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Pictorial Review: Stockholm17 - Part 1. The Requiem & Heretic decks

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EndersGame

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This review is part of a three part series of pictorial reviews featuring Stockholm17 (aka designer Lorenzo Gaggiotti), and his decks of playing cards:
Stockholm17 - 1. Introduction + The Requiem & Heretic decks
Stockholm17 - 2. The No. 17 & Le Chat Rouge decks
Stockholm17 - 3. The Ravn & Gemini decks + Conclusion



INTRODUCING STOCKHOLM17

"Stockholm17" might not mean much to most of my readers. But it's the online handle and home of  Lorenzo Gaggiotti, creator of several popular decks of playing cards.

The handle Stockholm17 already gives an obvious clue about his home, which is the city of Stockholm, Sweden.  But Lorenzo's real name hints at Italian roots.  Lorenzo moved to Stockholm from Italy several years ago due to the challenging economic climate, and in order  to start a new life in Sweden.  Fortunately for us he took with him his abilities as an artist, which were already evident at age 3.  He grew up in a home where his mother was a painter, and where his passion for drawing had lots of room to grow.

And grow it did.  Today Lorenzo is a product designer and illustrator, and has a job in a small company as a graphic designer, besides his own projects at Stockholm17.  His discovery of custom decks of playing cards proved to be the ideal platform for him to explore his love for creative design.  While he has no experience in magic or cardistry, it is his passion for design that fuels his creative process as applied to the world of playing cards. Typically he gets inspired by a theme or idea, and does a lot of thinking and sketching with this in mind before starting a digital version of the final design.

So far he's produced several decks in a number of variations: Requiem (Autumn & Winter), Heretic (Lux & Noctis), No.17 (Bicycle branded & Unbranded), No.17 Le Chat Rouge (Standard & Red Label), Ravn (Red & Green), and most recently, Gemini.  In this review, I will give you an overview of Lorenzo's successful portfolio so far, including a review of a couple of his decks of playing cards that I personally have acquired and own, I'll also share some information about the Gemini deck that he currently has in production.  Be prepared for some elegance, class, and art!
 


REQUIEM PLAYING CARDS

Requiem was Lorenzo's first Kickstarter project, and was a huge success, despite being a rather dark deck that won't be to everyone's taste.  But even critics will have to concede that it features some powerful and poetic images.



The Requiem deck has intricate artwork with an unusual combination of colours.



But if you look closely, the melancholy theme emerges: the suits include Hearts that are broken, Clubs that have thorns, Diamonds that are cracked, and Spades that are dry leaves.



The deck is the product of a very personal love story that had a sad ending.  After being at the receiving end of a romantic relationship that ended in a drastic and painful fashion, Lorenzo conceived this deck to symbolize the darkness and suffering his soul had experienced at the hands of his ex, who is represented by the Queen of Spades.



Consequently the deck has a lot of images expressing grief and pain.



While some artists write poems or songs to express their emotions, Lorenzo made a card deck, full of symbols and meanings, and even hidden references to specific dates and feelings.  A companion card gives clues about these details.



 The illustrations show darkness, blood, tears, sadness, and pain, and there's a lot of bad feelings that are captured here.

Even so, Requiem proved to be a big hit, building up Lorenzo's fan base, and paving the way for his later successes.  An uncut sheet gives an overview of the entire deck, showing its unusual beauty.



Here are a couple of more cards from this powerful and emotion-laden deck.



HERETIC PLAYING CARDS

Lorenzo's next project, Heretic, was based on alchemy and the hermetic world.



The three basic ingredients used by an alchemist are Salt (Jacks), Sulfur (Queens), and Mercury (Kings), and you'll notice these symbols throughout the deck.



This really is a beautiful deck with a lot of character, and it's not surprising that it has been extremely popular.



This deck was actually designed before Requiem, but ended up being published afterwards with the benefit of some improvements and tweaks.



Lorenzo's own passion for alchemy lies at the heart of this deck, and his love of this theme and its symbols is evident throughout the design.



Two beautiful versions of this deck were produced, a Lux (light) deck, and a Noctis (dark) deck, with different colour schemes.



The Aces in both decks are detailed and beautiful.



CONCLUSION

See my other reviews in this series for reviews on Lorenzo's other decks.

I have been excited to write this review about the Stockholm17 range of playing cards, and in the process I have been blown away by Lorenzo's creativity and the thought he puts into his design. These are powerful and poetic cards, that have been perfected and polished, with a great deal of style. Bravo Lorenzo Gaggiotti, and grazie!



To see more, head to: stockholm17.com

Heretic deck: https://www.stockholm17.com/heretic
Requiem deck: https://www.stockholm17.com/requiem

Online shop: https://www.stockholm17.com/shop
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/stockholm17
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/stockholm17
Twitter: https://twitter.com/stockholm_17
« Last Edit: April 08, 2017, 12:40:23 AM by EndersGame »
BoardGameGeek reviewer EndersGame =>  Playing Card Reviews <=>  Magic Reviews <=> Board Game Reviews <=

 

Re: Pictorial Review: Stockholm17 - Part 1. The Requiem & Heretic decks
« Reply #1 on: April 05, 2017, 09:55:58 AM »
 

Great Lakes Playing Card Co.

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Thanks for the review and all the photos.  Nice work.
Just getting started in collecting playing cards.  Any help is appreciated.  TY.
 

Re: Pictorial Review: Stockholm17 - Part 1. The Requiem & Heretic decks
« Reply #2 on: April 09, 2017, 07:45:27 PM »
 

EndersGame

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I had someone contact me asking where they can purchase the Stockholm17 decks and how much they cost, since that info wasn't included in my review.

Decks like these typically cost around $15.  Not all of the decks reviewed above are readily available right now, but RarePlayingCards has some of the Stockholm17 playing cards in stock for around that price range, e.g. click here for: Ravn Playing Cards and No. 17 Playing Cards.

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