Cardistry-Con 2024 + Interview with Oliver Sogard

Written By Conor O'Kane

October was a very special month. We went to Japan! We got to see beautiful shrines, eat delicious food, and… Oh right, hang out with 150 talented cardists for a whole weekend. Pretty cool.

Tobias and Oliver held the reins for Cardistry-Con this year, and the event was as wonderful as ever. The focus was on the videos this time around, and there was an astoundingly impressive amount of talent displayed all weekend - on screen and off.

In this special Cardistry-Con edition of our newsletter, we recap all the videos below, so check out any you haven’t seen on YouTube yet.


The Role of Cardistry Events + Interview with Oliver Sogard

At the Con this year, we debuted a video recap of our previous meetup in Chicago. Prior to screening the video, we provided a bit of context to the attendees. To recap, one of our main goals with Squareup is to help the community thrive. We do this in three main ways:

  • Introducing others to cardistry via TikTok and other platforms where cardistry has an opportunity to grow

  • Keeping cardists informed - this newsletter is a prime example.

  • Connecting with local cardists in person through meetups and events

That final point is most important to us, as it’s been our biggest inspiration throughout our cardistry journey.

We could talk all day about why hosting cardistry meetups is healthy for the community and why you should organize meetups of your own (even if it’s just a few people hanging out at a local park), but we have a special guest here who can give some insights in what it’s like to run the largest “formal” cardistry event of the year, Cardistry-Con.

That guest is our friend and a familiar face to most, Oliver Sogard:

Q: What surprised you most about taking on the role of running Cardistry Con this year?

I was quite surprised by how naturally everything came together. Last year, when I first heard people suggesting that we take on the assignment, it felt like a dream - primarily because of the big role the event has played in my life. It’s the largest event in cardistry, so it’s a significant responsibility. But once we started working on it, everything just clicked. We’d had a dry run with Card Club, and it was a pleasure working with Tobias again, along with support from many friends. Dan and Dave wanted to pass on this phenomenon they created, and we felt up for the challenge. I’m incredibly proud of the result and excited for the future of Cardistry-Con!


Q: What were some of the biggest challenges in organizing such a large event like this?

No matter how much you prepare, the most crucial time is during the event itself. Everything has to work together seamlessly, and with 150 people depending on us, we needed to stay laser-focused, managing every detail. It’s intense, but so much fun.


Q: Are there specific aspects that you are looking to change or are excited about for next year?

We’ve received incredibly positive feedback on this year’s event and are thrilled with how it went! But we also learned a few things and noticed smaller details we plan to refine next year, mostly behind-the-scenes aspects. We want the programming to be even tighter, with carefully curated video screenings presented through a streamlined AV experience, but we also want enough breathing room between videos. Putting on an event of this scale is a lot of work, but we have a full year to prepare, and it just feels so meaningful. Next year, we hope to expand attendance. The Japan event sold out in less than a day, which is amazing, but we want to make CC25 accessible to even more people. With so many cardists in the US, it might be time for a bigger venue. I’d love to hear feedback on this year’s event or ideas for next year! Feel free to reach out to me on Instagram at @oliversgrd.


Q: Can you share any behind-the-scenes moments from this year that stood out to you?

Working closely with Michael, Brendan, and Tobias in the days leading up to the con was a highlight. Tokyo was the perfect backdrop for celebrating our art form this year. The culture there is like nothing else, and we were fortunate to have plenty of time before the event to enjoy the city and prepare for this major milestone we’d been working toward for over eight months.


Q: It seems a theme of this year, particularly the panel discussion, revolved around the current state of the community and the future of cardistry. What are your thoughts on this topic?

It’s fascinating to observe trends in the community and consider where we’re headed, but I’m not worried. As long as so many amazing people continue to engage and create, the energy will remain strong. Cardistry is such a tightly knit community because of its niche nature, and that’s one of its greatest strengths. Cardistry-Con has always been a cornerstone of the community—an annual event where we gather and have the best weekend of the year, which is essential for maintaining our art form’s vitality and excitement. I’m already looking forward to next year’s con in New York. Hope to see you there!


Panel Discussion + “Practical Cardistry” Recap

Cardistry-Con panel discussion featuring (left to right): Brendan Conner, Dave Buck, Quentin Dugan, Anna Deguzman, Chris Ramsay, and Jack Paton. Photo by Kyle Tran.

While presentations were limited this year to a panel discussion and a talk from Sam Pratt, there was still plenty to take away. Both Sam and the panel (including Brendan Conner, Dave Buck, Quentin Dugan, Anna Deguzman, Chris Ramsey, and Jack Paton) discussed some excellent points around the state of cardistry, how to keep growing the community, and what to consider when creating moves. In case you missed it, or could use a refresher, here are some of our key takeaways:

Panel Discussion

  • Dave Buck brought up some important considerations about how cardistry is shared in the modern age, particularly online. “It’s frustrating when so much of our time is spent battling an algorithm,” he noted. As we have less say over how our videos and posts are shared with others, what matters is that you just remain passionate and focus on your craft. In the end, you’ll be so great that people can’t ignore you.

  • Chris pointed out that it’s important to cast a broad net to capture as many people as possible for growing an artform. It works like a pyramid, and the more people we can get started learning a Charlier at the bottom, the greater chance we have for more people sticking around to the top and becoming seasoned cardists.

  • Jack ended with an emphasis on the importance of physical, in-person cardistry. You don’t have to hide it or not talk about it like it’s some secret. Be proud of your craft and the skills you have, and be open to sharing that with others.



Sam Pratt Talk

  • Sam gave an excellent talk about the importance of practicality when creating cardistry moves.

  • “Cardistry is about control,” Sam points out. The skill in cardistry comes through in the performance, and how skillful you can be with a move is impacted by how easy (practical) or difficult (impractical) that move is to perform.

  • Sam recommends we consider that when creating moves. It isn’t necessarily that the more complicated a move is, the better it will be. Ultimately, that just makes the move more difficult to perform, and a worse performance makes the move less impressive, particularly to non-cardist spectators.

  • Sam emphasized the idea of Sprettzatura, the art of putting so much effort into something that it becomes effortless. This is a key component to cardistry, Sam says, and is why cardistry can look so impressive to other people.

There were many interesting discussion points that we couldn’t fit into this newsletter, so feel free to check out this long snippet from part of the panel discussion on the Cardistry-Con Instagram page.

Ultimately, listening to everyone here, we came away with a sense of inspiration and hope. A new perspective on creating cardistry moves, and a reminder to focus on our craft and growing the community that we love.



Cardistry-Con Highlights

There were so many incredible videos shown during the Con, so here is a quick recap of what was premiered:

Conor O'Kane
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