Alice tarot by Karen Mahony & Alex Ukolov

Baba studio has done it again, after many years passionate work this summer they have finally published what was one of the most anticipated deck of the year, and it is good, very good even!

Many have been talking, waiting, wanting this deck ever since it was first mentioned and the number of individuals interested only rose despite it's long genesis, the longest in the very successful parcours of Baba stdio  must say...and once it was available for pre-order I jumped on the occasion to obtain it (as many others did), the best proof it how successful it is, is the fact that the deluxe limited edition, despite its price  is already sold out! But was it worth it or is it just one of those hypes the tarot world has? My answer is simple: YES it is worth.

A work of love and dedication combining the tarot with Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland and Alice Through the Looking Glass by means of collage art, a technique they have proven in the past to master at a very high degree. Due to the source material and the understanding Karen and Alex have of the tarot this deck resulted in more than just another WCS-clone with happens to be Alice themed, no this is a fresh exciting cross-fertilization between the two resulting in a 'child' that will fill you with wonder, and make you wonder if the Cheshire Cat was correct when  saying "Oh, you can't help that. We're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad."
But then (some) madness never hurt, and where the artist and geniuses not considered mad by those who did not understand them?

It is a nice tradition at Baba to have 2 variations of a card, in the Alice these are 2 lovers cards, both very nice and very different from your 'classic' lovers.
One card is the The Walrus and the Carpenter. the other is showing flamingo's whatever version you choose to use (or be bold and use both) they will make an interesting impact on your view of the lovers.

Both editions the Limited and the 'normal' version use the same images with metallic ink to highlight elements and/or parts of the cards (or in some even up to 90% of the image), both use the same high quality card-stock with a carbon inner layer to protect against bending and creasing, etc...
So in what do the editions differ? Well both editions have a different back, a different size (Limited edition 65 x 100 mm , about 6.5 x 4 inches and the Standard deck 28 x 78 mm (about 5 x 3 inches) and also the limited edition came in  a nice wooden box with the deck inside it also protected by a hand-sewn fold-over pouch in pure silk dupion and printed satin, the standard comes in the same kind of hinged box we came to appreciate from them.

You can still by the standard editions at the shop, it is not  a mass-market deck so  it will not be available via mass-market sellers. For our convenience the Baba Studio shop has now been divided into an European and an international part the main address remains the same http://baba-store.com/  and there you will be redirected.

Bohemian Gothic Tarot third edition is open for pre-order

In case you didn't notice one of my favourite gothic decks, is almost back in print!
I'm not the only one loving it that much judging the attention it gets on tarot groups and forums all around,and prices it fetches on eBay once it goes OOP, so there will be a lot of people happy (and this just in time for the holidays) .

This third edition had just like the second one (and as will all decks by Karen & Alex before being re-published in a new edition) under gone some changes, some subtle rather tweaking others are more noticeable and some can already be seen at Baba Studio's facebook page - here.

Like the first and the second edition that had 2 'formats' (for the 1st a normal and a sliver edition, and for the 2nd a normal and a deluxe version with pewter/silver edges) this 3rd edition comes also in 2 different shapes a normal deck and a mini deck with foiled silver backs.

You can pre-order the deck directly at Baba Store here and to sweeten the deal not only you get  a pre-order discount on the deck but also on their wonderful limited edition Bohemian Gothic tarot bags with an "authentication" ribbon tag.

Wonderland Tarot by Rodney Howington

Alice in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll (real name Charles Lutwidge Dodgson) are not only 2 great works of Western literature but it is also a great source of inspiration to create a tarot deck, what isn't really surprising knowing Carroll was a member of Society for Psychical Research (an organization for the study of spiritualism, ESP, clairvoyance and all type of paranormal activity)

This interpretation of these works looks very colourful, and outspoken, it could have been made by some characters, I'm thinking of the Mad Hatter, Cheshire Cat or the Caterpillar here strong,colourful, perhaps a bid insane even....a look that fits the more psychedelic aspects of the books. 

Artist Rodney Howington didn't hold back and went all the way in the chosen look making this a bold statement and powerful visual item popping right at you, in your face and proud of it a deck fit for 21st century lovers of Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass. 

You can buy it at the artist Etsy shop here.