Cardistry: What is CARDESTROY?

2016 has been a BIG year for Shivraj Morzaria. He was voted Breakout Cardist of the Year at the Cardistry-Con in Berlin, and the Cardistry genre he created, 'Cardestroy' has gained attention of mainstream media. From the social pages of Tech Insider, the HOOK to news channels like EBC Taiwan and Teletrece Chile. You will have probably seen it on your social news feed.

So what is Cardestroy? According to Shivraj,

The idea behind it was to find a use for the 'poop decks' (old decks) which I felt like throwing away. So I decided to do something weird with them. I bent the cards in such a way that they would follow some unique motions/mechanics or chain reactions. Now this was something that unlocked a new door for creativity. It was like "Dude! I'm not dealing with just rectangles anymore." 

The basic idea is based on an arrangement done on a flat surface, hands or anywhere possible and put in motion. Shivraj continued,

It was named "Cardestroy" because here cards were destroyed (folded/cut/rolled/etc.) to create. When I started with cardestroy, surprisingly the feedback graph started rising at an insane rate and the fun also increased proportionally. So I decided to promote the art. Although one should not confuse it with "Origami". The flexible definition I formed for it is: It is the art of destroying the cards in various way like Folding, Cutting, Rolling, etc. and bringing them to motion. But not using any sort of glue or tape or any other adhesives.

Check out this mesmerizing video of Cardestroy:



For EVERYTHING Cardestroy, head to Cardestroy.com.

Top 12: Playing Cards of 2016

What an incredible year for playing cards! From big magic companies to independent designers, 2016 has been filled with amazing new talents and incredible innovations. To celebrate we've compiled 12 of our favorite decks right here. Compiling the list has been especially challenging with all the amazing decks released this year. If you think we missed your favorite deck out, let us know in the comment section below. :)

Note that the selection expressed in this top 12 are solely those of the author and the list is in no particular order.

Silver Arrows

The Silver Arrows Playing Cards are a sleek and polished playing cards meticulously designed by Jackson Robinson. The deck features an industry first full bleed foil back design and showcases signature Kings Wild court cards as well as two custom jokers and custom Ace of Spades. Printed by the Expert Playing Card Co.

Le Chat Rouge

No.17 "Le Chat Rouge" is a custom-designed deck of playing cards by Stockholm17. It is the third and final version of the elegant "No.17" series. The card backs feature black cats with accents of red foil creating a striking effect on the rich black backs. The card faces are white with a unique thick black border, adding a modern touch to a classic playing deck. The playing cards are beautifully housed in a die-cut tuck case that has been intricately cut out, and sealed with a limited edition number.

Chancellor

Chancellor Playing Cards are inspired by a small detail on a century-old Bicycle card back and grew into an incredibly detailed artwork! Designed by Encarded and printed by Expert Playing Card Co, Chancellor showcases FOUR metallic inks that intertwine into a detailed, "shadow bordered" back with subtle edge details and dimension. The faces are fully custom, with a dramatic court featuring beautiful detail and unique colorations. The stunning tuck features thick matte black paper, two foils and incredibly detailed blind embossing. The deck is sealed with a beautiful metallic foil seal, individually numbered and carefully designed to integrate with the tuck design.

Dynasty

Inspired by culture and heritage, Brendan Hong brings his unique style to this gorgeous deck of playing cards. Various Chinese elements are reimagined in Brendan’s own delightful style. The decks feature fully custom cards with unique Jokers, Courts and Ace of Spaces and Matte stock tuck featuring foil and interior printing. Printed by the Expert Playing Card Co. on their Classic Finish card stock.

ICON SACRED

The ICONS SACRED Edition playing cards is a limited edition deck design by Lotrek of Halfmoon Productions. Crafted with love, devotion and... risk, ICONS SACRED is a developmental deck, used to fine-tune Lotrek's new printer and various production aspects from cutting methods and metallic inks’ behavior to playing card finish. The end result as you can see is nothing short of stunning! ICON SACRED features gold metallic ink on the faces, gold and silver metallic on the back and an intricate tuck case that was amazingly stamped on 2-sided color "metallic" stock.

Odd Bods

The Odd Bods Playing Cards is a brilliant deck illustrated by Jonathan Burton. Produced by Art of Play, the Odd Bods Playing Cards feature amusing characters, quirky illustrations, and playful imagery. The deck has been hand illustrated in a beautifully nostalgic style and designed to have the look of ‘aged’ Victorian lithographs. Every image proves its own quirk and oddity, but is never ostentatious-- Odd Bods are the epitome of refined indulgence. Packaged in a gorgeous gold-foil embossed tuck box.

Magna Carta

Magna Carta by Seasons Playing Cards is a stunning set of limited edition playing cards that commemorates the foundation of liberty. Symbolism and story are thoughtfully located throughout this luxurious black and white deck set. The deck features luxurious foiled etchings on each suit, intricate linework on custom courts, and subtle embossing on the tuck, creating beautiful pleated patterns across the face of the premium linen stock. The tuck interior reveals an interior replica of the actual 1215 Magna Carta itself. Together, the side of the decks display a beautifully illustrated mural!

Black Diamond

The third edition is the hugely popular Tally-Ho series by Jackson Robinson of Kings Wild Projects. The Black Diamond Playing Cards incorporate USPCC's new MetalLuxe Foiling process on the card backs, making the Black Diamonds not only the first fully custom deck to utilize the process, but also the very first all black deck by Kings Wild. Only 1000 produced and features a premium soft-touch black tuck with Black foil accents.

Anubis and Osiris

Inspired by the luxurious reverence of Egyptian Gods and Kings of the past, The Anubis and Osiris Playing cards is an original set of American playing cards designed by Steve Minty. Elements from classical Egyptian era and the Egyptian Revival along with modern design are incorporated into this stunning custom deck!

Gold Gator

David Blaine released the new colorway of the popular Gatorbacks playing cards as a part of his Black Friday line-up this year. The Gold Foil Gatorbacks feature a stunning Gold-on-White custom tuck and like it's predecessor, beautifully embossed and finely detailed, on both the inside and the outside. The deck features the USPCC's eye-catching Metaluxe back.

MINT Limited Edition

Designed for the workers by 52Kards, the stunning Mint Limited Edition playing cards features elegant borderless back with beautiful tri-color design, gold line accents and masks an incredibly intuitive marking system for the clever magician to take advantage of. The deck showcases gorgeous semi-custom courts, custom pips and indices, custom Ace of Spades and a minimalistic custom tuck box with embossed gold foil and interior printing. Printed by the United States Playing Card Company and coated with the legendary Air Cushion Finish.

Wicked Kingdom

Hand-painted by fantasy illustrator Wylie Beckert, Wicked Kingdom is an art-rich deck of playing cards set in a dark fantasy world and populated by a cast of strange and complex characters.This gorgeous deck features insanely detailed, hand-drawn artwork with a dark fantasy flair. Custom-designed subtle one-way card backs, hand-drawn pips, elegantly watermarked number cards, and dual-identity face cards make for an art-rich playing card deck for cardists, collectors, and fans of the fantasy genre.

Honorable mention: ALLOY by Gambler's Warehouse, NPH by Theory11, OMNIA by Thirdway Industries, Royal Bee, Flying Machine by Bicycle Playing Cards, GRILLE by JP Games, Private Reserve 2 by Dan & Dave, Inception by Jody Eklund, White Gold by Joker & the Thief, VIRIDIAN by Trikard and Skull & Bones Phantom Edition by EPCC.



The selection expressed in this top12 are solely those of the author. Images for Silver Arrows, Le Chat Rouge, Chancellor, Dynasty, Magna Carta, Black Diamond, Anubis & Osiris, Gold Gator and Wicked Kingdom are taken by Anthony Ingrassia. Odd Bods and Mint Limited Edition by Ivan Choe. ICON SACRED from Maxplayingcards.com.

Cardistry: Frostbite Playing Cards Launching On Kickstarter December 25

[Update] Frostbite Playing Cards is now LIVE on Kickstarter!

The Cardistry Hipster is launching Frostbite Playing Cards on Kickstarter. The eye-catching deck pairs a chill geometric abstract back design with custom minimalist faces.

What started out two years ago as a one-way back design has transformed into a striking two-way design perfect for Cardistry and magic. Frostbite features custom striped pips, geometric courts, and a cool blue & white backs with triangular shapes and a simplified compass rose design.

We managed to catch-up with Sam Wheeler, founder of the Cardistry Hipster to chat about the inspiration behind Frostbite Playing Cards, the design evolution of the deck, and his collaboration with Hanson Chien.

Tell us a little about yourself and the Cardistry Hipster?
My name is Sam Wheeler I am a 20-year-old Cardist from Philadelphia, PA in the USA. I have been practicing the art of Cardistry for about 2 years or so. I initially started “The Cardistry Hipster” when the card community began to take a nasty turn into less assisting and supporting others, and more degrading beginners and their creativity. I wanted to create a platform where I could post my content while influencing others to create and further the art aspect of Cardistry. The Cardistry Hipster is now a cardistry-lifestyle branded website where I post free and premium tutorials, along with blog posts that provide tips when filming, editing, and creating Cardistry videos.

What motivated you to create your own deck of cards?
I tried creating a deck of cards before but ran into trouble when my designer decided to use a logo from a company. After that awesome experience, I decided to crack down and create a design that was unique and would actually further accentuate flourishes. The initial design was a one-way design, but after receiving various complaints I decided to reach out to Matthew Noel (@PlayingCardPictures) to help me create a two-way design from my initial draft. The minimalist card faces originating from my Simplicity deck, except they are now blue and the royals feature the same abstract geometric pattern within their bodies. The abstract back design contrasts perfectly with the simplistic faces, resulting in an elegant frosty view while handling the cards!

What is your inspiration behind the Frostbite Playing Cards? How did you come up with the idea?
I came up with the initial prototype during the winter of 2014, so, of course, the color scheme would be fitting towards the season. I believe I was inspired to create the geometric poly-shards from trying to find myself a new screensaver on my iPhone. I came across a more basic, geometric design and thought it would be sweet on a deck of cards if it were more abstract and had an element to further elevate flourishes.

How did you end up collaborating with Hanson Chien and Matthew Noel for the deck?
Matthew showed interest in the initial one-way design and reached out to me, offering to take pictures of the deck if I ever needed it! After seeing his terrific graphic work I decided he would be the best for the job!

Hanson and I ended up collaborating thanks to Sergio Rocca. Sergio has been my card-friend for some time now and we both agreed a while back to assist one another with each of our own decks. Odyssey Playing Cards were just in the developing stages at the time, I actually told him he should have custom faces with the cards as he was planning on going with standard faces! In the end, Sergio hustled more than me and was able to successfully get his deck funded and I contacted him with how I can get in contact with Hanson. Sergio replied, telling me to message and add Hanson on Facebook, and the rest is history.

Talk to us a bit about going from concept to the final version. How did you get to this finished product? How did you get feedback?
The initial concept was received fairly well on Instagram. Most individuals liked the overall design and feel of the deck, they just wanted a two-way version. After publishing the final back design online, almost everyone that came across the deck loved it and I am happy for listening to the criticism as we wouldn’t be where we are today.

With so many playing card projects competing for funding, why should potential backers choose your deck?
Honestly, I’m not here to demand anyone to back our cards over anyone else’s’. It really comes down to individual tastes and desires. This deck will be limited and will most-likely never be re-printed again. So many decks today profit off of a simple color change, we won’t just be using the paint bucket tool in the future if we decide to print another deck. At the end of the day, Frostbite Playing Cards are unique as they feature an elegant abstract back design with simple minimalist faces. They are 100% custom, and 100% designed for Cardistry but look wonderful for card magic as well. They will handle great, looking great while doing so. We thank anyone and everyone for their support and interest!

Finally, what are your favorite playing cards?
My favorite playing cards are old Stud Playing Cards. They handle amazingly and look great while doing so!

Thanks Sam and all the best!

[Update] Frostbite Playing Cards is now LIVE on Kickstarter!

Frostbite Playing Cards will be printed by Hanson Chien Production Co and will launch on Kickstarter December 25. Pledge starts from $15 and there will be EARLY BIRD reward tiers available. For all things Frostbite, head on to thecardistryhipster.com and subscribe to the mailing list!

Deck View: Joker and the Thief (White Gold Edition) Playing Cards

Intricate. Elegant. Gold.

The Joker and the Thief (White Gold Edition) Playing Cards is a stunning follow-up to the orignal Joker and the Thief deck released back in 2015. The White Gold is effortlessly elegant adds to the mythology of the original deck.

The design is intricately beautiful with themes and connotation from back design continue throughout. The Ace of Spades is unique, bold and iconic of this design. The court cards are all fully custom. The tuck is peppered with lavish touches, and adorned with eye-catching gold foil, on a matte finished paper. It is embossed on all sides and has a foil stamped interior.

The deck was specifically designed with handling in mind. The inverted white gold back design makes for a significant reduction in ink saturation. Printed by Expert Playing Card Co on the popular Classic Finish.

Don't forget to check out the Joker and the Thief website! Also, for more cool playing cards, check out JP Games.