Brand Bios: Art of Play

A modern emporium of wonder and specializing in specialty playing cards, Art of Play exists to ignite your inner curiosity, and spark the childlike sense of wonder.

Enter a world of curiosity and delight with Art of Play. A modern emporium of wonder, this company exists to ignite your inner curiosity, and spark the childlike sense of wonder that rests (with varying levels of dormancy) in us all.

From 3D puzzles to general oddities to their signature line of deluxe playing cards, Art of Play products are original, mind bending and show stopping.

Art of Play "Flying Dog" Playing Cards edition 1 showing the brewery logo on the ace of spades. illustrated by ralph steadman.

Founded by twins Dan and Dave Buck, who you may or may not be familiar with depending on how large of an interest you have in cardistry. For those who don’t know, they’re credited with helping to pioneer the art of cardistry and have invented more than a few beautifully intricate card tricks and flourishes. Cardistry differs from a typical ‘magic trick’ in that it’s not about trickery or an a-ha moment, but instead the artistic, mesmerizing flow that can be found in manipulating cards as its own form of art. 

In 2013, they decided to become a part of the card industry on the design and manufacturing side, and thus formed Art of Play. Even now after having expanded their selection to include different puzzles, oddities, and even their printed publication ‘Tangram’, their specialty is their line of designer card decks, which now includes an extensive list of collaborations including notable designers, breweries, record labels, and the USDA Forest service.

The Buck twins discovered cardistry when they were about twelve years old and never lost their spark or passion for it.  Now they spend their time dedicated to showing people that there’s a world of art in 52 cards. And it makes sense– Dan and Dave have spent the majority of their lives now spinning cards and cutting decks and seeing the childlike spark of wonder it brings to people’s eyes, and have seen the value it brings.

Their products are sustainably manufactured– the cards are printed on recycled paper with vegetable based ink, manufactured in the US, and the company itself is part of 1% for the planet for reforestation efforts. But, what really caught our eye is that they’re focused on keeping the mind curious and fascinated. Production is important to us– the manufacturing process, materials– but it’s philosophy that we connect to. The best part of Art of Play is ironically an illusion in itself in that the answer really is right there in the name: Play, in any form, is art.

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