Wagenmaker & Farano join ‘The Chase’

Art on full display in episode 30

By David Yarger

Co-Host “The Chase”

Monday morning, “The Chase” crew was back at it again for the start of a week’s worth of shows. Monday began the final week of our collection of interviews from the National.

The first interview was of Justyn Farano, Farano Fine Arts; and Eric Wagenmaker of Reclaim Customs. This show had quite the artsy creativity vibe to it, as both create their own pieces of art for the collecting world.

Farano had been to the last 10 Nationals and was excited to be back. He added business has been booming the last few years.

For Farano, he does quite a few live events, including shows, games such as the All Star Game, and tournaments like The Masters. He sets it up where he paints live on the scene, but he also has displays that show off just some of the masterpieces he has created.

As far as the step by step process, Farano said it all starts with an image and he goes from there.

“They’re original oil paintings. The first step is always really doing an image search and a design layout of what I really want that painting to be,” Farano said of an Aaron Judge painting he was working on at National. “So this piece was actually started a few years ago at the All Star Game in D.C. and had been on the shelf for a little bit and then I brought it back out to LA, because of the monster year this guy is having.”

The even more creative part about Farano’s pieces is that he gives a name to every single one. For example, one Mike Trout painting is called “The Catch of the Year.”

“My art is different and one of a kind, I try to have the titles the same way,” Farano said. “I want to have its own flare. I think it adds another element to my artwork.”

As far as his artwork, the pieces have an incredible ability to stand out and Farano said it’s interesting to see how his paintings glow in the end.

“I think it’s the concepts I create that are usually about the player, the team or city they’re playing in. Certainly I put my own twist on it, but my knack, from a talent standpoint really adds a whole other level of depth. … This is obviously an original here, and originals usually take me 200 to 400 hours to complete, then from the originals, we do limited editions signed by the player, signed and numbered by me, licensed by the leagues. … These are all licensed and authenticated,” Farano said.

Farano added that his love of sports and art began at a young age. He said he would draw sports figures when he was 4 years old. He also said being at the National reminds him of fond memories collecting cards with his father.

“I started the business back in 2005 and I’ve built and evolved a brand and over the years it’s really transitioned quite a bit from my early years to now,” Farano said.

Farano’s work can be found on his website.

Next up, the crew talked to Wagenmaker and got a glimpse of his custom card creations. The Western Michigan native, who is a card collector, mentioned he has a graphic design background, and after seeing how some cards were made, he decided to dive into the realm. He added, he kind of got out of card collecting, but slowly got back in during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I’ve been a graphic designer, I’ve dabbled into websites. I’ve been doing that for 15 years and then a good buddy of mine he showed me some custom stuff, and I said, ‘I could do that, if I had the right equipment.’ So I went out and got it, it was about 10 months ago or so and I was off and rolling,” Wagenmaker said.

Long story short, Wagenmaker creates custom cards with cut autos, relics and such of players that his customers request. In addition, he said he’s also created cards of former presidents and some of the top pop culture celebs, as well.

“The sky is the limit. If you can dream it, let’s get it done,” Wagenmaker said of his creations and ideas.

Wagenmaker added, he’s done relic cards for parents who have kids that play sports and has even created cards for his own kids, who play soccer. He said the customs really create something that is priceless to families.

“I take pride in my work. I want to put something in your collection that you’re going to love. Something you’re going to love and cherish. So, that’s really important to me, for sure,” he said.

He said some of his personal favorites he’s made are the cards for his two boys, and also the Theodore Roosevelt cut auto creation, in addition to a Hellen Keller auto card.

To check out more of Wagenmaker’s collection, check out his Instagram and website.

Also on “The Chase” …

-On Monday, the crew opened up 2022 Panini Select WWE as part of the day’s box rip  giveaway. There were two autos, and some memorabilia, including an auto of Bianca Belair, who is on the box!

To win these WWE cards, comment on the YouTube video your favorite wrestling moment of all time.

-The crew took a peek into the current bidding on Heritage Auctions for the SGC 9.5 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle card, which will shatter the record for most expensive trading card. The current price is $6.45 million, with $7.74 million with buyers premium. There is still 12 days left in the bidding process. To keep tabs on the bidding, visit the Heritage Auctions website.

-For more information on everything Dave & Adam’s Card World related, visit dacardworld.com or visit all the social media platforms here.