The MIDNIGHT Elixir - A Deck Created By Backers For YOU.
over 5 years ago – Tue, Aug 21, 2018 at 08:41:08 PM

Two New Decks For You: a Kickstarter Exclusive

I know many of you were disappointed at the speed at which the first Elixir deck was sold out. A week ago the Elixir deck sold out nearly instantly. For those that missed out and wanted to participate,I want to officially apologize to you. I should have been more prepared and planned for a more proper campaign. 

This guilt for letting many of you loyal backers down has been a driving force to produce something even greater for you all than what the initial project offered. This project went from a simple single deck project into something a bit more beautiful. 

Filling the absence, many of you backers (including those that missed out) and myself came together to figure out what should be next. The result was a deck created and voted on by the Apothecary backers. Backers like yourself that share the same love and style for the Apothecary. I asked them what they most wanted and the result was a genuine 100% crowdfunded design.

Introducing the MIDNIGHT ELIXIR

Voted on by backers like yourself, the votes in design, color scheme, and boxes were all picked to create this beautiful crowdfunded design. This interaction with backers is what Kickstarter is all about and I couldn't wait to share this with you personally.

As an added bonus, each of these standard decks will be intaglio engraved in a crisp sharp black instead of a standard offset to truly get the full effect of this design. This extra process will be at my own personal cost for all of you again as a huge thank you for your support over the past 2 projects.

But we're not done yet...

Emerald Insights - A Kickstarter Exclusive Deck

For those who are interested in limited edition decks I am also offering the Emerald Insights deck. Engulfed in goregous gold intaglio engravings featuring the Ace of Spades on gorgeous forest green tuck. In a nod to previous campaigns, depending on the lighting this tuck will change green to black.

It features the very first deck every created for this series, the Insights deck. Representing the origin of the story this deck is finally fully imagined to what I had hoped it would be when first launching 2 years ago. 

This deck is ONLY available through Kickstarter to backers like you.

Each is also gilded in an incredibly rich green emerald shine that you have to see to believe. I've made this deck a KS exclusive so that it still remains limited but allows anyone interested to still have a chance at getting them without having the fastest fingers in the west.

I've been running around like a madman but I did manage to make and cut real prototypes of the engraved tuck this past week as well. It's honestly the most expensive prototype I've ever seen, but it was super important to see how the light plays since rendering really doesn't do these justice. This deck is just absolutely fantastic.

This is a 2 week campaign that ends a week from now.

I've never been so invigorated, passionate, (and a bit sleep deprived) about any other campaign until this one. Why? Because it truly is the most interactive campaign I've had with you guys the backers. 

I pulled out ALL the stops to make this campaign work in the time that was given. I sincerely do hope I've made a campaign worthy of your time. I hope you accept it as my personal apology to those that were affected. If you would like to see it you can visit it HERE.

I promise that in the future I will better plan to try to ensure that this never happens again. Kickstarter is such a great platform and I'm just so lucky for all of you.

Cheers,

-Alex

The GOLDEN ELIXIR Has Been Found!
over 5 years ago – Tue, Aug 14, 2018 at 08:39:55 PM

Hey Guys!

Just wanted to send out an update if you haven't been following me on social media that the ELIXIR deck is now LIVE! 

The project was funded in 2 minutes. YOWZA! 

The Elixir deck is first and foremost a fan tribute to all of you guys! I collected all of the backer feedback over the 2 Apothecary campaigns and saw which were the most common requests. Basically people were looking for less confusion while keeping the bells and whistles. The add-ons and upgrades got a little busy for some.

This campaign changes all that by going super simple. How? Literally every deck is gilded. Every deck is engraved. No upgrades necessary. Everyone wins!

 There is also a box set for those who were interested in cabinets. It includes 2 Elixir decks where the second one is changed to holographic gilding and white tuck. It's only available with the cabinet Again it's my way of saying thanks for those that supported the idea of the cabinets in the first place. 

The Entire Project Encapsulated

I've been waiting to launch this guy for SO long. The idea of capturing all 4 seasons in a transformational moment together is just too cool. It's draped in gold sort of as a wink to the fact that it's like a full solar year. The back designs and Aces all reference previous decks as a fun homage to the previous projects. This deck truly is the Apotheosis of the entire project. If you liked the Apothecary campaign, you'll love the Elixir project! 

PLEDGE NOW FOR THE ELIXIR DECK

Hope to see you there!

-Alex

The Fifth Element + White Label + Shipping + Contests!
almost 6 years ago – Wed, Jun 27, 2018 at 08:58:48 PM

Hey Guys!

Just wanted to pop in to keep you guys updated. So first piece off the bat.

All pledges are shipped!

This is extremely exciting. But this being said I wanted to map out the various scenarios your pledge might be at right now in the shipping process since we all don't live in the same area.  

• Some of you may have already received your packages. Woohoo! I'm already seeing awesome pictures from you guys. For domestic if you have not yet received it, you should be receiving it within literally the next 2-3 days. 
• For international they will arrive at the distribution center in Chicago (I believe today if not yesterday) where the packages will be sorted by country before sending out in batches. International shipping once leaving port typically takes 7-13 business days depending on the receiving country.
• All tracking has been sent to the e-mail that you placed your pledge with. If you did it with Kickstarter it will be that e-mail. If you happened to be a late pledge and went through Backerkit it will be the e-mail you used for that process. Tracking was provided where possible. If you got a link but does not seem to work it most likely is because the package is ready for shipment but it has not yet been scanned at a check point yet. Please be patient because it is most likely being sorted by the distribution center. 

Let's Talk White Label!

Based on the last campaign I launched I wanted to run anyone new to the white label decks through both the gilding and the color-changing ink super quick.

Color-Changing Box: I've made two really quick videos for you since this is a more visual explanation that you can view below of the most common questions that came up the first campaign.

Gilding: If you're daring enough lol gentle play for a few house games should be perfectly fine. I wouldn't recommend any rough edge play like brute forcing the edges together to force a riffle shuffle. But if you're a normal person that does bridge and indian shuffles you should have no problems. 

If you are a performer like a cardist or magician that wanted to perform with the magic finish they're coated with I strongly suggest doing a quick soft wipe with a microfiber towel parallel along the edges. These cards are air-cushioned finish meaning they have small little pockets that help performance. However what this also means is that during the gilding process, there are little pockets that will be able to catch micro particles of dust or glue during the gilding process. You won't be able to really see it. and this won't be noticed for any normal game play, but if you're looking for a perfect Lepaul spread, you'll want to do a quick gentle wipe parallel to the edges if you want that "new deck feel".

CONTEST TIME! Show Off Your Cards To Win A Never-Before-Seen 5th Element Deck.

When you receive your package you'll have received an insert that looks something like this:

 When you get your new snazzy cards go ahead and snap a picture to show off on Instagram! EVERY PICTURE YOU POST is an entry to win a never-before seen prototype of the 5th deck (The Elixir). There will be 3 winners. 2 randomly picked and 1 for best picture. Just follow the rules on the card of tagging and following. We already have a few awesome photos! 

Because of the shipping delay the contest deadline is extended to July 20th. There will be 3 different winners of the prototypes. The Elixir campaign launches 8/8/18 but you'll be getting the prototype before anyone else!  

To see a sneak peek watch the VIRTUES VIDEO and jump a minute in. 

I've also been blessed enough to have The Gentleman Wake review The Apothecary campaign! Check out his amazing video review here:

That's all for now! Excited to see all of you with these decks!

-Alex

Fulfillment Begins!
almost 6 years ago – Wed, Jun 06, 2018 at 11:16:15 PM

Hey Guys!

We've finally entered the "All Hands On Deck For Fulfillment" phase! Woo! Although we've had a lot of production already done previously, the fulfillment center wanted everything in place before beginning to ensure higher quality control and less probability of error in shipments. The last of the items were picked up this Monday to be shipped to the fulfillment center. 

I've talked with the fulfillment center to help break down how the upcoming week or two is going to be:

"We will start with International Packages first and finish them before we move to domestic. We have changed our consolidation center location and now the transit time is only 2 days compared to 4 previously. So that has shortened our transit time. Once international packages are all taken care of we will proceed with domestic. Both printing labels & packaging is done simultaneously. Transit time for domestic varies between 3 to 6 business days. Once we start your project because of the complexity we will only be doing one project at that time so we are very hopeful that we will be able to finish within 5 to 7 business days."

TL;DR - The fulfillment center is literally shutting down everything to focus solely on our project to get all 2500ish orders out in the fastest and safest way possible to ensure your correct package arrives in a timely fashion so the factory floor looks less like an I Love Lucy montage 

and more like a well-oiled Amazon Prime floor.

They're incredibly kind and experienced and it's this kind of dedication that makes me know they're the right team for the job. In terms of tracking all domestic is provided. For international shipping, certain countries have tracking availability for packages but it won't be for all countries. But rest assured Gambler's has been specializing in shipping specifically playing cards for years now and are one of the most reliable in the business for international shipping. We've used them for all our previous projects with very few hiccups so we're very excited to have them ensure safe deliveries of all your packages!

In the next update it'll be less about shipping and more fun with some peeks over the [produced cards themselves, how to properly break in your gilded decks, and seeing what's next! 

Cheers!

-Alex

Gilding Packing + Fulfillment Receival
almost 6 years ago – Fri, May 25, 2018 at 01:39:20 AM

Gilding Is Finally Finished! 

We finally got through it guys! The finish line is so close! Yesterday I went and picked up the finished gilding and they will now be loaded into the boxes and wrapped with the white label sleeves. I've already done a lot of the prep work and pre-signed and prefolded everything to save a few days so if all goes according to plan these should be done, packed, and shipped to fulfillment by the end of next week!

But I did want to show you what the gilding floor looked like and the tucks.

 I could not be MORE impressed by the gilding. I swear these guys look even BETTER in person than they do in picture. 

TUCK BOXES

Man do these POP! They look GREAT :D. The colors are WAY deeper than my prototypes were in the videos. The offset job on these were superb. Deeper colors on the package means a more significant and visible color change! I'm super thrilled to be shipping these out soon. I'll try to do a follow up video in the next update and maybe a few on Instagram/Facebook to show you how the handling is really like since some people still do get a bit confused about the ink. It really is a climate responsive design so if you're in extremely hot weather or extremely cold room it will affect how dynamic it is.  The pictures below are just of me holding them for about 10 seconds. 

Shipping

Last weekend I sent out the shipments to the fulfillment center. In case you haven't seen what a typical Kickstarter shipment looks like, I took a picture below.

I had a fun little contest on Facebook the other day to guess the weight of this pallet. This is full of just the cards. The second pallet was for boxes. Care to take a guess? Scroll down to find out

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The items weighed 1,542 lbs or 699 kg! 

And this was just for this pallet of this first shipment! That's some heavy lifting! 

It's actually my first pallet service I've used. Typically I'd double box each item and ship out 50 or so boxes. But for the sake of speed for you guys and extra safety I tried freight for the first time and it worked great! 

Gambler's Warehouse has just confirmed that they have received the cards yesterday and are beginning to sort now for all non-gilded shipments. 

Once the gilded decks are ready they will be shipped as well to fulfillment by end of next week and we'll officially cross off all production items and be all in for fulfillment! Woohoo! 

I'm so pumped to finally get this checked off and into your hands because I'm eager to work on some new decks for you all! 

Cheers!

-Alex