Hello Aether Cards!
This is AlieN InK's official id on this forum... The Blot153 reference will makes sense relatively soon, as we have lots of great ideas we are working with. This id just got approved and I am working on getting an official AlieN InK id here.
I just want to say our piece, on where we are coming from, so you can make judgements based on what's real. First, we really appreciate that people are enjoying the art for the project. We spent 6 months with our handpicked artist, Heavenwill on deviantart to make these cards as absolutely beautiful as we could. It is rewarding to see that people appreciate what we put so much work into.
Let me just say, that my brother posting on the UC forums was unsolicited, and I was not very happy with the way he went about explaining that 'cards are just cards'. It does not reflect our views in any way. We spent 4 months buying cards and getting samples and searching the entire globe to find the right printer for our cards. We understand that a lot of ink means we have to adjust our finish. We know that card stock, cut, and finish are absolutely vital to how a card handles. We are, (albeit relatively new) cardists ourselves and would never create decks that we couldn't use ourselves. Street magic, Cardistry, Fans, Flips! We love that stuff as much as you do, and we know that you take cards very seriously.
It is a bit disheartening to see so much distrust about this project but we understand that is it not your fault and that you are just being careful. We really are sorry if you have been jaded or hurt and we understand that as a company we will have to earn the community's trust. The one thing that we know, is that once we get these cards into the hands of reviewers and cardists, there won't be any doubt that we have done our homework and that we very much intend to be making cards especially for cardists and magicians for a long time to come. We love cards, and we are willing to put in the time and work.
We have deck designs lined up that we think are really creative and we want to make a real impact and show everyone some really beautiful and original decks. We love cards, have some great ideas and want to participate in this community. We found our printer after unending research and know that we have a quality product. It is because of our goal to be in this business for a long time that we want to keep our proprietary printer proprietary. What I can tell you is that it is a great company, prints for an international magician that uses his own cards in his performances, multiple casinos and that they exclusively print playing cards. We hand picked every aspect of these cards, and know what is needed in the way of performance from them. They are 310 gsm, Casino quality paper, linen embossed and have a cambric finish to make them slick and fluid.
At this point we are hoping that people see that the rewards outweigh the risks. This is a first edition deck from a design company that is creative enough to replace the suits with celestial bodies and reinvent the court cards. Dedicated enough to spend 6 months on the designs alone and put great care into every single card, including the jokers. Our next decks are just as unique. We see the future of this company. We see the beautiful decks that we have in store for you all. I promise, you will be delighted. We hope you see a glimpse of the future too, and see what a special thing it will be to be one of the people that saw our creativity and supported us from the start. We know that all it would take is one bad product from any company to turn people off to them. We know the first impression is vital. And we will do what it takes to earn the trust of Cardist internationally.
The gist is. We love cards, and no matter what, if we have to crawl through broken glass to get these cards made, whether it takes only this project to kickstart us, or if it takes us a lifetime, we will stop at nothing to see these cards and our future decks around the world in the hands of people that really enjoy them as much as we do. We are a designer company that insists on offering the highest quality playing cards with the most unique and out there designs we can imagine. We hope you see our vision, the amount of work we have put into these cards and this project, and join us.
Thank you to everyone for your support, and we hope to see you be a part of this project. Ask us anything you like, just please understand that we would like to keep our printer private. This is just the beginning, and there is much more we will be sharing with you all in the coming months and years. Hope to see you support us on Kickstarter, and we hope to have a deck of GalaxY CardS in your hands soon!
Here is a link to my (Jeremiah's) first cardistry video. I know, it's not insanely awesome, but I love cards and wanted to document me getting a grip on the first few things I learned. I made this a few days after we launched the first project.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZEVIzSEBGE-Jeremiah and Sebastian
-AlieN InK