DECO: the new creation by Encarded. Interview to Paul Carpenter
Paul Carpenter (Encarded) plans to release soon his next creation: DECO
As I did when Tendril and Aurum were released, I have had the chance to interview him in order to know something more about this new deck. I hope you enjoy it.
- Max – Hello Paul, thanks for answering once more some questions for Max Playing Cards’ readers about your new deck DECO.
- Paul Carpenter – It is my pleasure, Max.
- Max – Where the inspiration for this deck comes from?
- Paul Carpenter – After designing Aurum, which was a hugely intricate design, I wanted to purposefully create an overall simpler design. In some ways, designing something that is simple and elegant at the same time is more challenging, as you have fewer design elements to communicate the theme. In looking at art movements and styles, I’ve always enjoyed the Art Deco style of design and thought it would make a good basis for a deck. I had a vision of a simple, casino-style type of design that would be fully custom but have traditional layout and recognizable faces for ease of use when playing poker or doing close up magic.
- Max – Why the name of the deck?
- Paul Carpenter – “DECO” is about as simple a name as you can get, and very nicely refers both to the art style that inspired it and sounds almost exactly like “deck,” so it made sense on a variety of levels.
- Max – Main features? (Number of decks, editions, stock, finish, …)
- Paul Carpenter – The plan for Deco is to release 5000 total decks. Half will be the Deco Silver (the light color deck, with blue and silver) and the other half will be Deco Bronze (the dark deck with dark brown/blacks, reds). I will sell most of them in a matched set. As usual with Encarded decks, it will be a one-time printing and no future editions will be produced. The stock will be the Bee Casino plus Magic finish that I’ve used on my last two decks, both of which have been praised for their handling. The boxes will have dual metallic inks, embossing and foil accents.
- Max – Why this deck is so different from the intrincate designs of the previous decks?
- Paul Carpenter – At first glance, Deco is simpler, but there will also be some extensive detail in the back designs. My goal was to create a deck that from a distance or while performing, looks bold and simple, but still has elegance and detail up close. That is different from most of the “casino style” decks out that rely on completely flat color and have little visual interest when you look at them closely. I own quite a few of those simple decks and wanted to create my own version that tries to accomplish two goals at the same time.
- Max – Available… When?
- Paul Carpenter – Your first chance to get Deco will be on Kickstarter starting July 1st. Kickstarter backers will be the first to receive their decks and will have a lower price and reduced shipping costs. After the campaign, Deco will be available in the Encarded.com store.
- Max – What about the price?
- Paul Carpenter – That will depend on the final quotes form USPCC but I plan on pricing it around the price that Tendril was released at.
- Max – Thank you so much again for your kindness. I really wish you the very best on Deco.
- Paul – Thank you Max!
You will have the very first chance to get Deco on Kickstarter since July 1st. Don’t miss it.
You can also buy them after that on Encarded.com … And don’t forget the special 10% OFF code ENC2RWX exclusive for Max Playing Cards readers when buying at Encarded.