Every day, Made Putra Suteja is surrounded by nut-cases…and he wouldn’t want it any other way.

Novica, in association with National Geographic, has the distinct honour of distributing his fabulous carved coconut-shell sculptures. Hollowed out and then polished until they shine like lovingly-kept antique wood, these shells then have sections carved out of them until a scene is revealed - dolphins at play, turtles amongst lily pads and many other themes.

Continuing his family’s tradition of wood-carving, Putra Suteja also works with suar, sono, hibiscus and crocodile woods - but it’s his coconut shell sculptures that seem to have caught the public's imagination. It’s not hard to see why. (Imagine how they'll make your room look when the light’s behind them).

And all done with a discarded "rubbish" material, and redefining the word "precious" along the way.

Image: Novica