7 Questions with Bill Davis of Pink Boar Playing Cards

Based on the Lunar calendar 2019 is the Year of the Pig. What better way to honor it than to help fund this stylish deck designed in honor of pigs, spread awareness on pig rescue, and promote The Pig Preserve in Jamestown, Tennessee where designer Bill Davis and his family volunteer. Wild Reserve: Pink Boar playing cards are seeking $6,555 in funding goal on Kickstarter. Currently, the deck is already 88% funded with 14 days to go.

The semi-custom deck features standard face cards, custom courts with Bill's profile on the J of Hearts, his wife on the Queen of Clubs and Daniel Madison on the King of Diamonds, a custom Ace of Spades, two custom Jokers, double back and an ad card that provides a description of the rescue and their contact details. The card back features a minimalistic yet intricate and inconspicuous one-way back design.

Earlier this week, we had a chat with Bill about the inspiration behind Pink Boars, design evolution of the deck and Daniel Madison.

For those of us who don’t know, tell us a little about yourself?
I am a psychotherapist by trade but have been doing magic since I was a child. I’ve always been involved in creative endeavors throughout my schooling including chorus, theater, and art. At heart, I am a creator and have made several of my own magic effects, mostly card effects, though I do enjoy performing magic for friends and family at any opportunity presented. While I do dream of one day performing more regularly and have done one professional gig which I enjoyed and at which I received amazing reactions, my current focus is on creating effects, as mentioned, as well as playing cards. I’m obsessed with both. I haven’t marketed any of my own effects yet but plan to do so. I have well over a thousand decks of playing cards, I have several ideas/projects in the works for more of my own decks, and I am always thinking of new ideas for effects and decks to come. I am also heavily involved in animal rescue and fitness.

Can you describe the WILD RESERVE: Pink Boar Playing Cards? And why you are passionate about it?
Wild Reserve: Pink Boar Playing cards are designed in honor of a very special cause. My wife and I volunteer our time at The Pig Preserve in Jamestown, TN where pigs are rescued from a variety of situations such as abuse cases or piglets having fallen off the back of slaughter transport trucks. I have spent time with these animals and have seen what is involved in the care of them. Thus this deck was created in honor of that cause, in honor of the pigs and the joy they bring, and in honor of the workers who dedicate their lives to caring for and rehabilitating them. I am passionate about sentient life and I am passionate about this deck because it represents that.

Talk to us a bit about going from the first draft to the final version. How did you get to this finished product?
The idea for this deck was actually first conceived on our way home from volunteering at The Pig Preserve one weekend. I have another deck that has been on the back burner for some time, and the idea popped into my head that I would like to do a deck in honor of their cause. The rest is a funny story. As my wife drove home I sat in the passenger seat and sketched a cartoon-like first draft of the deck which looked very childish. My friend Steve suggested I create something more stylish and vibrant that would speak to most anyone and everyone. I asked for input from family and friends as I played with ideas, as I find it important to get feedback from those who care about the things I care about.

What was your most brilliant breakthrough when designing the deck?
While this deck has a rather minimalistic and simplistic design, and I wanted to keep it simple as my first deck (versus marking it), I still wanted to incorporate a one-way back design for magicians. I graphically played with the boar’s hair trying to accomplish this but did not have much success. Then, as silly as it sounds, a light bulb went off in my head to flip the image horizontally on one opposing side of the card and… the rest is history.

We noticed some notable names like Brian Brushwood and Daniel Madison helping you promote the project. How did you end up connecting with them and getting them to promote the project?
Although they are two completely different personalities, Brian Brushwood and Daniel Madison, among others including Chris Ramsay and Shin Lim, have been a big influence on me for the longest time. However, I ended up connecting socially with Brian and Daniel specifically. Brian and I connected initially via orders I placed through scamstuff.com, a shop for his Scam School/Scam Nation YouTube channels, from having emailed him questions about various items and small talk has evolved from there. We began corresponding via Twitter around the time my idea for the Pink Boar deck was born when I reached out to him asking if he might be able to help. Brian was responsive, encouraging and gladly obliged.



Madison and I connected somewhat differently. Long story short, Madison, out of nowhere, responded favorably and with praise for this Pink Boar design when I first posted it on Instagram. Having been a long time YouTube follower of him as well, I was highly complimented. I soon after joined his Patreon site where he formed the Madison Alliance, a group of exclusively like-minded artists. Upon flying to England to partake in a related meetup with this group including Madison, to say the least, he and I became close friends. Among other things, we spoke about my project and he offered to help with it in any way that he could. He ended up promoting it in a number of ways including via his “The MADISON Deck Review: EPISODE Eleven!” on his YouTube channel (video embedded above). My deck was also reviewed by Magic Orthodoxy (embedded below).



As you’ll notice from my campaign, I also had help from Lorenzo Gaggiotti of Stockholm17 and Daniel Schneider of Black Roses Playing Cards. Daniel Schneider is also the designer behind the Orbit decks which most people don’t know and for which he doesn’t get enough credit, the humble guy he is, and Madison, Gaggiotti and Schneider are also all behind some of my favorite decks as you’ll see below. (Thus, my seeking their help wasn’t at all coincidental, LOL.)

With so many playing card projects competing for funding, why should potential backers choose your deck? 
Backers should choose my deck because of its unique and stylish design as well as for what it represents. This deck speaks of two main things: creativity and compassion. While there have been several other decks on the market for different types of causes, some which I own and fully support, this deck is unique because it is in honor of an animal so often unknown, unappreciated or misunderstood by the vast majority. The deck combines a cool look on standard USPCC cards that most everyone loves, while at the same time spreading the word about the cause. Also, choosing my deck will allow for the creation of many different types of future decks, as funding this first project will help make that happen. I plan to continue with creative endeavors as a playing card designer and to bring many other designs to the playing card community given the chance.

Finally, what are your favorite playing cards? 
My favorite playing cards include white Madison Rounders, green borderless Madison Dealers, red Black Roses, Polyantha, Le Chat Rouge No. 17 and House of the Rising Spade. The Rounders in white are minimalistic and just… amazing, the red Black Roses are simply beautiful, and the green Dealers and Polyantha are different from the others in their own respect to how they fill the card back with a repetitive design. Le Chat Rouge No. 17 and the House of the Rising Spade Cartomancer/Gatekeeper variant are both absolutely stunning both in color and presentation and are definitely decks I love to show off.

Thanks, Bill! If you like what you've read and what to help support the Wild Reserve: Pink Boar playing cards on Kickstarter, click here!


The deck will be printed by the United States Playing Card Co.'s classic grade card stock with air-cushion finish. Pledge starts at $15!

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7 Questions with Derek Grimes of Paradigm Playing Cards

Designed by Derek Grimes and produced by Murphy's Magic, Paradigm Playing Cards is a unique deck crafted for both magicians and cardists in mind. A Paradigm is a standard, perspective, or set of ideas- a way of looking at something. Derek set out to do just that, and after a year in the making, Paradigm is a deck which you could begin by showing the slickest packet cut off, then right after do an Ambitious Card routine! With pretty standardized Pips and indices and standard reimagined Courts, this deck is sure to not raise any suspicion.

Prior to the release of the deck last week, we had a chat with Derek about his design background, inspiration, and design process behind the Paradigm Playing Cards.

For those of us who don’t know, can you tell us about yourself and what is your design background?
My name is Derek Grimes and I'm 35 years old. I currently run a YouTube channel called Disfunkshinal Reviews, where I review playing cards and magic releases. I’ve been doing that for a year and a half. I’ve been into magic since I was 11 years old when I went to see David Copperfield live on his “Forces Unseen” tour. As far as my design background, I am very artistic. Always drawing, tattooing, and more! I went to school for graphic art and design about ten years ago to become a freelance digital artist and ended up dropping out 6 months in, do too bad financial reasons.

Can you describe the Paradigm Playing Cards and why you’re passionate about it?
I started working on this deck a little over a year ago. A Paradigm is a standard, perspective, or set of ideas. A Paradigm is a way of looking at something. I wanted to design a deck that didn’t just look good, but is also mechanically visual and usable! I love this deck because its a crossover deck...a jack of all trades... the best of three worlds. The visual elements of the back design call for some out of mind packet cuts and visuals, whilst the duplicate card and standardized pips, indices, and courts make this a workers dream. Let's not forget about the 3 of hearts reveal! And of course its a perfect gift for that poker player in your life. I'm very passionate about this project as I am all of my endeavors for a few reasons. One because this is my first project and I want it to be more than successful! Also, I feel the Paradigm series can blow up to become the next big name like the Orbits and or Fontaines.

Walk us through the process you took to design this unique deck. How did you come out with the idea and how did you get to this finished product?
Since I'm not yet familiarized nor have Adobe Illustrator, I actually hand draw my back designs on blank face cards. It allows me to get a better feel of the actual design in hand right away. I started designing this deck a little over a year ago. A lot of times we see these decks that people put out for the cardistry world that are just either hideous thrown together shapes or designs and or just a deck a famous cardist or magician said is cool so everyone buys it! I wasn’t trying to be part of that crowd. I wanted to put out a deck that made sense in all aspects. Also, we see a lot of separation of categories. People saying decks are specifically for cardistry or saying a deck is only for magic. I wanted to merge the two. I started with the linework, Colors came next.

The original concept was only one set of circles in the center which was a yellow and white background. Seeing as I'm also right-handed but use opposite in holding a deck, I wanted to design a deck that looked great flourishing from any angle or hand. I was lucky to have Luke Wadey ask to look at my design to mess with and add some shadowing as well as other subtle changes such as aligning it to perfect grid format. Luke was also pivotal in helping with the tuck design. I wanted an infinite style tuck and he delivered in a huge way and exceeded my expectations. Daniel Schneider as busy as he was also working on a couple other decks, also was crucial in this deck. In my opinion, Daniel is the best when it comes to custom courts. He has proved it every time with his own decks, the Orbit series, and even most recent in the Daniel Madison release. I wanted to only have a handful of custom courts to ensure I kept the deck as standardized as possible. I also wanted to use standard courts but enlarge them a bit to show the details on each card. I did the same with the aces and enlarged all center pips rather than just the Ace of Spades. I tried to keep this deck as standard but different from anything you’ve seen prior.

How did you get feedback?
I got feedback about the deck from family, friends, Luke and Daniel. I can never say how grateful I am for having two of the best designers play a part in my deck! I might be wrong but I'm almost positive this is the first time 2 big name designers worked together on one deck. At first, I was very scared about it because I didn’t want to be overshadowed on my own deck or have people say or think I didn’t design this and it was all Luke and Daniel! But, after a while, I put my guards down. I also had great feedback from Mahdi Gilbert, Hocus Pocus, Daniel Madison, and a couple others. It's funny because looking back at the original concept of this deck I will say it was not the greatest. But the finished deck is something special.

What was your most brilliant breakthrough when designing the deck?
There were a few breakthroughs but the most brilliant and key part was the adding and enlarging of the center circles and the heavy shadowing to give the design depth.

What’s next? Can we expect more deck designs in the future?
I am working on a couple more designs as we speak. And I have already begun the second edition of the Paradigm deck. I'm hoping to take a page out of the Orbits book and finish with 12 editions of the Paradigm series. As of right now I'm working on getting this worker deck for magicians finished in which I'm going to be printing with Cartamundi on their new E7 stock once it becomes available after the exclusive they have with Ellusionist ends.

Finally, what are your favorite playing cards? 
I love standard bicycle decks of course and I have a bunch of sealed and opened blue seal decks from the ’80s and ’90s but my favorite playing cards I have to say are the Red Roses by Daniel Schneider. The black roses series have always been a favorite of mine due to the minimal look and they also resemble standard Rider backs. Red is my favorite color and its the first deck I was ever featured in as the Jack of hearts! I actually have over 100 sealed decks. They will always be my favorite. But my unicorn of decks is the Jerry's Nugget original deck! Never owned or touched one but I hope to one day trade or own one somehow. That's why I'm also excited for the Jerry's reprint by Expert Playing Cards.


Paradigm Playing Card is available NOW from your favorite Murphy's Magic Retailers.

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Remedies Playing Cards by Madison X Schneider

Daniel Schneider dropped some hints about this collab happening in the Black Roses Casino deck when he included Daniel Madison as the King of Diamonds. This very special deck of cards hosts the intricately beautiful symbology of creative, romantic and poetic freedom - a tribute and collection of everything that Madison and Schneider love about playing cards.

Remedies Playing Cards is a reminiscence to the beginning of custom playing card designs with a modern twist that is already visible when you take a look at the first card, the Remedies Ace of Spades.

The new look and feel run through the entire deck with improved custom pips and indices, new custom faces and hidden secrets on the court cards for you to discover. Daniel Schneider also redesigned Daniel Madison's iconic King Diamonds, which you will see from now on in every new Madison deck.

Also, the deck is packed with hidden secrets and built-in magic tricks (including an ANGLE ZERO Gaff and a series of brand new revelations - all taught on Madison's YouTube channel). The deck is printed by the USPCC on a premium crushed paper stock and traditionally cut.



Available for $16 on madison.cards. IF you purchase a brick, a Private Reserve Edition of the Remedies deck will be included (sold for $70 if purchased separately). The Private Reserve comes in a minimalistic tuck box, updates to the court cards and the Ace of Spades.

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StartNext: 7 Questions with Daniel Schneider of Black Roses Playing Cards

The Black Roses Playing Cards is an elegant deck of cards that links classic design with modern elements. Meticulously created by Daniel Schneider, this deck is fully custom and features new faces on the court cards. Unlike other crowd-funded playing card projects featured on Kardify, Black Roses was launch on Startnext.de, a popular German crowd-funding platform.

We managed to have a quick chat with Daniel about his background, the inspiration and the design evolution of Black Roses, and his thought on the playing card community.

Can you tell us about yourself and what is your creative background?
I've started with magic very late. Back in 2009 I saw this guy on german television in his own show "Street Magic with Farid". Ever since then I have a passion for magic and since I've discovered Dan and Dave, I'm a total playing card fanatic.

I've studied web design but graphic design is what I'm actually doing most of the time.

This is your first Crowd-Funded Project. Why Startnext.de?
As I'm from Germany it was simply obvious to start my crowdfunding on Startnext because the communication is very easy there. The community isn't as big as the community on Kickstarter, but I don't think that this is a disadvantage. You have to thrill the supporter beyond the platform anyway.

What is your inspiration behind the Black Roses Playing Cards? How did you come up with the idea?
I simply missed a deck of cards which shows my own personality. The idea of drawing new faces on classic playing cards is not really mine, for example David Blaine and Daniel Madison did that before and their decks have been an inspiration to me.

In the beginning I only wanted to replace the faces so I don't loose the classic look. But with time, the card got more fancy like the Queen of Hearts with the long blond hair or the King of Hearts with the hoody. Nevertheless, I think I managed it that the cards have not lost their classic look with modern faces.

The "Bicycle Rider Backs" and "Bicycle Leaf Backs" inspired me to draw my own Black Roses back design. The result is something completely new, but still exactly what I wanted- a classic playing card deck. The color black because it is unique and classy.

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 can't say anymore how long I've needed to complete the deck... I think 6-8 weeks with a few breaks in between. First I remove the face from the original court card. I look for a suitable photo and trace the outlines of the face. Everything happens on the computer. The eyes are the most striking and most difficult thing to draw. When I have all the outlines I place them over the court card. Finally, I color the hair etc... if necessary.

We initially noticed the Black Roses Playing Cards on Instagram. What do you think of the magic/playing card community on Instagram in terms of the feedback and support that you’ve been getting?
I haven't received so much feedback like I wish I had, but what I've heard was very positive and I'm very pleased to hear that because I know that they are really honest. There are almost always the same people who likes my photos and I noticed that of course.

What are your thoughts about the continuous strong growth of playing card projects?
Before I started to design my own deck, I never realized how many people creating there own decks. When I look at the statistics I haven't chosen a good month! :D But I guess that is a good thing. Crowdfunding makes it so much easier for people to realize their ideas due to the number of playing cards in the market now... you can easily lose track, but good things will catch on.

Finally, what are your favourite playing card decks?
I love the Bee Erdnase Deck and the 1st Split Spades. The finish is awesome. I also love the simplicity of the Smoke and Mirrors (V4-V6), Rounders and Nocs.

Awesome! Thanks again for your time Daniel and all the best!


Pledge for Black Roses starts from 8€ and it is currently 21% funded. Don't miss out as this is only available for a limited time on StartNext.de.

Madison Chateau Collection Now Available for Pre-Order

Daniel Madison has just launched the Madison Contraband series with the release of the Madison Chateau Collection. Included in the collection are two decks, the Madison Chateau Advocates (limited to1000 decks) and the box set exclusive Madison Chateau Strangers (limited to 500).

Both decks feature unique artwork of a beautiful Renaissance painting on the card backs. The Advocates showcase the painting on a bordered card back with a mirrored Madison Charlie logo. Meanwhile, the Strangers features the painting on the Madison Charlie logo.

Inside, with the exception of the custom Ace of Spades, the face cards are pretty much standard with refined Madison courts by Daniel Schneider. Printed by MPC on Type 9 Madison Finish- Air Crushed.

Available for pre-order now on madison.cards for £11.

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Deck View: MxS Casino Stingers Playing Cards

Modern. Fade. Classic.

MxS Casino Stingers Playing Cards by Daniel Madison and Daniel Schneider blend classic casino aesthetics with modern refinement. The deck prominently showcase the signature stinger fade-to-white borders, originally created to combat card cheating. This feature together with the black/white colorway adds a sleek, elegant touch that elevates both gameplay and magic.

Designed with professionals in mind, the deck features custom card backs, Aces of Spades, standard custom courts, and a duplicate King of Diamonds... perfect for magic routines. The included gaffs (cut card and stack peek card) enhance utility.

Printed by USPCC on premium stock with a Casino finish.