Baba Studio

"baba studio" was founded in 2002 in Prague as a partnership between Karen Mahony and Alex Ukolov. Karen is Irish, and did her post-graduate degree at The Royal College of Art in London. Alex is Russian, and one of his degrees is from the Kharkov Academy in the Ukraine. Their unlikely Irish/Russian partnership has turned out to be very successful - and lots of fun! The studio is in the oldest part of Prague, located right between a square reputed to have a headless coachman, and a house that is believed to have been inhabited by a magician. Working in this inspiring place, baba has become well-known for their best-selling tarot decks, published by Magic Realist Press. These include The Tarot of Prague, The Baroque Bohemian Cats' Tarot, The Fairytale Tarot, The Fantastic Menagerie Tarot, The Victorian Flower Oracle and The Victorian Romantic Tarot - all of which are based on fantastic historical and fairytale imagery. Baba is also renowned for The Bohemian Cats - so far the cats have appeared in a picture book (recommended by Endicott Studio) and the Gothic Vampire (with kitties) fantasy, Shadow of the Vampuss - mee-wow! When time permits, Karen and Alex also work in textiles and jewellery, both of which they love, so they are especially thrilled to see their art becoming counted thread designs.