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Made in Fort Worth: Fort52
Made in Fort Worth is all about people and businesses who help make Fort Worth, Fort Worth. For our art issue, we would like to introduce you to two women who have elevated the humble deck of cards into a work of art. [Editor’s Note: The interview was edited for length in the magazine; this is the full interview.]
Madeworthy: For readers who are discovering Fort52 for the first time, how would you describe your company and the products you create?
Fort52: We create luxury playing cards with 15+ original watercolor images in each deck. We specialize in locations, mostly cities and states, and what makes those places unique and special. You can find our decks in over 130 different stores in 25 different states. We also enjoy working on custom projects for hotels, resorts, brides, and corporations. Our playing cards are created to specifically bring to mind great memories in different cities or trips – we choose the images with that in mind for each deck. Being a small business, we thrive on the flexibility it gives us to use our creative side while also taking the time to pick and choose our next decks as something or somewhere that inspires us. Our decks are made up of bright and beautiful watercolor art, making them so much more than your standard playing card.
photo credit: Jason Kindig
MW: Running a small business together comes with both rewards and challenges. How do your individual strengths complement each other behind the scenes?
F52: Calli is the creative force driving our business forward. She is always coming up with new ideas and new products we could be launching, and she is also the technical piece of our puzzle. Rachel is more the organized piece – dealing with emails, numbers, and keeping things on track. It takes both kinds to run a small business -there’s no way we could do it without each other. When one of us is in the weeds with a project or problem, the other is always right there providing the mile-high view with a way to solve the issue. Being a part of Local Design Studios and learning and collaborating with other women-run businesses is a huge asset for us. The ladies we work with are always willing to help, provide feedback, and brainstorm ideas.
MW: Which product best represents Fort52 right now, and why does it feel especially meaningful to you?
F52: All of our playing cards feel meaningful at the time we create them – we carefully choose the images that are in the decks (it’s a minimum of 15 images and some decks have upwards of 20 because there’s so many landmarks or characteristics that make those locations unique) through research, asking friends and finding the right image to be drawn that would make a great watercolor art piece. The Cowtown Cards will always be special to us, as it was our first deck and gave us the idea to launch a line of playing cards. The Let’s Rodeo deck has been fun recently, being timely for this winter season. Both of our kids have done the Mutton Busting at the FWSSR and love looking at all the different events listed in the deck. We even included a hot-pink pair of cowgirl boots that our girls love.
photo credit: Rebekah Byrne
MW: Your playing cards feel like they are made for gathering. How do you envision people incorporating Fort52 into their homes and routines?
F52: We have both enjoyed incorporating our cards into our regular routines with friends and family! Whether it’s playing Old Maid, Go Fish, or Speed with our kids after school, or a game of Onze or Spades with friends after a dinner party. We have loved hearing from customers on their favorite game night traditions as well. Putting the decks in the clear acrylic boxes makes the cards a tabletop piece as well, so they are easy to grab when you’re looking for something to do. They aren’t just in a drawer somewhere waiting to be used (we hope!) Later this year, we are launching a few more family-friendly games, so be looking for those!
MW: What’s inspiring you lately? Colors, themes, or ideas that we might see in future Shop Fort 52 collections?
Everything bright and colorful! We are thinking outside the box for a few new decks we have in the works – not focusing on cities and landmarks, being more creative and putting a fun spin on the art. Our kids are also getting older (Calli’s oldest is 9), and so they have opinions on what is fun and cool, so we are leaning into that as well – they are always full of ideas! Our latest ideas are still keeping game nights as the main theme of our business, just expanding what games families can be playing.
MW: Before Shop Fort52, did each of you have your own creative path? Tell us about what you did before you started this business.
F52: We both studied Ad/PR at TCU and took a few graphic design classes, which started our love for creating our own designs. We each took corporate roles after college, but were both heavily involved in the invitation process for our weddings. Rachel was extremely particular and came with all kinds of screenshots, and Calli designed her own rehearsal dinner invitations for her dinner at the Fort Worth Zoo. Calli then worked at Paper Affair in Dallas for a year, where she learned the ins and outs of the invitation world – from the initial concept all the way to the printing process. We had talked for a couple of years of dreams of what we truly wanted to do, and at a Christmas in Cowtown committee meeting in 2016, they were talking about any new vendors that we had heard of that should be part of the market – we then looked at each other and thought this is our time! And we launched Wabash Road that fall, doing invitations, gift tags, cups, napkins, and Christmas cards. Since then, we have evolved into just playing cards and changed the name to Fort52 in 2021.
photo credit: Jason Kindig
MW: How do your personal tastes and histories show up in what you create?
F52: We started down the path of creating location-specific decks of cards – as stocking stuffers, thank you gifts, nods to different college towns, a memento for a trip, you name it – they were to encapsulate the memories made in different cities. We then started brainstorming on what other times/ places/ events make the best memories – that’s when we launched the rodeo, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, and summer decks. Such great memories and game nights happen in those times, and we wanted to capitalize on that as well. We’ve had Galentine’s Game Nights focused around our Valentine’s Day deck, summer nights full of games with our kids, and lately, with the snow days, we’ve been snuggled up by the fire playing Old Maid and Go Fish.
MW: Fort Worth plays a subtle but steady role in your work. How has living and creating here shaped you as women and as designers?
F52: We are both actually from here, went to high school here, and TCU – so a love for Fort Worth runs deep within us. Calli lived in Dallas for a few years but came back about the time we started our business. A talented mom friend came to us with her drawing of a horned frog for her daughter’s birthday invitation (back when we created invitations), and that got the ball rolling to start the cards. Calli, with her creative mind, thought, “What else could we do with this?” And that’s how the cards were created. So, you could say our love and knowledge of our city is what started us on the path we’re on now. One horned frog drawing has helped launch over 30 different decks of cards.
