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Topics - Don Boyer

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2022 Diamond Awards - Nominee Topics / ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR VOTERS
« on: August 04, 2022, 03:09:12 PM »
WHAT TO CONSIDER WHEN YOU JUDGE A NOMINEE
DOTY nominees are judged solely on a single International Standard deck release/project, though a single release/project may comprise more than one variant, edition, back coloration, etc., such as two of the same deck design with differently-colored backs and/or two differently-sized decks and/or standard/deluxe/limited edition(s), etc.  DOTY nominees should be judged based on "the full package" - the design, artistry, manufacturing quality, features, packaging, etc., as seen in all of the decks in that release.

AOTY is judged on the entire portfolio of International Standard decks released by the artist within the eligibility period, and only within that period, not before or after.  A list of eligible releases for each AOTY candidate is listed in their PCF topic in the link on their ballot entry - if you happen to spot an error or an omission, please leave a comment in the forum topic.  For this category, you are judging the artist's works during the release window using the same criteria as in the DOTY judging.

MORE INFORMATION ON NOMINEES - THE FORUM TOPICS
To find more information on a nominee, click on the TinyURL link at the end of the nominee's ballot entry.  That link will take you to a topic on PlayingCardForum.com (PCF), the official online forum of 52 Plus Joker, with info about the nominee, including photos and links to other pages online.  In any cases where an Artist of the Year nominee also created a Deck of the Year nominee, there is a single, combined topic to cover both nominations.  Nominated artists and creators of nominated decks have been invited to comment on their topics, so please feel free to present any questions about their work you may have to them if they make their presence on the forum known!

WRITE-IN VOTING ELIGIBILITY
For each category, you may opt to create a write-in vote for the candidate of your choice, subject to eligibility.  To be eligible for consideration for either/both award(s) in the current award cycle, an artist must have released at least one International Standard playing card deck/project during the eligibility window of July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022 inclusive.

DEFINITION OF "RELEASED" FOR ALL NOMINEES AND WRITE-IN CANDIDATES
"Released" is defined as made available for retail sale, offered as part of a subscription (if the subscription service is open to all members of the public), given away to the public for free, distributed to crowdfunding backers or made available as a free, limited promotional item, with the final determination of eligibility to be made by the Diamond Awards Committee and the Board of Directors of 52 Plus Joker.  Private releases not made publicly available are not eligible.  Prototype decks, even if they are publicly released, sold, given away, etc., are considered an unfinished version of a work and are not eligible for award consideration, regardless of the number of prototype decks created and distributed.  The defining parameters of a prototype is 1) any deck labeled by the artist as a prototype, and/or 2) any deck judged by the DAC/52+J Board to be a prototype - key criteria for the DAC/Board to consider would be how finished the project appears, whether a later or future release of the same deck in larger distribution was/is planned, and how many copies of the deck were released (with lower amounts being more suspect than larger ones).

THE AWARDS CEREMONY
Winners of the Diamond Awards will be announced at the Sixth Annual Diamond Awards Ceremony, scheduled to be held during the Gala Dinner ending the Annual 52 Plus Joker Convention, on the evening of Saturday, October 8, 2021 at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Pittsburgh Green Tree located at 500 Mansfield Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States - details will be provided to all 52+J members when the full schedule becomes available.  (Due to the evolving situation with the COVID-19 pandemic and monkeypox health emergency, the ceremony schedule/venue may be subject to change or may be presented via Zoom.)

30
Magical Cardistry Bonanza / Our Magic - a great documentary
« on: December 27, 2021, 06:55:56 AM »
For a very limited time (until the end of the year), Vanishing, Inc. has made the movie "Our Magic" available for free streaming through YouTube.  If you haven't seen this documentary before, it's worth watching, especially if you have even a passing interest in magic and/or magic theory.  One of the more prominent subjects of the film is our very own club VP, Bill Kalush - the man is a wealth of information.

Check it out, don't delay:
https://www.vanishingincmagic.com/blog/happy-holidays/

31
2021 Diamond Awards - Nominee Topics / AOTY Nominee: Giovanni Meroni
« on: September 01, 2021, 08:36:16 PM »
Giovanni Meroni, work under the name Thirdway Industries, has been designing playing cards since 2014, starting with the Evil Deck (winner of the first Discourse Deck Design Contest - the Discourse was the predecessor to this message board, before it was purchased by 52 Plus Joker).  This year, he's been nominated for Artist of the Year based on the following projects:

* Italia Divina - Radiosa (red), Segreta (green) & Divina (white ltd. edition), forming the colors of the Italian flag, plus bonus deck Magica (silver); manufactured by USPC.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/thirdwayind/italia-divina-playing-cards-for-discover-italy

* Apocalisse - Standard & Wrath of God (gilded); manufactured by Cartamundi.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/thirdwayind/apocalisse-playing-cards

* Apoteosi (a partner deck to Apocalisse) - Standard & Heaven's Gift (gilded); manufactured by Cartamundi.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/thirdwayind/apoteosi-playing-cards

* SINS Reborn - three Player's Editions (Black Anima, Blue Mentis, Red Corpus), three Limited Editions (Lost Anima, Twisted Mentis, Blood Corpus) & Infernal Anima EX (gilded); manufactured by the Expert Playing Card Company.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/thirdwayind/sins-reborn-playing-cards

* Tales - Arcane( blue/gold), Heroic (red/gold), Legendary (black/gold), Wicked (purple/silver) & Charming (gold/black); manufactured by USPC.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/thirdwayind/tales-playing-cards

While Meroni's distinctive style is visible through all of these decks, there are some interesting differences and features throughout - some projects have unique card backs on the various versions, some have asymmetrical court cards with two different "heads", some have a bonus deck that's only available post-Kickstarter, etc.

32
Elettra Deganello is a frequent collaborator with Riccardo Conturbia of PassioneTeam.  This year, she's received her first nomination as Artist of the Year (with Giordano Loddo) based on her work on Florentia, a series based on "beauty, art and the city of Florence."

In a similar vein to some previous PassioneTeam releases, this project comes as two decks (Antica and Nova) and a special book-style, limited-edition boxed set of the two decks (Aeterna).  Unlike the previous releases, however, this one has a third deck: a more simply-designed Player's Edition, meant to allow the collectors in us to have the perfect boxed set, while at the same time the players in us still have a pack they can open and play with!  The deck's courts are based on the standard Passione courts and were designed by Loddo.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/passione/florentia-playing-cards?ref=discovery&term=florentia


33
2021 Diamond Awards - Nominee Topics / AOTY Nominee: Alexander Chin
« on: September 01, 2021, 08:34:53 PM »
Alexander Chin and his Seasons Playing Cards, Ltd. have a ten-year history of making very memorable decks and a five-year history of creating releases celebrating his officially-registered holiday, National Playing Card Collection Day, using the proceeds to raise funds for his online playing card database, Portfolio52.  After being a frequent nominee, last year he took home the award for Deck of the Year with his 2019 National Playing Card Collection Day release, the Palace Edition, inspired by his trip to Morocco.

The 2020 release, the Hindsight Edition, came to him during reflections on the present state of world events at the time - the pandemic, #MeToo, protests against racial injustice, ever-increasing evidence of global warming and radical increases in climatic extremes, wildfires...  the list goes on.  In a direct response to many of his fans being upset that the 2019 release had a deck only available at the 52+J convention, this year's release had five main decks - two ungilded (Destruction & Disease) and three gilded decks (Dissent, Disaster and Death) - and one bonus deck only available with the purchase of the limited-edition "6 Spirit" set (Hope).

As with his past designs, there are some interesting innovations he devised, pushing the envelope of playing card design and packaging.  One stand-out feature is the box; not a traditional tuck box, but a box that unfolds from the face to open, revealing an interior and exterior design meant to evoke a Greek temple.

Chin is up for the Artist of the Year based on this release.

https://nationalcardcollectionday.com/donate

34
2021 Diamond Awards - Nominee Topics / AOTY Nominee: Stephen Brandt
« on: September 01, 2021, 08:34:19 PM »
Stephen Brandt, known by the design studio name of "fig. 23" or the Kickstarter user name "Swabbed Decks," certainly has a sense of whimsy and playfulness to his designs.  The four decks he produced in this award cycle all share a common theme - they're flip books, designed to present a playful animation when sorted into a specific order and riffled.  Brandt has made other, non-flip book decks in the past, but all of his works under the "fig. 23" brand employ this interesting and entertaining feature.

Two of the projects, "Wonderland & Looking-Glass" and "The Wizard of Oz," are based on popular children's books, while the other two, "Clockwork: Quackington" and "Clockwork: Montana Mustache Manufacturing Co.," are more mechanically oriented, and are the third and fourth decks in the "Clockwork" series of deck releases.  "The Wizard of Oz" was manufactured by MakePlayingCards.com, while the remaining projects were all made by USPC.

Trust me when I tell you, you REALLY have to look at these decks on their web pages.  There are animations there that are charming beyond belief!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/swabbeddecks/wonderland-looking-glass-flip-book-playing-cards-uspcc

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/swabbeddecks/fig-23-the-wizard-of-oz-flip-book-animated-playing-cards

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/swabbeddecks/clockwork-quackington-animated-playing-cards-uspcc

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/swabbeddecks/clockwork-montana-mustache-manufacturing-co-playing-cards

https://www.fig23.com/shop

35
2021 Diamond Awards - Nominee Topics / DOTY Nominee: Umbra - Jody Eklund
« on: September 01, 2021, 08:30:27 PM »
Jody Eklund and his Blank Ink Playing Cards have been leaving their mark and raising the bar for years now - frequently a nominee, not yet a winner.  Perhaps this is the year he breaks the cycle?  His entry this year is the Umbra deck, a sequel to the Luminosity project from 2019, continuing the story taken from the pages of Norse mythology.  Even his "standard" editions are anything but - absolutely luxurious in appearance, they more closely resemble works of fine art straight out of a gallery than tools used to play poker and solitaire...

The cards were printed by the Legends Playing Card Company on their Classic stock.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dominion/umbra-playing-cards-inspired-by-norse-mythology

https://blackinkbranded.com/products/umbra-slate-edition

https://blackinkbranded.com/products/umbra-merlot-edition

https://blackinkbranded.com/products/umbra-noir-edition

36
Alessandra Gagliano and Anthony Holt, better known as Jocu Playing Cards, have been on a roll, releasing three projects during the awards release window of July 2020 through June 2021: The Green Man (Autumn, Winter and Spring), Hops & Barley (Brewer?s Reserve, Deep Amber Ale & Pale Gold Pilsner) and Onda (Ultramarine, Wave, Acquamarine, Ultramarine Gold, Wave Silver).  The Green Man is intricate, while Hops & Barley is more traditional, with Onda striking a balance between the two.

Gagliano and Holt are nominated for Artist of the Year for all of the above decks, while the Onda project is nominated for Deck of the Year.  All of the projects were funded on Kickstarter, designed in Italy and printed by Cartamundi in Belgium on their well-known B9 stock.

Images 1-3 are from Onda, Image 4 is from Hops & Barley and Image 5 is from The Green Man.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dimmideck/the-green-man-by-jocu-playing-cards/

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dimmideck/hops-and-barley-by-jocu-playing-cards/

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dimmideck/onda-by-jocu-playing-cards/

https://www.jocu.cards/

37
Jackson Robinson is definitely no stranger to the Diamond Awards - after being nominated pretty much every single year, last year he finally took home the Artist of the Year trophy.  No surprise, considering that he's made over 200 deck designs and variants under the Kings Wild Project name.  I think it's safe to say he's the most prolific artist in the playing card world today.

This year, his nominated Deck of the Year candidate takes him back to his earliest work, taking its inspiration from the intaglio print work used on American currency.  Holographic Legal Tender Volume II raises the bar, adding interesting subtleties such as holographic foil in ways that look reminiscent of a watermark on his court cards.

Printing was performed by the Expert Playing Card Company at their facility in the People's Republic of China.

https://kingswildproject.com/products/legal-tender-standard

38
Marianne Larsen should be a familiar name from her work with Design Imperator.  Now she has her own company, Isolated Thunderstorm, and is "striking" out on her own.  She made a great impression with her company's first project: Circus, in two versions, Deluxa and Black Mosquito.  The Deluxe edition employs two-headed court cards while the Black Mosquito edition has one-way, head and torso portraits, both performed in a dark, Victorianesque style.  The details include a unique deck seal, individually serial-numbered and printed to look like a ticket to the show, metallic inks on the cards and embossing on the tuck boxes.  Printed by Noir Arts Playing Card Company (NPCC).

Ms. Larsen worked in collaboration with graphic artist Martin Helgren on this deck.  They are both nominated for Artist of the Year and Circus is nominated for Deck of the Year.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1265596936/circus-playing-cards

https://isolatedthunderstorm.com/index.php/product/save-now-mixed-pair-circus/

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2021 Diamond Awards - Nominee Topics / DOTY Nominee: Charmers - Lotrek
« on: September 01, 2021, 08:22:55 PM »
Perennial favorite Lotrek teamed up with magician Kellar O'Neill to create a signature deck for the magician's performances - Charmers.  At once stylish and basic, it recalls turn-of-the-century style while at the same time being perfectly functional and easily recognized as playing cards, sharp and eye-catching while still entirely familiar.  In other words, the perfect "weapon" for a skilled sleight-of-hand artist like Kellar!  Charmers were made in five variations: Red, Red Gilded, Purple, Green & Signature Edition (turquoise).  Printing was done by Cartamundi.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/charmers/charmers-playing-cards/description

40
When I told Ms. Pfeifer that her deck was nominated for Deck of the Year, she was thrilled - so thrilled that she chose to actually call her deck something other than "Unnamed!"  It's pretty unique, to make a deck and not give it a name, but I suppose that might even be part of its charm.  (I called it "Bird Deck 2020," after the title printed in the margin of USPC's uncut sheet, which I mis-remembered, since it says "Bird Cards 2020"!  She liked Bird Deck, but preferred leaving the date out.)  The artwork she created for it from cut-paper collages is playful and charming, lending the deck a family feel that doesn't detract in any way from its function as a deck of playing cards.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/944261497/playing-card-deck-with-54-hand-cut-bird?ref=shop_home_feat_1&frs=1

47
Playing Card Plethora / So, who's going to the CONVENTION?!?
« on: October 08, 2020, 06:51:59 PM »
Yeah, baby!  The 52 Plus Joker Annual Convention is less than a week away!

We have EVERYTHING you could want in a virtual convention!
  • Six Awesome Guest Lectures!
  • Mega-Auction - over 100 lots!
  • Virtual Tours of Private Collections
  • Visit with Prominent Playing Card Companies!
  • New deck releases, including the 2020 club deck designed by Uusi (Peter Dunham and Linnea Gits), available for purchase for club members!
  • The 2020 Diamond Awards Ceremony
  • ...and so much more, all from the comfort of your Covid bubble!

SEE THE ATTACHED IMAGE FOR THE FULL SCHEDULE!

We're expecting hundreds of playing card collectors and enthusiasts from all over the world - will YOU be one of them?  Can you afford to miss out?

Did I forget to mention?  - CONVENTION FEE: FREE!!!

Be there!

October 14-17 via Zoom
see https://52plusjoker.org/conventions/ for more details

Membership is so affordable - only $25 a YEAR, for anyone, anywhere in the world!  Perks GALORE!
We take Visa, MC, AmEx, Discover and PayPal!
Do it NOW!  https://52plusjoker.org/membership-account/membership-checkout/?level=1

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Hello, and welcome to the 2020 Diamond Awards board!

The topics you see here are all about various nominees for Playing Card Deck of the Year (DOTY) and Playing Card Artist of the Year (AOTY).  Members of the club, 52 Plus Joker, are invited to vote for their favorite nominees, with voting open from Friday, August 28th until Saturday September 12th at 12:01am Eastern (04:01 UTC).  Not a member yet?  It's not too late to join!

There are no new topics permitted on this board - only the ones created for the nominees.  EVERYONE is invited to read and post about the nominees and, if the artist has been posting, you may pose questions to him or her.

Best of luck to all the deck creators!

50
Jackson Robinson, a fellow 52 Plus Joker member, has been nominated for the Playing Card Artist of the Year Award for all four years that we've had Diamond Awards, including this one.  This year, July 2019 through June 2020, he created and released no less than 21 decks (at least those are all that the Diamond Awards Committee know of!) - and that's not even a record for him.  Fortunately for the world of playing cards, quantity and quality go hand in hand for Robinson, and for that reason, he caught the attention and the nomination of the DAC.

I am expecting Jackson to pop in here and elaborate a bit further on his decks, provide some images and so forth - I look forward to it immensely!  Thanks in advance, Jackson.

His decks are, in alphabetical order (and in the case of Kings Wild Shorts, chronological order):
* Black Reserve Note - Green Ed.
* Equinox I v2 Reprint
* Invocation
* Kings Wild Americanas
* Kings Wild Shorts: July 2019: Valley Forge
* Kings Wild Shorts: August 2019: Verum Videre v2
* Kings Wild Shorts: September 2019: Back to School Crayon Deck
* Kings Wild Shorts: October 2019: Trick or Treat
* Kings Wild Shorts: November 2019: Invocation
* Kings Wild Shorts: December 2019: Nutcracker
* Kings Wild Shorts: EXTRA 2019: Edred
* Kings Wild Shorts: January 2020: 20/20
* Kings Wild Shorts: February 2020: VHS 1982
* Kings Wild Shorts: March 2020: Postage Paid
* Kings Wild Shorts: April 2020: El Toro
* Kings Wild Shorts: May 2020: Solstice I
* Kings Wild Shorts: June 2020: General Admission
* Maduro v2 Reprint
* Pi: Chocolate Ed.
* Pi: Plumb Ed.
* Six Foot Five: Gilded Edition

Artist Home Page
https://kingswildproject.com

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