Hey Robin,
USPCC prints all cards on the same stock now, used to prefer Bee decks... But I digress..
There is a serious market for playing cards right now. I believe magicians like cards that people are used to seeing, Bicycle, Bee, maybe Talley-Ho. Cardistry has brought out some cool designs though. I see the "simplistic" design ruling right now, Madison, NOC, Fontaine.. sometimes less is more. Check out the kick-starter pages, see what has been funded, see what theory11 is producing now. Foil, metalic, embossed, all options. Dan and Dave have awesome designs as well... I think a good approach would be to do some more research, come up with a design and start getting feedback on that... and make sure you love it! I wish you well sir, and keep us updated.