UnitedCardists.com - The forum for Cardistry, Magic, Custom Decks and All Things Playing Cards.

My name is Kevin. I'm a collector out in sunny Los Angeles. If you ever pass through, give me a shout!

I got into cards back in 2015 when I used to host 40 person poker tournaments overseas. Like many of you, Bicycle was my gateway point. Well, between 2016 and 2022, my hobby was sidelined, but rest assured, I'm back for good haha.

Some of my favorite modern designers are Stockholm 17, Uusi, Lotrek, Marianne Larsen and Nicolai Aaroe.

I'd love to learn more about antique collecting. If you have knowledge to share, I'm all ears.

Welcome aboard - looking forward to some of that antique chatter myself

Those are some mighty fine designers to collect, Kevin.

Whatever you do, don't start paying attention to decks by Montenzi. Or Thirdway Industries. Or Kings Wild Project. Or Randy Butterfield. Or Sunish Chabba. Or Alex Chin, Rick Davidson, the Edgy Brothers, Jody Eklund, Elephant Playing Cards, Emmanuel Jose, Steve Minty, Chris Ovdiyenko, Kirk Slater, RJ Tomlinson....

Welcome aboard Kevin.

If you like to dabble into antique @Chuqii's and @acetofive's personal collection threads (Show us your cards-subforum) here and @pipnosher's instagram are a must go to place imho.

rousselle wrote: ↑Tue Feb 06, 2024 7:25 am Those are some mighty fine designers to collect, Kevin.

Whatever you do, don't start paying attention to decks by Montenzi. Or Thirdway Industries. Or Kings Wild Project. Or Randy Butterfield. Or Sunish Chabba. Or Alex Chin, Rick Davidson, the Edgy Brothers, Jody Eklund, Elephant Playing Cards, Emmanuel Jose, Steve Minty, Chris Ovdiyenko, Kirk Slater, RJ Tomlinson....

Haha too late

Hey Kevin; welcome to the insanity!

Welcome aboard. Those are some great designers. You also ought to check out Jocu and Jack Brutus Penny. Jack has a great Kickstarter just about to wrap up, so it would be an easy way to check him out.

rousselle wrote: ↑Tue Feb 06, 2024 7:25 am Those are some mighty fine designers to collect, Kevin.

Whatever you do, don't start paying attention to decks by Montenzi. Or Thirdway Industries. Or Kings Wild Project. Or Randy Butterfield. Or Sunish Chabba. Or Alex Chin, Rick Davidson, the Edgy Brothers, Jody Eklund, Elephant Playing Cards, Emmanuel Jose, Steve Minty, Chris Ovdiyenko, Kirk Slater, RJ Tomlinson....

I definitely own some decks from some of these artists and recently back Legendarium by Montenzi on Kickstarter and it's stunning. Thanks for recommending a few artists I hadn't heard of before

Not to get too political on y'all but with Elon and Donaldo destroying civic institutions, including my beloved Peace Corps, it has me reflecting on a lot of things - including my username here!

I havent really shared this with anyone in the community, but many years ago I served in the Peace Corps. I spent several years in a small country in sub-saharan Africa called eSwatini (formerly Swaziland). Its one of the few remaining countries on Earth with a reigning monarch as its functioning head of state. The king's surname is Dlamini. Dlamini happened to be the surname of the family I lived with (they certainly weren't royalty lol). My Swazi name was Siyabonga ("we thank you" in Zulu).

Whenever I met someone new and they asked for my name ("ubani ligama lakho?"), I would always give the cheeky response: "Ligama lami ngu Siyabonga Nkhosi, inkhosana yakaNgwane" (My name is Siyabonga Dlamini, Prince of Swaziland). This was always met with a belly laugh and served as a great ice breaker (ethnically speaking, Swaziland is a very homogenous place).

Anyways, I wanted a username to pay homage to that time in my life. I am neither royalty (a chicano from East LA), nor an aspiring rapper

Thanks for taking a stroll with me down memory lane.