Today we’d like to introduce you to Emily Feldman.

Hi Emily, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.

My name is Emily and I am 26 years old. I’ve always known that making other people happy brings me joy in life! My whole goal is to help others feel their best and to make them smile. I wouldn’t figure out how to do that more effectively until I began my business in 2019!…

Growing up was definitely difficult. I was adopted from Korea when I was a baby and have lived in New York *basically* my entire life. It’s obvious to locals that I was born in another country and that caused me great distress growing up because most people treated me differently, made rude comments or made me feel like an outcast. Everybody in my town looks similar, except for me- I am definitely an outlier. With having to switch schools when I was younger because of severe emotional and physical bullying, getting comments every single day at my job about how I look different and and constantly answering the question from complete strangers, “Why did your real parents put you up for adoption?”, and just always feeling different and alone, I made it my goal to try to help others never feel the way that I did.

Everything changed for me in 2019 when I started my unique business. I design and produce decks of playing cards for magicians, cardists and collectors. All of my designs on the cards have an underlying theme of strength, positivity and happiness. They are made to uplift people, make them feel less alone and just wind down with a fun deck of cards! Over the years I’ve received countless messages saying how my decks of cards, 52 pieces of paper, have helped them get sober, recover, stay strong and continue on living. And that has made all the difference in my life.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?

I would say it has been a bumpy, yet amazing journey. As a result of all the struggles I have faced, I have learned and grown plenty from my experiences. The biggest struggle is my confidence, or lack thereof. On a daily basis, I really don’t have confidence in anything I do and it’s something that I battle constantly. When I’m working on new designs I worry they are not “good enough” or won’t make a difference in somebody’s life. I worry people will view them as “cheesy” or “worthless”. My biggest concern is that I won’t be able to help somebody that’s in need. At playing card and magic conventions I am so shy and afraid to talk to people! When there’s groups of people hanging out and socializing I tend to stay by myself. I am definitely, 100% an introvert! Confidence is the biggest thing that hinders me but I work on it slowly, every single day!

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?

As I mentioned before, I design and produce decks of playing cards for magicians, cardists, collectors and businesses. The cards look great and handle wonderfully! A deck of cards is great for anyone! You can play card games with them like poker, black jack or any game and it’s great to brand your business with! Decks of cards are pieces of art, from the details on the box, the jokers, the pips (clubs, hearts, spades, diamonds), the courts (jacks, queens, kings), the aces, back design and more! The decks are fully customizable: For example I’ve done decks of cards with peoples’ faces as the jacks/queens/kings! What sets me apart from others is my attention to detail and prompt communication. I take pride in knowing how much I genuinely care about every single one of my projects! I put 120% effort into each deck of cards I do. Brand wise, I am most proud of doing a deck of cards to bring awareness for the National Suicide & Crisis Lifeline! The deck turned out amazing and I hope it will spread the word of hope and awareness to many people.

If anybody is interested in getting their own deck of cards designed and printed by reputable and amazing companies, feel free to contact me! I would love to help you bring your vision to life.

Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?

Something that is surprising that most people who know me or my work may not know is that I’ve danced since I was 2 years old and it’s still one of my greatest passions! I’ve done ballet, tap, modern, contemporary, lyrical, jazz, acro, musical theater and hip-hop! Dance is a great way to get physical exercise, meet friends, discipline and to gain confidence!

Another surprising thing about me is that even though I was born in Korea, I actually don’t speak any Korean! Instead, I am almost fluent in Spanish even though English was my first language. My thoughts and dreams are usually in Spanish and I find that so funny!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.emilysleights52.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emilysleights52/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/emilysleights52/

Image Credits

Frederick Garcia
Frank Cuvin