Questions for you about extras
over 1 year ago – Fri, Apr 21, 2023 at 05:50:11 AM

Hi! So we have made almost 160% of our goal which is... incredible. I have a list of thing to do with the extra funds and a few questions for you all about possible little add-ons that everyone would receive.

Things I do plan on doing:

• Upgrading the deck box with silver foil. I already checked with the printer and it's a very manageable cost. I'm going to see about other bells and whistles as well (foil on the cards themselves maybe?)
• Upgrading the shipping boxes to be more than not just in a regular brown box but something a little spookier...
• Give a bonus to my research assistant who has been invaluable to this process and deserves some extra $$

Things I'm looking to add:

• Stickers of cards/images from the deck (easy, low cost, doesn't add any real weight to packages) Any images you want? I bet you will say Mothman lol
• Pins (I was thinking of an image from the cards, thoughts welcome but I feel like Mothman will also be popular here...) If you know of a solid manufacturer please let me know. I've found some but would love a recommendation. 
• A printed map of all the locations of the stories in the deck. This would be folded to fit in the  box so not a fine art print but a nice poster.

These items are small enough that I don't see them effecting shipping costs drastically. I still need to iron out numbers but I'm not terribly worried. 

Thanks for your input!

-Genevieve

Diverse Identity & Queerness in HAUNTED
over 1 year ago – Sun, Apr 16, 2023 at 11:29:30 AM

With about nine days left I wanted to touch on some things that has always been a part of Killerpancake Illustration tarot decks and was mentioned in the Kickstarter video but for those that don't know me and my work, might not be super in the know about. Since I started making tarot cards, they have always included reflections of the world I live in. That includes people of many ages, abilities, skin tones, orientations and identities. My court cards have people of all genders in different roles. The King of Swords is Fannie Sellins, a women, because she fits the energy of a king card. I used a female model to draw the Mothman card I shared in the last update. If I hadn't told you that, you probably wouldn't have even noticed :D 

ETA: If you ever saw/bought my CULT deck, I’ll be including pronouns for major arcana & court cards in the same way. I had them in the guide just under the name of the card.

If that's a problem for you, it's ok to back out of your pledge now! You have time :)

There's a trend right now to blast things for being "woke". I'm not interesting in that debate. My goal is to talk about this world and the people in it. The world is very diverse—even here in Pittsburgh and the surrounding regions. It always has been. We live at a confluence of rivers that have brought people from all over the world to its shores. Folks then have migrated on in every direction. The folklore has done the same! Even before colonization, there wasn't a single group of people that inhabited this area. It was and continues to be a place where many people overlapped. 

One of the reasons we are focusing on legends and lore and not specific information around folk magic & practices in this area is because that topic alone is INCREDIBLY diverse. The influence from cultural belief and practices from different European traditions,  many Native cultures, and the many different traditions brought here by those who were enslaved and continue through their decedents means there is no "one way" or standard at all. It's also not our place to share other people's beliefs and traditions that could be sacred and none of our business. We want to acknowledge this diversity without taking things and claiming things that aren't ours. 

HAUNTED includes diverse representation of people with various backgrounds. I'm influenced by this land and the stories that are held here. The history books don't always reflect that but the urban legends, the ghost stories, and the folk lore have a way of carrying stories of minority groups through history (maybe not always the best representation but that's where my artistic license comes in). 

We only have 78 cards but we are including as many different stories as we possibly can!

We have started chatting with the people who funded the Become a Card reward and already that diversity has shown through. I cannot wait to finish this deck and get it out to you!! We also found out that we can afford to do some beautiful silver gilding on the deck box which will be really cool.

All our best, 

Genevieve & Sarah!

What We've Been Up To!
over 1 year ago – Sun, Apr 09, 2023 at 07:36:57 AM

Greetings!

This is Genevieve coming to you from a hotel room in New York City. Life has been hectic but exciting and there hasn't been the space to update until now—apologies! If I haven't been at an event or on the road, I've been hold up in my studio reading and drawing :D 

Last week I was at Steel City Con and actual met some folks who funded the deck and it was so lovely to chat with you about tarot! I missed one of you but my friends at the table said you were very cool so hi!!

As of this writing we are just shy of 17K! With the extra funds I'm investigating the cost of putting some metallic silver on the deck boxes with the printer (I should hear back this week). 

I've also reached out to the "Become a Card" folks about their card. If you haven't gotten back to me, I'd like to touch base sooner rather than later. I'm headed to South Korea in the middle of May for a couple weeks! I'll definitely be sharing the journey on IG & TikTok while I'm there and don't worry I will also have my iPad and will be working on the deck :) 

I'm Including a sketch I've been working on of a witch riding a man like a horse (likely a knight card). It's an account from a man accusing a woman of witchcraft that I found in The Witch of the Monongahela that I couldn't resist. I've also got a Mothman card (Page of Swords) almost finished and work on Madame Bartel the Millvale psychic (Page of Cups). All are still in the very early stages! I hope everyone is having a great weekend and I'll be in touch with more images as I make them!

- Genevieve

We did it!!
over 1 year ago – Thu, Mar 30, 2023 at 08:08:25 AM

Well we have hit our goal in the first few days and I cannot be more excited and grateful!!

We still have a bit of time left so I’m going to see about how much added flourishes to the box will be (I’m thinking of some silver foiling).

Thank you again SO MUCH! Being able to focus just on building the best deck ever is so incredible 😭

• Genevieve

Wow... Thank you!
over 1 year ago – Tue, Mar 28, 2023 at 08:06:25 AM

We are at about 75% funded in less than 24 hours. I'm overwhelmed with gratitude and also a little loopy with exhaustion haha. 

I will keep this update short and to the point!

Become a Card Pledge People

• If you selected the Become A Card reward, please make sure to message or email ([email protected]) what card you want to be. So far the following have been taken: Queen of Cups; The Tower; Justice; The Moon; The Hermit; Judgment; High Priestess; Death; The Empress; The Star; The King of Cups
• I'll be scheduling meeting times with Become a Card pledgers to talk about the design once we fund. I'll check in when it's time so don't worry! 

Getting the Word Out

• Based on my metrics, the word of mouth that you all have done has really helped fund this deck. If you haven't please share it with anyone you think might be interested! The first week and the last week are the most important times.

If you have any questions or thoughts, feel free to reach out! 

GBT