Mr CUP News

 

I try to not apologize too much. You know when you started an email with "sorry for not having replied before" to an email received the day before ... Everything is too fast, all the time ... Some studies show that a facebook post have a lifetime of 14 hours, 19 if it's a video ... it's only 4 hours for twitter, against 20 hours on instagram ... bullshit! Are months of work on a project worth a few hours of attention ... Good things take time...

 

as a special offer, for any order done before the release date of may 23^th (here or at waltermag.com), the digital version of the volume 2 will be sent for free ! What else !

But there is even more ! Subscribe to the Mr Cup newsletter to get another gift tomorrow !

 

 

We all know the visual codes of a deck of cards – ace, king, queen, jack... hearts, clubs, diamonds, spades ... red, black. Theory11 reinvent these codes and call in graphic designers and printing craftsmen to create remarka ble games ! Everything is in the experience, the feeling, the paper quality, the gilding and the decoration. Walter 2 will feature a full story behind these decks and here comes Citizens, designed by th one and only Kevin Cantrell. You know him, he his behind the deign of Walter 1 front cover !

 

 

 

 

Kevin this story behind these cards : Theory11 contacted me to create an opulent and currency inspired deck for a specific magician. The initial ask was to create something singular but with hidden iconography throughout that told the magician’s story in a subtle manner. As the creative progressed, the hidden iconography became more tertiary as the currency theme and other design elements rose to the surface. The iconography and subtle connection to the magician became so tertiary, in fact, that we decided it was better to have the deck stand on its own independent of the magician.

We changed the name, drawing inspiration from the rich look and feel. The concept of justice and equality, written in latin as “libertas et justitia” and “e pluribus unum” meaning "one for all,” or the idea of justice and liberty for everyone, made the name “Citizens” really resonate. My process is two fold: architectural and gardening. I come up with the basic structure for the key components centered around typographic components such as the logotype and a custom monogram made inside a custom ace of spade. Following the architectural foundation, I then fill in the space as needed (gardening) which is really more intuitive than anything else.

We wanted every panel to tie into the other, almost like a magic box. So if you turn the box around you’ll notice that there are subtle connection panels that run to the spine. Every panel was integrated and considered; we didn’t want any detail to feel unintentional or an after thought (just as we wouldn’t want any individual or citizen to feel ... unimportant as the latin them of “liberty and justice for all” resonated throughout). In addition to the aesthetic connectivity, we wanted there to be a high sense of functionality to the deck as it stood on a shelf. The name “CITIZENS” fit beautifully large on the main side panel, so that from a distance CITIZENS would read easily above the rest; hence this citizen is sure to stand out in a crowd!

 

 

 

 

The detailed ornaments of Kevin Cantrell combined with a gold foil, hot stamping and bronze foil give Citizens the masterpiece status! Even the inside of the box has a breathtaking, intricate guilloche pattern. The Joker and back design bear the Latin phrase “Audentes Fortuna Iuvat.” Fortune favors the brave. The Ace of Spades features an iconic Citizen “C” emblem. Citizens artwork extends in three dimensions from the laser-etched hardwood cover. Open it to reveal 6 decks of Citizens. Handcrafted detail with laseretched panels and the finest African hardwood make this box set the most luxurious collector’s edition to date.

 

 

“A time before the United States existed, a time when we were subjects of a King across an ocean, we, the Sons of Liberty operated in the shadows, leaving secret signals, passing hidden messages, and meeting in the dead of night.” These playing cards embody the spirit of freedom that the Sons of Liberty fought for, featuring Freemason symbols, the Liberty Tree, and many other secret images. A few of the many heroes of the War are represented on the court cards, giving you a chance to become acquainted with brave men and women. Illustrated by Jeff Trish in a woodcut style with intricate details throughout. Custom court cards, aces, Jokers and subtle variations in all the spot cards make this deck completely unique all around.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A few copies of the Sons of liberty are also available in the shop.

 

 

I have buy several decks for my personal collection of the past weeks and took some more to propose them in the shop. Check the updated part of the shop to get Union, Monarch red and more.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Check all the cards available in the shop here.

 

With only one last week to finish the Walter Magazine kickstarter and only half of the fund, I figure out I may have done something wrong. That maybe the front cover has not much impact as the first, it does not say enough about what Walter Magazine is. So I tried to work with another image, one of Ben Johnston creating one of his works. But I now have a constraint on Walter 2: the cover is printed with a single color metallic pantone ! So here's what it can give with a picture of Ben vectorized to have enough contrast to make this strain a creative element!

 

Vote for your favorit cover

 

 

I guess some of you may ask why I still need more money to do this project. So, I will be honest with you, I thought that the distribution would be simpler! But selling a magazine is to enter a world that has its codes and habits. We finally found a partner that should Walter distributed worldwide but there is a problem : we should see the color of money in sales only in ... 300 days! We must finalize the printing of this issue 2, that's why we need you! Get your copy on kickstarter.

 

Here comes more pages of this Volume 2

 

 

 

Here comes one of the article in the Walter 2, now on preorder on kickstarter. I will focus on great instagram account to follow, inspring and creative ones !

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I will also invit you to visiti the Neon Museum of Las Vegas !