AOTY/DOTY: Lorenzo Gaggiotti/Stockholm17, "Eye of the Ocean" and "Odd Fellows"

[Don Boyer]

Lorenzo Gaggiotti, better known to most of the card collecting world as Stockholm17, is no stranger to the Diamond Awards, having won both Deck of the Year and Artist of the Year in 2019.

This year, he hasn't exactly been slacking - two major releases bear his name: Eye of the Ocean and Odd Fellows (a collaboration with Portfolio 52, the new parent company of United Cardists, owned by Alexander Chin).  I'll start with the solo project, Eye of the Ocean.

This deck project was a huge, huge undertaking, largely because it's not just a deck.  There's a novel to go with it - and a puzzle connected to the book and the cards.  The novel details a young woman's quest, originating in 1776 Stockholm, to sail the high seas and find the island that her mother was searching for when she disappeared.  The book is presented in a spectacular recreation of a period-accurate book, complete with embossed leather wrapping, a bronze-finish astrolabe attached to the cover, a bookmark, a dip ink pen and a deck-sized hidden compartment.  A second deck is due out later this year, according to the Kickstarter project.

The novel's heroine is not the only one with a quest - there's a puzzle that's connected to the novel and two of the decks created for the project.  The Solis and Lunae decks come with letterpress extra cards printed with information tied to the puzzle.  Backers who solve the puzzle will be included in a raffle for free prizes related to the project, such as Quartermaster Edition decks and polished brass Codex Keys.  To date, no less than nine people have succeeded in solving the puzzle.

All the decks in the project are offered in non-gilded and gilded versions.  The tuck boxes were manufactured by Oath Playing Cards (Lotrek) in Greece.  Card printing was by Cartamundi on their B9 Slimline stock.

When voting, please consider the following information.  Prototype playing card tuck boxes were made and released for this project, which are ineligible when deciding whether to vote for this project.  In addition, the Quartermaster Edition decks were initially issued to a select group of Patreon investors in 2020, thus were not released during the eligibility period, and also should not be considered as part of this project for voting purposes.  The Mini edition of the Quartermaster deck, however, wasn't released until this year - to the best of my knowledge, it is eligible for consideration.

Kickstarter project page: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/requiemcards/the-eye-of-the-ocean/description
Intrepid deck variant from Stockholm17's web store: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/requiemcards/the-eye-of-the-ocean/description
Portfolio52 search results for decks from this project: https://www.portfolio52.com/search?search_string=eye+of+the+ocean

[Don Boyer]

Now, on to Lorenzo's second project of the year, "Odd Fellows."  Created as the first official Portfolio52 deck, it celebrates the non-conformists in true off-the-wall fashion, inviting you to imbibe with them at the bar...if you dare.  They all look like truly fun packs of cards, done as they are in playful, almost radioactive colors - it's the kind of deck that I really wish was in regular production, it looks so cool and playable.

A grand total of six character-themed decks were made for the project: Uncle Tibia, Brass Monkey, a gilded, foil-backed limited-edition Sir Octo (a Kickstarter exclusive), a serial-numbered, gilded and foil-backed El Sapo the frog, and Jakko, the mini-deck with a jack-o-lantern design, and a Patronium-exclusive, serial-numbered deck, Dr. Crow.  The cards were manufactured by the Expert Playing Card Company.

As with the previous project, there were four prototype decks associated with this project: an Uncle Tibia and Brass Monkey in plain, hand-labeled boxes autographed by the artist and foil-sticker sealed versions of Uncle Tibia and Sir Octo.  Please remember that prototype decks are considered unfinished works and are not eligible when considering this project for Deck of the Year or the artist for Artist of the Year.

Kickstarter page: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/portfolio52/odd-fellows-playing-cards
Portfolio52 search results page: https://www.portfolio52.com/search?search_string=odd+fellows
Portfolio52 page for Dr. Crow: https://www.portfolio52.com/deck/18382/view
YouTube showcase of Dr. Crow by Stockholm17: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYJcf-bQLnU

[EndersGame]

There is one other project that Lorenzo completed in the period July 2021 through June 2022, which has not been mentioned above, namely:

Notorious Gambling Frogs Playing Cards

It was perhaps not as major as Eye of the Ocean, but then again, few projects from any designer are. 

As you can see from this thread over on United Cardists, the project was first teased in October 2021, and people started reporting receiving it in March 2022.  So it falls within the period of eligibility, and should be considered when judging the body of work that Stockholm17 has put out in this period.

Surely the fact that it wasn't mentioned has to be an oversight? 

It's a wonderful deck that was printed by WJPC, and has been the subject of a lot of praise on playing card forums such as United Cardists and Reddit.  A special gilded version (limited to 500) was also produced.

It's sold out already, but they are reprinting it this month, along with a companion Orange edition.

[Don Boyer]

Surely the fact that it wasn't mentioned has to be an oversight? 

You are absolutely right, my friend!

With the large, and I mean LARGE, number of decks that come out in a given 12 months these days, it's easy for one to slip between the floorboards inadvertently.  Thanks a million for bringing this to the attention of the voters!