From an uplifting tote bag and IKEA tarot cards to Le Creuset’s Marble casserole and mixed-media artworks partially created by bees, these are the top VISI picks of the week series – week 305.

1. Ava Roth’s Mixed-media Artworks

Artist Ava Roth creates works of art with the honeybees in her garden. She combines embroidery, fabric, bark and honeycomb to build mixed-media collages that the bees also contribute to.

Images via thisiscolossal.com

2. Le Creuset’s Marble Casserole

Le Creuset has released a new Marble Signature Round 24cm Casserole. The limited-edition casserole forms part of the brand’s cast-iron collection and comes with a complimentary gift of 4 mini cocottes.

Image courtesy of Le Creuset

3. Seriously Have a Good Day Tote by Skinny laMinx

Local textile and homeware brand Skinny laMinx has released a new tote bag to send positive vibes off into the universe. The Seriously, Have a Good Day tote aims to promote a message of happiness. “The #seriouslyhaveagoodday campaign is all about taking our daily actions seriously, as we help cultivate a climate of generosity, friendliness and optimism,” says the Skinny laMinx team. The tote is available online and in-store.

Images courtesy of skinnylaminx.com

4. Crocodile Log Collection by Mama Wata

It may look like a crocodile but no matter how long a log floats in a river it never will be a crocodile. This Congolese proverb inspired local surf brand Mami Wata’s new Crocodile Log range. The proverb aims to encourage people to be themselves.

Images courtesy of mamiwatasurf.com

5. IKEA Tarot Cards

Brooklyn-based software engineer Akiva Leffert has designed a quirky pack of tarot cards, replacing the original imagery using illustrations of IKEA’s flatpack instructions.

Images via designboom.com

Browse more like VISI picks of the week series – week 305 on picks of the week 102.

The post VISI Picks of the Week Series – Week 305 appeared first on Visi.

Schoolgirl morning doodles on the back of train tickets are now unique playing cards.

As a youngster, Tessa Wessels spent hours commuting by train between her home in Muizenberg and her school in Newlands. To while away the time, the now-25-year-old freelance concept artist would whip out her ballpoint pen and sketch rough portraits of fellow passengers on the back of her train tickets. “I’d pick anyone with interesting features,” she says. “There were so many people to choose from on the 6.45 am train – from hung-over teens to distracted businessmen.”

In the evenings, Tessa would work on her drawings with red pen and black markers, adding intriguing layers to the collage of memorable faces. “Eventually I had so many sketches they were spilling out of my blazer pockets,” she says. “I scribbled numbers, words and characters on them, and eventually my friends and I used them as playing cards during break.”

Wanting to surprise her (then) boyfriend, Tomas, with an unusual 18th-birthday gift, Tessa planned to give him her unique pack. “But my gran persuaded me to keep the originals and to make digital prints instead.”

Her A Face on a Train collection was soon followed by the Mafia Pack, featuring the shady faces of the Italian underworld. She now sells her one-of-a-kind playing cards at her parents’ art gallery, Artvark, in Kalk Bay.

Both series are available as packs of cards, R250, and 30 x 18 cm limited-edition individual card prints, R75.

The post Tessa Wessels’ Playing Cards appeared first on Visi.