Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Paul Yerian. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Paul, thanks for joining us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

Do you remember a time that you drew a picture or made a slide show, maybe you wrote a poem or maybe struck a few chords on a piano? That one time that you created something from nothing and you wanted to show someone, people, the world must see this creation!
But not everyone will like this right? So what about the people that dont like it? What if its not just a person but maybe a couple people. I mean just because I made something doesnt mean its cool or people are going to like it. Im not the best but do I have to be? Can my imperfect growth outimpress my imperfections? What if its not good enough, like im not good enough.

September, 2024, Its a Saturday morning 8:00 a.m. Myself and Co-Founder David Sakie stand behind a table as LED lights flash rainbow colors and swirls of color combinations on the table infront of us. Each light is being emitted from a small item which looks to be a trading card, however its not flat. This trading card is cut just so, that the main character in the card is popping out!

This is what David and Paul have been working towards, Presenting the worlds first 3D, LED, Rechargeable, Wireless, Curated, Tailor Custom Made, Collector Trading Card. We just call it a Chop Shop Card.

We have shown these to family and friends who of course will give you their feedback, you know how it is. The feedback is like “omg so amazing”, “wouldnt change a thing”, “perfect as is”, which is everything you want to hear. However your gut tells you the world may have a different opinion and you must be prepared to deal with it if you want to present it to the world as a good, a product, merchandise if you will.

But now is the time, at Cleveland’s own I-X center we stand ready to engage with potential customers who will hopefully be drawn to our table by the flashing lights, like a moth to a light but without the zap at the end. Instead the customer will choose one of the many cards we have presented on the table. Cards from Pokémon to Baseball Cards, Skibbidi Toilet to Magic The Gathering TCG. Each card has been precisely cut and reassembled with LED lights hidden behind a border card.

The IX Center is set up for the 2024 Cleveland Gaming Classic with awards, free game play, prizes, autographs, cosplay, everything gaming related. Our table is set up on a corner facing the main ally of the even. Coincidently the booth that was next to us couldn’t commit to the event so he offered his spot to us so now we had double the original space plus both corners of the booth right in prime real-estate down the main ally.

Holy crap, I can see the people begin to walk in, the line is released from the main entry gate into the event. People begin to disperse once past the main gait and they naturally flow down all aisles and make their way to many tables including ours.

The feedback we received was truly astounding with how positive the customers were reacting to the cards. Kids were loving the Stitch cards we made from Disney Trading Card Game Lorcana based off Lilo and Stitch Disney movie. Teens were enjoying seeing their favorite Quarterback or humans head sticking out of a toilet from Skibbidi Toilet trading card game. Adults liked seeing the Star Trek and LoonyToons – LoonyTunes cards. All feedback was positive with very little criticism or constructive criticism.

But as the day went on it became clear to me that even if we don’t sell anything today, we still feel we did do a great service to our craft which we have dedicated so much time and effort to. We have presented it to the world of Cleveland Ohio and because we took that step, we are able to pursue future events and we can step more confidently into the future of Curated Collector Cards with Chop Shop Cards.

Take the risk, it’s easier to ask for forgiveness than permission.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

At Chop Shop Cards, we create a one-of-a-kind wireless and rechargeable 3D authentic trading cards with LED lights controlled with an app. We only use 3 of the same card, One card for the border, the Second card for cut pieces, Third card as the background. We stack 17 cards with their center cut out to give the card depth and we stack 20 cards with their center cut out on the back to house the battery, switch, power port (type C) and LED light controller. This is all within the frame of a standard trading card (2″ 1/2″ x 3″ 1/2″) with an approximate depth of less than half an inch < 1/2". The border is only 6mm or less than 1/4" in thickness and the center that's cut out is repurposed to add layers to the main character or whatever the focus of the card is. We will chop any card, however, some cards are either too thick to cut or have fabric or have a piece of an item inside the card. We will not chop a card if it is the only one in existence, obviously, we wouldn't chop it since we need 3 but also we look at the value of the card, most cards we chop are cheap holographic cards that just look cool to us or it holds a special spot for a specific collector. We take requests and custom pieces of course. We work with you in selection and keep you updated along the entire process.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

Advice to a partner of a creative person: The creativity inside doesn’t stop, ever, and I ain’t mad. However, it can become taxing on people around me who are non-creative. For me personally, I know the time I have spent apart from my family, my wife, have been a challenge. When there are no orders or sales, yet, I still go down to the shop and continue chopping up cards. I chose cards that challenged me, I chose a path that challenged me. I failed and I continue to fail. I miss deadlines that I impose on myself. I press myself to make myself better.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

Share, Join, Like, Comment, and Subscribe, as much as you can for small businesses or artists. Sometimes it might just be your action that sets off a chain reaction of positivity for someone.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.chopshopcards.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chopshop.cards/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100092233571218
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCL9Ur6mIyhcl4kdoVsY-PDQ
• Other: BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/chopshopcards.bsky.social