ARTIST: Stacey Jay Kelly (Squiddle Ink)

[Don Boyer]

Ms. Kelly is no stranger to design work or playing cards, having work extensively in corporate design as well as being the resident playing card designer for the ancient guild known as "The Worshipful Company of Makers of Playing Cards."  You might recognize her from the talk she gave for 52 Plus Joker back in April of '22 (there's a link below if you missed it).

Working as Squiddle Ink, the deck Sardines Playing Cards in Tomato Sauce" is her first playing card project as an independent and her first Kickstarter project.  Printed by Legends Playing Cards, the deck's modern design aesthetic works splendidly with the tongue-in-cheek theme.  The first thousand decks were attractively packaged in a small metal box meant to resemble an actual sardine tin.

Based on the strength of this deck, she was selected as a nominee for Artist of the Year.


Kickstarter project page: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/squiddleink/sardines-playing-cards-in-tomato-sauce?ref=discovery&term=sardines%20playing%20cards
Stacy's talk during the April 2022 52+J Virtual Playing Cards Weekend: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ha82A02jgHM&t=1797s
Squiddle Ink home page: https://squiddleink.com/index.html (note: you may get a security warning for an expired certificate on this page)

[Squiddle Ink]

Additional finished product shots.

[Squiddle Ink]

Joker Otter

[EndersGame]

Just wanted to congratulate Stacey with her nomination.  She's a great artist, and under the name Squiddle Ink, is well known as an artist outside the world of playing cards.

Her Sardines Playing Cards in Tomato Sauce is a terrific deck, one of my personal favorites from the past year.

I love the customization on all aspects of the deck, including all the number cards and especially the court cards.  But the card backs are especially stunning, especially with shiny silver foil creating a stunning effect.  The production is excellent, and these have really impressed everyone I have shown this deck to.

It's also worth mentioning that Stacey has been the lead playing card designer for the Worshipful Company of Makers of Playing Cards, which is an ancient guild of playing card creators in the City of London.  Each year a new person is declared the Worshipful Company's Master, serving for the term of an entire year.  So it is a high honor and public recognition of real talent to be given this prestigious position.

Congratulations again on your nomination as Artist of the Year, Stacey Kelly - a worthy nominee!