*An Orlando-based designer and content creator has found himself sitting on a goldmine thanks to his latest product that has everyone talking – Blvck Spades.
The innovative brand is a spin-off of the Spades game that’s been seen (and heard!) at nearly every Black family reunion and cookout across the nation, but in exceptional fashion, the cards reflect the people who love the game so much. The premium deck is a bundle of Black royalty, featuring Egyptian kings and queens.
Players will hold cards displaying beautifully designed historical figures such as Nefertiti, Tut, Ramses II and Cleopatra among others.
After the social media world caught wind of its release earlier this month, sales shot through the roof via a Kickstarter campaign, even causing the site to crash due to the high demand – but Blvck Spades LLC was back up and running in no time and the orders are sweeping in.
The owner, E. Mackey, said he was sitting at home watching TV when he found himself intrigued by a deck of cards he saw on the screen. He had been thinking about his next entrepreneurial move, and it clicked. He would use his creative skills to design his own deck.
“I said to myself, it can’t just be a deck. It has to be special,” he said. “After a couple of days it hit me and I was like yo, you’re Black. We play spades and none of us look like that. So, to have a deck of cards where they look like us, we have never had that.”
“I started thinking, how can I make them better? Then I began realizing that there is a lot of debate about big joker, little joker, what version to play, the house rules…and there are a lot of people who don’t even know how to play. I realized that in solving these problems, the deck would become a teaching tool for those that don’t know how to play.”
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For those looking to learn, the deck comes with a set of rules, and they are also listed on the Blvck Spades website to keep Uncle Reggie from cheating.
Development of the cards may seem like a pretty straight forward process. However, Mackey explains that a great deal of work went into it. In fact, to ensure that he and his partner Zain Gunsby had a product of the highest quality, he took a trip to Egypt to ensure historical accuracy. Additionally, he visited China, where they made the custom paper that is included in the Blvck Spades gift sets.
“I took the knowledge that I learned in Egypt and put it in the deck. There is a card that tells you who everyone is in the deck,” Mackey said. “We really took our time with this because we wanted it to be something that is a fixture in our culture; something Black could take pride in.”
The next step for the Blvck Spades imprint is to become much more than a deck of cards, but a lifestyle brand that includes a myriad of other products.
For more information on Blvck Spades and to purchase your very own deck or gift set, visit the official website at blvckspades.com, or follow the brand on social media at @blvckspades. E. Mackey can also be found at @emackeycreates.
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