Fav kind of tarot container...orig box, bag, wrap, case?

[GreatDane]

Wondering who likes accessories 🙂   

 

I rarely use box they came in unless a tin or a really big deck like Touchstone.

 

Buy, make your own?  IF I had to dress my own, they would have to be in baggies, I do NOT have sewing skills.

Edited October 8, 2023 by GreatDane

[Misterei]

I like the original box ... but over the years some decks had to be moved to alternative housing.

I love the Tarot in a Tin decks. It's the original box ... but it will always stay in good condition.

Alternative housing is usually a decorative pouch or wooden box.

[MichaelH]

I mostly use the original box. Sometimes I will wrap a deck I am using that week in a silk cloth. I did think about getting special containers but decided against that and went with the originals

[GreatDane]

Well, it would save me money to go with original boxes!  But tuck boxes, some are just so flimsy and if I'm taking a deck to someone's house to read... and ok, I like to personalize my very collection of decks.  I like them in velvety or silky cases tied with a satin ribbon.   ALMOST all my decks are edged (a few didn't lend themselves to edging and obviously if they have gilt edges....).

 

I like cases or wraps over bags because they feel more secure when I drop them in my bag. 

 

But I think it's what and how we use our decks.  For me, since I don't have a ton, I can get them pretty clothes 🙂 and edge them.  

[Emily]

I like to keep them in their original tuck box but I do take out the LWB's to give them more room and then I bought a load of velvet tarot bags and put my favourites, with their LWB's, into those.  

[AnomalyTempest]

I tend to use the original boxes until they fall apart unless they are they type where the cards were shrink wrapped loose inside and can't be secure. I originally started using pouches when the box would fall apart so I started learning to make my own boxes. Now each deck gets its own box when the originally box starts to fall apart.

[GreatDane]

That is very cool, AnomalyTempest.  I wanted something I could just toss in my bag if I was going somewhere to read, and wanted to maybe put a few decks in my bag.  I saw LOVELY tarot bags, but didn't like decks didn't feel secure.  The cases had structure and kept them safer and ok, I like the unwrapping the ribbon like a package, a gift each time I use the deck 🙂 

I can see for storage boxes would be MUCH better.  If I had very many decks, THAT would be handiest.  But with my small collection, I keep tarot in one sturdy tote bag and lenormand decks in another.

[Esclarmonde]

I usually keep the original boxes, though I do keep some decks in bags. If I wanted a special box for each deck I'd have nowhere to keep them (I have about 25 decks, so not a lot, but still - right now most of my decks fit in a couple of drawers).

[Chariot]

I keep mine in the original cardboard boxes if they came with lids—but not if they are tuck boxes, or those huge boxes that include a large book, etc.  For all these I buy small cardboard gift boxes (the sturdy ones), photocopy one of the cards, and laminate the picture onto the box. That way I can tell at a glance which deck it is.  Bags can be gorgeous—and tempting—but I don't think they protect the cards as well as a sturdy box does.

A box that fits the deck, but not too tightly, is useful. You can include a small crystal or piece of incense in the box with the cards, OR wrap the cards in a bit of silk.  I don't do this to all my decks, but to some of them.  
 

Edited October 10, 2023 by Chariot

[GreatDane]

Sounds like you found the perfect solution for your decks, Chariot!   I get the wanting structure for decks.  Because I need to throw mine in a bag, I opt for fabric cases with some structure and a little padding or layers.   Bags just never seem to protect cards as well for me.  I get bags for things like runes, but decks, not so much.

 

[Saturn Celeste]

Original boxes and a few satin bags.  I have one deck in a bag with no LWB and I can't even remember the name of the deck, no clue, so boxes are best for me.  Gone are the days when decks were sold in those huge flimsy boxes that took up too much room on the shelf.  If boxes are too big these days the cards get put in a bag and the book on the shelf with other books.

[Little Fang]

I use tarot pouches whenever possbile, I hate boxes they feel less magical to me 😅

[Raggydoll]

I like bags or snug sturdy boxes. I don’t keep oversized boxes and I am no fan of tuck boxes. For my favorite decks, I’ll have a bag and then I’ll place them in a nice box. I don’t like when cards rattle around in a box, so I go all in and use both bag and box 😁But I don’t do it for all my decks and I also don’t have a very large collection, so it works for me. I acquire pretty boxes in thrift stores, and I make the bags myself. 

[UnicornsAREreal]

If the boxes arrive to me sound, having survived the perils of delivery, they stay there; if not, in a bag they go.

[Laurelverse]

Original boxes whenever possible.  That doesn't give them much special flair, but it makes them easy to shelve and find a specific deck more quickly. 

[GreatDane]

Interesting to see all your preferences, but mostly WHY 🙂  I GET why some just keep the box, easy to store.  

 

Little Fang, for me personally, I get where you're coming from.  My decks are special, I shuffle, feel bonded to them, so I put them in pretty cases because I just like them 🙂  I like the wrapping them like a present.  I think bags look cool and old school and magically.  But as I have to think about dropping them in my bag, maybe a couple of them, structured envelope cases, especially the velvet or satiny ones, with satin ribbon ties do two things for me:  make it look special when I take them out and unwrap them in front of something and KEEP them safe if they get jostled in my bag. 

 

Fortunately for those of you who prefer bags, SO many to choose from, GORGEOUS.  And of course you can special order them.    I have had to special order, from various reader peeps, for my decks.  If I had all the decks some of you have, I wouldn't have been able to afford that 🙂  

[Guest]

I don't use my decks all that much, so I have no problem with them staying in their original boxes. 

[GreatDane]

That totally makes sense, Akhilleus.  I think what we like to keep our decks in is at least partially motivated by how we use them, where we store them.   I do admit to liking to dress my decks up 🙂 but what I keep them in also very much serves a practical purpose.    

[Eugenie]

I am so happy today: my mother made a cloth/wrap for me and now I can use cards safely on the not-so-clear surfaces! I asked her to choose the most luxurious vintage fabrics to make sure that the cards are comfortable, so the cloth is made from silk velvet (inside) and silk-cotton "bekasab" for the outside, both fabrics very vintage and hand-woven. The 30x40 cm fabric takes two rows, three cards each, easily (and these are large cards), and they wrap into a neat fat bundle. 

[Raggydoll]

17 minutes ago, Eugenie said:

I am so happy today: my mother made a cloth/wrap for me and now I can use cards safely on the not-so-clear surfaces! I asked her to choose the most luxurious vintage fabrics to make sure that the cards are comfortable, so the cloth is made from silk velvet (inside) and silk-cotton "bekasab" for the outside, both fabrics very vintage and hand-woven. The 30x40 cm fabric takes two rows, three cards each, easily (and these are large cards), and they wrap into a neat fat bundle. 

That’s so pretty, and very special to have your mother make it for you! 😍

[Eugenie]

@Raggydoll, thank you! Yes, I love everything my mother makes for me. All those things are special and warm my heart when I use them. 

[akiva]

1 hour ago, Eugenie said:

I am so happy today: my mother made a cloth/wrap for me and now I can use cards safely on the not-so-clear surfaces! I asked her to choose the most luxurious vintage fabrics to make sure that the cards are comfortable, so the cloth is made from silk velvet (inside) and silk-cotton "bekasab" for the outside, both fabrics very vintage and hand-woven. The 30x40 cm fabric takes two rows, three cards each, easily (and these are large cards), and they wrap into a neat fat bundle. 

It's such a lovely wrap, it reminds me of the Japanese art of fabric wrapping called furoshiki 😁

 

Off topic but what deck is that? It looks really cool 😊

[Barleywine]

I have to admit that far too many of my decks never see the outside of their container, so the original boxes are fine. For those I use a lot, the box usually gets scuffed or torn and I have to find a replacement. Some decks don't come with a box (Anna K didn't) and others arrive in an oversized box with a large book that gets put on a bookshelf (Mythic Tarot First Edition), so the cards just flop around. I have a miscellany of boxes for those rare cases: hinged wooden boxes from Michael's (but they increase the bulk quite a bit), metal wallet boxes (Dockers, Nautica, etc) that are almost perfect (the wallet is a bonus). I will sometimes scan the face of the original box and glue it on the makeshift one so I can tell what's in it. As you can probably tell, I don't have a display case and just bin most of my decks in large, hinged, clear-plastic boxes (so I can see what's inside) that hold around ten deck each (also from Michael's). I guess you could say I'm more utilitarian than fussy.

[Eugenie]

9 hours ago, akiva said:

It's such a lovely wrap, it reminds me of the Japanese art of fabric wrapping called furoshiki 😁

 

Off topic but what deck is that? It looks really cool 😊

 

Thank you, furoshiki is exactly what I had in mind when asking for this! 

 

It is the Russian Tarot Loubok by Vinitsky. I think it is only available in Russia, it was a pain to order. 

[akiva]

6 hours ago, Eugenie said:

 

Thank you, furoshiki is exactly what I had in mind when asking for this! 

 

It is the Russian Tarot Loubok by Vinitsky. I think it is only available in Russia, it was a pain to order. 

Thank you! I can look at it online and wish I had it 😆