Knave of Swords is in its “caterpillar” stage - a dream of a truly innovative and passion-driven, co-operative studio. At this moment, KoS is a media studio that tells empathetic stories with beautiful art in the making. When we’re a butterfly, we’ll be owned by the employees, ideas coming from every member of the team, and the stories we produce will be more impactful than ever.

What is Knave of Swords?

It all started in the 1400s, when various groups of people around Europe and Northern Africa started playing some very similar card games with a very similarly structured deck. Nearly 400 years later, two Frenchmen named Antoine Court and Jean-Baptiste Alliette applied esoteric philosphy and far-seeing wisdom to the cards, and it marked the birth of modern “tarot”. 

Every card in a tarot deck represents something about humanity and what it is to be alive. Love, change, upheaval, celebration, pride, connection, tension, rifts, luck, euphoria, unfairness, poverty, desire, friendship, and solitude - it’s all in those 78 cards. The themes and meanings range from the over-arching lessons in life, to the mundane, day-to-day mantras. 

All of the history, just to tell you about one little card in that 78-card deck, called the Knave of Swords. A card that represents new beginnings, passion, fervor, enthusiasm, communication, creativity, and a longing to move forward, jumping into the unknown, with nothing but an intellectual ideation of the future to guide you. 

why was it started?

The founder, Emyliane Clemence, had a vision of a studio with none of the industry-standard walls, ladders, and grappling hooks required for success and innovation. Too many friends and connections were thwarted by their inability to take on under-paying work, didn’t have connections into the industry, or simply felt as though they were never heard when sharing their own ideas. Knave of Swords is an answer to those struggles - because storytelling is deeply human, and there’s nothing more exciting than allowing a room full of creative people the time, resources, and space to tell their own stories.

behind the scenes

Like many others, Em was jolted out of comfort by the COVID-19 pandemic and was afforded the opportunity to develop relationships in the entertainment industry and create two short films of varying quality. It was this sudden blossoming of work that most inspired real, actionable steps forward towards the founding of Knave of Swords! If you’d like to see the two short films that started it all, check out Emyliane Clemence’s YouTube page!

brand mission

Knave of Swords, a studio, name, and intention inspired by the card, is in its “caterpillar” stage - a dream of a truly innovative and passion-driven, co-operative studio. At this moment, KoS is a media studio that tells empathetic stories with beautiful art in the making. When we’re a butterfly, we’ll be owned by the employees, ideas coming from every member of the team, and the stories we produce will be more impactful than ever.