So Connie has made the following update and basically lowered the price of the deck by $20 meaning for $50 you now get the special box and the deck
I wanted to thank all my early backers and commenters for their support and insight. It's been a whirlwind start to the project, and I've learned a lot in these first days.
I've received a lot of comments on the price level for the deck, and I wanted to take a moment to explain my thinking behind it. I know a lot of you in the card collector community have balked at the original price level of $70 for the deck with metal case, and that's completely understandable coming from your world. In my world, it is not uncommon to have an art series collection sell at this price point, whether it be a run of prints or an art book, and often times they go for much higher. My original intention was to sell it as an art piece, and so I chose accordingly based on what I know of the art world's prices.
The fact is, I'm not a business woman. I don't know the first thing about studying market value and evaluating elastic demand (terms I'm pulling from your helpful comments!). When I did an initial run of 14 cards years ago as an utterly cliche starving art student, I sold a limited quantity at $60 a pack. That's why I thought the $70 price point was more than fair for the full deck -- it was a special Kickstarter deal. Illustration is all I do. This isn't something I can do in my spare time between jobs; it is my job. My art demands that I draw and draw and draw for hours a day, that I constantly hone and improve and re-examine my technique. This isn't supposed to be just another deck of playing cards. This is my art. It is, quite literally, my life's work. And my only hope is that it can move or inspire you in at least some small way, the way I was moved and inspired to begin in the first place.
With that said, the whole point of putting my art into card form was so that it would pull away from the habits of "high art," where work is only viewed from a distance, through a glass case hung on a wall. This was supposed to bring art back down to Earth, to be more accessible. Not low-brow, but intimate. This was meant to be something you can hold in your hand, to be as personal for those viewing it as it was for me to create it. And if the cost prices out people who would otherwise want to interact with the art, then it defeats the purpose of the project altogether.
That is why, after careful thought, consideration, negotiations with vendors, and a couple sleepless nights, I have decided to revise the reward levels. All my current backers who have contributed at the $50 level and above will automatically get the additional rewards at their respective price levels, plus as a special thank you for your early support -- for taking the leap with me -- I will also send you a new limited-edition signed print, exclusive to you early Kickstarter backers. It is a personal token of my gratitude, and no one else in the world will have it but you.
It has meant so much to me that all of you have joined me on this journey. I'm still figuring it out, and I'm realizing that outside of the four corners of these pages where I spill my ink and guts, I have much to learn. Please let me know if you have any additional questions or comments. Thank you for your guidance, your kindness, and your support.
Thank you.
