Asheville on Deck
In October, 2024, we collaborated with our friends in Asheville (NC) to launch “The Asheville Artists Flood Collection” Kickstarter card deck and coffee table book to raise funds for the resilient artists of Western North Carolina whose lives were impacted by Hurricane Helene. Asheville on Deck: The Flood Collection is a special casino-quality card deck memorializing 54 original works of art that were lost (or damaged beyond repair) during Hurricane Helene. Minus operating expenses, all proceeds from this venture go directly to the participating artists whose lives and livelihoods were upended by the flood.
Artists in Western North Carolina were one of the populations hit hardest by the devastation of Hurricane Helene. The River Arts District (RAD) in Asheville was home to 300+ artists. Many of these artists lost studios, equipment, or full collections of artwork. And most of these artists have lost their primary sources of income: galleries where they sold their work and taught classes, plus the tourists who frequent these establishments.
According to Erica Schaffel, the Asheville-based artist spearheading the project, “The idea started during a conversation with friends (Art x Love). We were standing on a bridge overlooking the River Arts District and everywhere we looked there were just pieces of artwork floating downstream. I found myself selfishly hoping I would see one of my paintings there just to know what happened to it. It feels like a very particular type of grief. Every piece of art that floated by felt like I was watching a small piece of someone’s heart and soul float away.”
While many businesses were standing up GoFundMe campaigns, Schaffel chose to launch a Kickstarter instead. “I want to get money into the hands of artists quickly”, says Schaffel. “And every dollar raised above our $15,000 production costs will do just that. But given the scope of devastation to our region, I also wanted to create a more sustainable income source, one that would continue to deliver royalties to participating artists over the next year as they rebuild their business and find new sales channels. And since the whole idea was to share this lost art with the world, a physical product just made sense. I immediately reached out to our friends Mac and Allyse Love, from the Akron-based creative agency Art x Love for help. They have successfully designed and launched similar projects in the past and we are thrilled to be partnering with them on this venture.”
The Asheville Artists Flood Collection raised more than $220,000 in 6 quick weeks. Erica Schaffel collected submissions from the participating artists, and Art x Love designed and produced the playing card set. Asheville on Deck: The Flood Collection was released in January, 2025. The first print run of 5,000 decks sold out in 4 months and more are on the way. We are honored to see our On Deck playing card sets celebrate and support artists in communities near and far.
