Leonardo Masterworks | A Playing Card Renaissance

Project Update | 10.2020
over 3 years ago – Fri, Oct 02, 2020 at 12:52:07 PM

Hope everyone is well in these unique and challenging times.

Leonardo Masterworks continues to ship out, but much slower than planned.

Our suppliers still struggle under the global pandemic. Everyday brings new challenges, but we are carrying on. We continue to ship out completed sets each week.

We will send you a tracking number when we ship your set out so you know when to expect it. So no need to worry, write, or do anything now, as we are on top of it. Just let us know if you change your address.

Thank you for your continued patience dear backers!

 🖤 

Art Playing Cards

Leonardo Masterworks | Production and Shipping Update
over 3 years ago – Thu, Aug 27, 2020 at 07:31:20 AM

Hope everyone is well.

Leonardo Masterworks continues shipping, but far slower than planned. 

All of our suppliers are still struggling under the global pandemic, the lockdowns, and the shortages in their own supply chains. We are doing our creative best to find alternative paths to accomplish the work. With its metal stage, 3D metal seals, full metal cards, and custom packaging, it takes time and great care to complete each set to the quality we demand from ourselves and you expect from Art Playing Cards. 

They are handmade works of Art, and there are no shortcuts for quality.

We remain optimistic that we will be able to complete shipments, and ask for you continued patience. As you can see in the comments, the Leonardo Masterworks sets received are getting a wonderful reception. 

Thank you dear backers for your patience and understanding at this time, it is most sincerely appreciated.

kind regards,

Dent-de-Lion

Leonardo Masterworks | Behind the Scenes | Shipping Update Nr 3
almost 4 years ago – Thu, Jun 18, 2020 at 01:54:06 AM

Leonardo Masterworks are continuing to slowly but steadily make their way from our studios in Switzerland to you. We wish we could produce them faster, but because of the pandemic there is a lot more handwork involved "in-house" than originally (pre covid 19) planned. Some of our suppliers went completely under, while all of them, like all of us, felt the impact of the challenging global situation. But, the good news is, our little gems are going out the door to you! Thank you for your patience, we have the best backers!

So far, in earlier updates, we have presented you with our beautiful Metal Commemorative Cards and our 3D Embossed Foil Stamp Seal. Now we would like to share with all of you the Leonardo Masterworks Stages!

The Stages are hand cast, one-by-one here is our studios, out of the finest quality lead-free pewter, a custom alloy of tin, antimony and copper. They are solid metal and very hefty! We are thrilled with the final results, graced with the patina finish they really feel like something from Leonardo's time, old and yet new, wondrously hand-made, something increasingly rare these days. Every Stage and Horse are unique, and entirely one-of-a-kind.

We feel, after countless hours of work, we have attained the dream for Leonardo Masterworks that we envisioned at it's creation. 

The Journey of Horse and Stage :

•  creating the dream
•  defining the vision with 3D digital modelling
•  engineering the model into a viable 3D print
•  inverting this 3D print into a silicone mould
•  casting hot metal into the mould
•  refining the cast object into the final work of Art

And repeat, 500 times for the full edition!

There are only a few Leonardo Masterworks pairs left for purchase now from the limited edition, as our dealers have been reserving what was not pledged for on Kickstarter. Please send us a PM if you would like to add a second pair now.

Thank you again for joining us on this journey, your support helps makes our Art real!

kind regards,

Dent-de-Lion and Soleil

Leonardo Masterworks | Behind the Scenes | Shipping Update Nr 2
almost 4 years ago – Wed, Jun 03, 2020 at 11:53:58 AM

*** Backers Only! • artplayingcards.com • APCBACKERS25 • get 25% off NOW! ***

Thank you all for your kind words about our update last week, and your artplayingcards.com orders. 

The first packages of Leonardo Masterworks will be going out next week, and we are absolutely thrilled! As we mentioned in our last update, shipments will be a tad slow at first, and then pick up week-by-week until fulfilment is completed.

Last time we presented the Metal Commemorative Card, which was very well received, thank you! Now, we would like to share with you another component of Leonardo Masterworks, the Embossed Foil Stamp Seal!

The seals, like the Metal Commemorative Cards, are pure METAL! They are specifically the same type of metal as the cards for consistency - Brass and Aluminium, albeit much thinner to facilitate the 3D embossing. Leonardo’s magic handwriting adorns the front side. The top of the seal is our well known Leonardo logo, and on the back is “500” signifying the quantity of our Limited Edition.

A full 3D relief sculpture of Leonardo’s head looks out from the tuck, over the Stages and his Horse.

The Embossed Foil Stamp Seals are hand perforated (!) - in fact, we have tried to do most of this project utilising handwork over machines as we have found that this gives much more of the “Renaissance Feel” we aspire to with Leonardo. There are slight variations among the parts of the project, making it more “human”, which is lovely today in contrast with our era of mass produced perfection. The perforator that performed under our hands, well… that is a story in itself! Very difficult to find such a tool today… when was the last time you used a perforated stamp on a REAL LETTER?!

To open your Leonardo Masterworks, (if you so choose to do so) will require a sharp X-Acto type knife, as they are METAL. Still, they are thin brass and aluminum so they cut easily. This leaves a clean separation and looks best.

Next week we will continue “backstage” with a look at the Stages!! (Pun semi-intended )))

Once again, thank you for your 24K Gold Gilded Deck orders! We are getting through them one-by-one, in the order received, so please continue to be patient. We are still accepting new gilding orders, but only two per backer please! For details about our gilded gems, please see our earlier update here.

Oh, and one more thing…  Art Playing Cards is celebrating both the shipping of Leonardo Masterworks and our upcoming Kickstarter launch in the next days of the companion deck to MERLIN • Illuminations! Get in here now and add APCBACKERS25 and get 25% off on almost everything! So take advantage and get that Glitch, Leonardo, 1001 Nights, or Merlin deck you've been wanting!

Thanks again for your continued support, it's most sincerely appreciated.

🖤

Dent-de-Lion and Soleil

Leonardo Masterworks | Behind the Scenes | Shipping Update Nr 1
almost 4 years ago – Wed, May 27, 2020 at 03:24:46 AM

*** Backers Only! • artplayingcards.com • APCBACKERS25 • get 25% off NOW! ***

We are very pleased with our daily production progress, and expect to begin shipping Leonardo Masterworks out of our studios here in Switzerland shortly.  Shipments will begin slowly, but will pick up each week, as we still wait for our suppliers to fully recover and resume normal deliveries to us. 

As we presented in our campaign, your set is made up of the following items :

• The Stages
•  The Embossed Foil Stamp Seal 
•  The Metal Commemorative Cards 

So first, let's have a look behind the scenes at the Metal Commemorative Cards.

The cards are made of pure Brass (for the Gold color) and a fine Aluminium alloy (for the Silver). Both metal cards are the same thickness as our standard USPCC Leonardo playing cards (approx .3mm for the card nerds), but it is fun to hand the cards over to someone and ask "Which is thicker?". Because of the incredible density of brass, the gold cards feel three times thicker and a lot heavier (which they are), but they really are the exact same thickness!

On one side we feature our Leonardo Horse, resplendent over a texture of the master's famous writing. The number "500", which is the size of the complete Limited Edition, resides in each corner. On the reverse we have the Leonardo Masterworks insignia and our studio emblem, Meisterwerk Altstadt, along with the four suits in the corners.

We are quite pleased with the cards, and if you are the kind to break open your Leonardo Masterworks, you will find them, one each, inside your new treasures.

Next week we will go "backstage" with the 3D Embossed Gold and Silver Stamp - Seals.

Also, thank you all so much for your 24K gold gilded deck orders! There is quite a number to do, and they will be done in the order received, so please be patient... but yes, for those of you who have PM'd us, we are still accepting new orders! For details about our gilded gems, please see our earlier update here.

Oh, and one more thing as noted at the top : Art Playing Cards is celebrating both the shipping of Leonardo Masterworks and our upcoming July Kickstarter launch of the companion deck to MERLIN • Illuminations! Get in here now and add APCBACKERS25 and get 25% off on almost everything! This offer is good until the end of the month - so hurry on in and take advantage and get that Glitch, Leonardo, 1001 Nights, or Merlin deck you've been wanting! 

Thanks again for your support, it's sincerely appreciated.

🖤

Dent-de-Lion and Soleil