features an intricate back design inspired by one of the most classic back design, the Rider Backs. The pips have a fresh new look but are yet easily recognisable. The court have been simplified, enlarged and tweaked to look younger. Also, the borders that restrict the royals have also been removed and the colours have been updated to match the deck theme.

We managed to have a quick chat with Benjamin about his collaboration with Edo, the inspiration behind Mantecore and thoughts about playing cards on social media.

Can you tell us about yourself and how did you end-up collaborating with Edo Huang?
I am Benjamin from Singapore and I have been doing magic for about 8 years now and I have a degree in Psychology. It started off when we took interest on each other's Instagram posts. We then exchanged contacts (sounds like a love story so far) and started discussing about magic and playing card designs. Soon after, I tossed some ideas to Edo and he really liked them and the rest is history.

This is your first Indiegogo project. When did you first start thinking about using Indiegogo? What made you decide to take the plunge?
After the designs were underway, we had to have a platform to share it. I then researched on the platforms available and narrowed down to Indiegogo and Kickstarter. Kickstarter seemed like the obvious choice but we soon found out that we were not able to start a campaign due to where we were from and they do not allow funds collected on Kickstarter to be donated. Thus we turned to Indiegogo and have never looked back.

We decided to take the plunge sometime last year when Edo wanted to do a design that was more elaborate than what he has already put out. He contacted me and I shared my concept with him. We thought that a cross-country collaboration would be awesome and explored that idea to what it is today.

What is your inspiration behind Mantecore Playing Cards? How did you come up with the idea?
I think that tigers are really majestic beasts and am a little saddened that the population of my favourite animal is dwindling. I have long wanted a deck with tigers as the main theme for that reason. I also really like Mark Stutzman's work with the Split Spades and Whispering Imps. Thus I contacted Edo and shared this idea with him. We incorporated this with the most classic back designs and Mantecore was born.

What role did you play in the art direction and how much time did you spend working on the deck?
I basically told Edo what I wanted as a skeleton of the deck and gave him free rein on how he wanted to translate that into pen and paper. He would then submit what he drew and we would discuss and refine the artwork. Believe it or not the first draft of the deck was nothing like the final product.

Most of my time after work and during the weekends were spend either discussing the drafts with Edo, marketing the deck, discussing about the deck with Lawrence from Legends Playing Card Company or setting up the campaign for the decks since the start of the year.

We initially noticed Mantecore on Social Media predominantly Instagram. What do you think of the playing card community on Social Media? 
The number of media on Instagram that has playingcards as a hash tag is currently 160,000 and counting. I love the community on Instagram. That is where I found many super awesome friends who are so skilled and talented. It is also a great platform where people can share crazy pictures of their playing card collection, new moves or flourishes that they just learnt in 15 seconds or under. Some people like @lost_angelus, @shoe32 and @playingcardart are sharing some really eye catching pictures involving playing cards. Go give them a follow If you haven't already.

Social media also connects people from all around the world, which is I like about it. Sharing of ideas can now be done so easily. It is actually how Edo and came to know each other. Without Instagram, there would not have been Mantecore.

With so many playing card projects competing for funding, why should potential backers choose your deck?
Our campaign tagline is " Shuffling Stripes with a Cause". We didn't want Mantecore to be just another deck of cards, we wanted it to have a cause as well. Thus we added a line on the side of the box that says "Save the Tigers" to remind people of their dwindling numbers. We would also donate 5% of profits after the campaign to the Save The Tiger - Panthera Fund.

The entire deck is also custom, from the box, right down to the pips. We have not 1 but 4 custom aces; tweaked court cards that are simplified and look younger but are still familiar to the lay audience; as well as a joker reveal and a double backer for the magicians out there. The backs of Mantecore also has subtle area where magicians can mark their decks.

Finally, what are your favourite playing card decks? 
My favourite decks are the Smoke and Mirrors series as well as Split Spades. The design and handling of those decks are what sets them apart.

Awesome! At the time of writing, the project is only 18% funded with 31 days to go. If want to support the Mantecore Playing Cards, you can find it on Indiegogo here. 


Mantecore Playing Cards will be printed by LPCC and pledge starts from $8.

Indiegogo: 7 Questions with Kenneth Aidan Foo of Isometric playing Cards

Isometric Playing Cards are a deck of playing cards designed with cardists and magicians in mind. Created by Kenneth Aidan Foo, mastermind behind the popular card flourish, Ripple, this aesthetically pleasing deck is sure to grab attention in a quick glance.

Exuding style, this deck subtly pays tribute to one of the great classics, the Tally Ho Circle backs. The design is centered around a hexagon with triangles blading out along the short ends. The striking blues, combines with the stark geometric design and two-toned greys accentuate spinning flourishes, fans, cuts and displays.

We were able to catch-up with Kenneth for a quick chat on the Isometric deck, the design process and cardistry.

You are an amazing cardist! Can you tell us about yourself and how long have you been doing cardistry?
That’s so nice of you to say! Well, first off, my name is Kenneth, I’m a Singaporean born and raised, studying in Perth, Australia. I've been doing cardistry for about 7 years now!

When did you first start thinking about using Indiegogo for the project? What made you decide to take the plunge?
Well, I had initially planned to use Kickstarter, however, after setting up an account and beginning to formulate a marketing plan, I realised that Kickstarter did not support Singapore citizens so I had to make the move to Indiegogo. It is super unfortunate that people don’t see Indiegogo in the same light as Kickstarter. Indiegogo has been a pretty satisfactory platform for me so far!

What is your inspiration behind the Isometric Playing Cards? How did you come up with the idea?
I had wanted to make my own deck of cards for a very long time. A lot of the early versions consisted of triangles and hexagons. I gave up on designing the deck for a couple of months and focused on a bunch of other projects. Eventually I decided that my deck would pay tribute to the Tally Ho circle backs and slowly everything fell into place.

Some people see a major similarity with the Isometric Playing Cards to the Virtuoso deck. I can definitely see the similarity, but I felt that my design offered a different sort of take on the concept of geometric backs.

Walk us through the process you took to design this unique deck. How did you get to this finished product and what was your most brilliant breakthrough when designing the deck?
That’s a tough one to explain. I’ve had this long standing fascination with hexagons and wanted to find a way to incorporate them into something I did. Eventually, like I said earlier, I decided that I would use one of my all-time favourite decks – Tally Ho Circle Backs, as a starting point and everything fell into place.

The hexagon sat nicely in the centre and the “blades” of the design mirrored the lines along the top of the circle backs. The most brilliant breakthrough was the colour scheme. I was trying to find something that looked different enough, and was experimenting with a wide range of hues and colours to fill the 10 triangles in the deck. It is much harder than it looks. After a few nights of experimenting, I finally came to the current colour scheme and just loved the heck out of it.

With all the projects competing for funding, why should potential backers choose your deck? Well, I've found that a lot of the current decks vying for funding are either super intricately designed decks that are going for the “custom everything” look, or the super minimal, almost lazy, design. The Isometric Playing Cards offer a really cool, simple custom back design that catches the eye, but at the same time doesn't feel too lazy, or go too overboard.

At the same time, they are going at a really affordable price for backers! I don’t want my deck to sit on someone’s shelf as a “super rare limited collector’s edition”. I want to see people use them!

What do you think of about the growing trend of cardists having their own brand?
It is really great to see people willing to take risks and developing their own brands. Not just with cards, but with merchandise and marketing as well! One piece of advice that I can give for cardists developing their brand though, is to take your time to find out what you are trying to achieve. I often see very new cardists struggle with trying to make themselves popular by putting out video after video and picture after picture. Work on your material first, then find out how your material can work for you.

Finally, what are your favourite playing card decks?
I gotta go with the classics. Blue Seal Tally Ho Circle Backs and original Studs. I would stab someone to get my hands on more of those cards.

Thank you for your time, Kenneth and all the best! If you like what you've read here and want to support Isometric Playing Cards, you can find it on Indiegogo Here! 

Pledge starts from USD$12 and will be printed by Legends Playing Card Co on their Emerald stock and finish.

Indiegogo: 7 Questions with Fabien Defaucheux of the French Touch Playing Cards

The French Touch is a minimalist deck of playing cards, with character. The combination of colours from the French flag gives the deck an artistic and flamboyant look. Expertly designed by Fabien Defaucheux, the French Touch Playing Cards is a tribute to the old decks of 32 playing cards from France and Belgium, which were the first to use spades, hearts, clubs and diamonds suits.

The elegantly decorated French courts have also been meticulously incorporated into this deck. For example, a thick black diagonal line, with a row of white beads as a decoration, doubles the characters. Also, a large suit symbol, partially cut, is repeated by the index in the left corner. In the right corner, instead, the small index overlaps the most peculiar feature of the French pattern: the name of the court character, which each of the 12 subjects has been traditionally identified with. Note the indices are in French: V (Valet = knave), D (Dame = queen) and R (Roi = king). A very eye-catching deck indeed!

Fabien was nice enough to spend some time talking about his design background, the French Touch Playing Cards and the Instagram Playing Card community.

Can you tell us about yourself and what is your design background?
My names is Fabien Defaucheux and I am a 22 years old cardist/flourisher and graphic designer. When I was a kid, I was drawing all the time and this is why I got interested in Art in general. I studied graphic design, architecture and art history for the last five years. Now, I always keep an open eye on what's going on in those fields. I never was really interested in designing something on the computer, I always used it for montages, or to enhance photos of mine. I started graphic design about 2 years ago using Illustrator.

This is your first crowd-funded playing card project. Why Indiegogo?
Well, it is impossible to use Kickstarter if you live in France (for the moment, hopefully). I could have done it with the help of somebody from outside the country, but I actually decided that I would do everything myself, and have a few friends of mine to promote the concept before the launch. I hope that being on Indiegogo won't prevent people from buying the deck. I mean, it is a crowdfunding platform like any other, and the red Fontaines were funded on Indiegogo.

What is the inspiration behind the French Touch playing cards and why are you passionate about it?
The main inspirations for this deck are the old decks of 32 playing cards from France and Belgium. They were literally the first to ever use spades, hearts, clubs and diamonds for the different four suits. I also love how the index of the cards are displayed and the names of the court cards is something very unique that I wanted to keep as well (yes, the Kings, Queens and Jacks have names!)

As for the name, French Touch, I think it's an expression that a lot of people use to describe something made by a French person. The « French Touch » that I actually refer to is the one that occured in the music area. All these musician like Daft Punk, Air, Kavinsly, Justice, Sebastien Tellier,  represent a group of french musician that took over the electronic music industry in the begining of the 90's and they were referred to as the « French Touch ». All the songs I used in the trailer and in the project video are songs from this era, and they have a very unique sound and feel that I really love.

I am really passionate about this because I believe that this project actually makes sense. It is a fully custom deck of playing card with French faces and colors and I really hope people will start using this deck and love it as much as I do.

How much time did you spend working on the deck and can you briefly go through the design evolution of one of your unique card design?
I've been working on my deck for nearly one year now, but it was a really slow process. As I said, I work as a graphic designer for a communication company, and I don't really want to keep working on my computer when I finish my day, even if it is for a personal project. I worked on this over the weekend or basically everytime I have some spare time.

Initially, I wanted to create a deck of cards that would feature a really simple back design. But then, after talking with some friends, I figured it would be fun to have classic French faces for my deck. These court cards are really different for what we use to have in the market. From that point I knew I wanted to do a fully customised design and again, it took me 2-3 days (litterally doing nothing but that) to complete the faces.

For the tuck case, I literally went through 3 different designs, but I wasn't satisfied with it. I ended up creating a box with inspiration from the Steamboat 999, that means illustrations and bold fonts on the edges.

From the French Touch playing cards project page, what are a few of your favorite reward levels and why? 
My favorite reward would be the t-shirts! I had my friend Benoit Pervier (@benoitpervier on Instagram) to create some unique photos to be printed on t-shirts. I'm really excited to see those printed, I really want the « French Touch » to be displayed as a brand and if the project hit the funding goal, I will be able to keep creating decks of playing cards, along with some cool products for magicians and cardists in general.

My favorite reward would be the uncut sheet, but also the deck it self, because if I ever happen to have those in my hands, that would mean that the project was fully funded. I really hope that people like the concept of this deck, I think the market needs more custom court cards like this, and also decks that have a story behind them (like the Ace fulton or the Virtuoso deck)

We first noticed the French Touch playing cards on your Instagram page. What do you think of the playing card community in terms of the feedback and support that you’ve been getting so far?
I feel very special to be a part of this wonderful community. The feedbacks I receive everyday is really something that pushes me to create and raise the quality of the photos I'm taking. We have some great products being released litteraly everyday, and I think it's fun being able to share and discover photos of cards that we don't know about. This is also Why I decided to tease my personal deck on Instagram, and I even created a new account for the French Touch Playing Card Co. People have been really responsive to my design so far, they like what I created and I really hope my deck becomes something people use in their videos and enjoy using in their performances.

Finally, what are your favourite playing card decks? 
My favorite decks of playing cards are the whole Smoke and Mirrors series. I was a huge fan of Si Scott's work even before it's collaboration with D&D and I was really excited when I first saw his design for the Buck twins.

The last decks these guys have realeased (Magic Con 2014, HMNIM) have a phenomenal finish and that's something they have always been known for. They keep pushing the boundaries of what is being done in terms of design and packaging and I really respect the work they do for every product they release.

Thank you for your time Fabien and all the best! 


The French Touch Playing Cards will be printed USPCC. Pledge starts from 8€ ($11) and there are multiple add-ons available such as uncut sheets, T-Shirts and Prints.