This week I talked to Bettina Farack who has spent the last few years telling the story of the Higher Institute for Jewish Studies in Berlin. The Higher Institute was a centre for learning and a really important cultural hub for the Jewish community in Berlin before it was looted by the Nazis during the holocaust, and its books confiscated and distributed. Remarkably, in the last few years thousands of those original books have been collected from around the world, with each one not only telling the story of its origins, but also tracing a fascinating line to the present of books lost travelling around the world to private collections, libraries and flea markets.

This is a fascinating conversation with someone who is wholly engrossed in the lives of lost books.

This week I caught up with Meg Rees – who’s known as one of the most creative and expressive tattoo artists in London, and puts an element of the personal into everything that she does. People also may recognise her from her sex and relationships podcast – You’ve Gotta Be Joking – which dives deep into the trials of dating, and will be really relatable to a lot of young Londoners.

I met Meg a couple of years ago when she gave me my first tattoo, and I’ve been following her work ever since. In this episode we talk making her own space in East London, the objects around her house that act as reminders of friends and family, as well as delving into the book she is in the process of writing.

Find her on Instagram @bunnystattoos to see more of her tattoo work, painting, and fits from her ever-expanding wardrobe.

I was very lucky to be joined this week by Christen Pears. Christen is known for having created a beautiful home that she has created in the West of Cornwall, and for sharing this space with guests at her B’n’B. More recently, she has announced that she will be running reading retreats - for guests to unwind in an inspiring atmosphere, to take time for themselves. 

In this episode we talk about how Christen has found creating her own home and sharing her lifestyle online, as well as what inspired her to make her space available for reading retreats, and the pleasure that comes with dedicating time to carving out that time for yourself.

If you want to find out more about these reading retreats, do follow Christen on Instagram at ‘christenpears’, or go to her website middlecolensofarm.co.uk.

Additionally if you enjoy this episode and would like to find out more about the work that I do with clients to create dedicated spaces for reading and relaxing in their homes, you can find me at www.aroyo.org. Or do follow me on instagram @aroyo.pod for regular posts on how to make the most of your space and to find out how to read the spaces around you for what they say about you and your life. 

I was very lucky to be joined this week by author Alice Maddicott - whose work explores and mulls over our search for the meaning of place, largely through travels and the places that she has fallen in love with - Tblisi, Belgrade, Istanbul - as well as her own home deep in the West Country.

We go on to have a really important discussion on the therapeutic role that the mind can play when creating an imaginary world as a refuge that can’t be touched by the outside. 

If you want to understand more about the process of building dream reading spaces in your home and how I can work with you, do see contact information below:

Website - www.aroyo.org

Instagram - @aroyo.pod

Email - aroyo.podcast@gmail.com

 In this week’s episode I’m joined by Dr Isabella Rosner - who holds the impressive title of curator at the Royal School of Needlework. Once I managed to drag her away from her favourite topics of 18th Century tea-caddies, we discussed her favourite reading spaces - and took a long tangent to imagine the dream bathroom.

Isabella is a proper expert as well as an extremely lively, approachable and funny person. It was such a pleasure to have her on.

If you want to understand more about the process of building dream reading spaces in your home and the process involved, do see contact info below:

Website - www.aroyo.org

Instagram - @aroyo.pod

Email - aroyo.podcast@gmail.com

This week, I’m joined again by author and columnist for Country Living Magazine Sally Coulthard.

Sally is the author of over 20 non-fiction titles on nature, craft, design and the history of the countryside. Her latest book - A History of the Countryside in 100 Objects - delves deep into 100 curious objects that act as keys to the past.

In this episode, we will take all of those themes discussed in part 1, and build Sally’s dream family drawing room. A rag-tag collection of worn and comfortable furniture all pointing towards a large open fire, surrounded by walls of books, family photographs and fascinating objects dug up or recovered.

If you want to understand more about the process of building dream reading spaces in your home and the process involved, do visit my website:

A Room Of Your Own

In this week’s episode, I’m joined by author and columnist for Country Living Magazine Sally Coulthard.

Sally is the author of over 20 non-fiction titles on nature, craft, design and the history of the countryside. Her latest book - A History of the Countryside in 100 Objects - delves deep into 100 curious objects that act as keys to the past.

In our conversation we delve into her memories of reading and writing, of her favourite objects collected from beaches and roadsides, and her experience of making a home on a farm in the landscape of North Yorkshire. We also delve into why Eileen O'Shaughnessy makes the perfect downstairs-loo companion.

Next week’s episode will cover Sally’s dream writer’s escape. If you want to understand more about the process of building dream reading spaces in your home and the process involved, do visit my website:

A Room Of Your Own

This week’s episode is a chat with poet Supriya Dhaliwal about her work, the authors that have inspired her, and the meaning of place and belonging when finding your voice.

We go on to discuss her dream hideaway - a writer’s room hidden in the Wicklow Hills outside of Dublin - where she can write overlooking a garden and be surrounded by figures - some lost to history and others richly celebrated - through the words they have written.

If you want to find out more about my work as a library curator, and are curious about building a collection for yourself or for a loved one, please do visit my website: A Room Of Your Own

This week I chat with historian, author and podcaster Jackson Van Uden about History, Dictators and George Orwell. We discuss the books he has received as gifts, and the people who have given them, drawing stories out of these gifts to paint a brief picture of the people closest to him.

We go on to discuss his dream hideaway - a modernist beach house with sauna and pool looking over a calm ocean, with a classic library room tucked away with fire, large wooden desks, and a book collection that would serve him to keep exploring the world through its histories.

To find out more about Jackson and his podcast, visit: History With Jackson

And if you want to find out more about my work as a library curator, and how I might be able to work for you, do visit my website on: A Room Of Your Own

In this week’s episode, I introduce a new element to the show. Each month, I will take on a new theme, and build from scratch an ideal library that makes sense of it. The space will be vividly described from the ground up - so that you can imagine the sights, sounds and smells as if you were there. The second part of the episode will explore the ideal books to fill the shelves and to explore the theme.

This month, I have focused on Biophilia - our relationship with nature, and selected readings from some of my very favourite naturalists. Set in a vast subterranean cave that contains every possible landscape, I delve deep into our relationship with the living world through its books and through the wild places that constantly inspire us.

If you would like to see a more comprehensive reading list on the subject of Biophilia, or buy a curated selection of titles on the subject, these can be found within the episode page on my website: www.aroyo.org

This week I chat with founder of Spare Ribs Club - a feminist book & supper club that she started two years ago, and which has grown with its followers to become a community space which can be both radical and fun.

We cover how Alexandra creates spaces that are safe and comfortable, and explore her own motivations for starting Spare Ribs, before delving into her dream home - a spectacular London Townhouse with a few fantastical nooks that lead to wide open library glens and canopy tree-hut libraries.

Find out more about my work building libraries below:

A Room Of Your Own

@aroyo.pod (Instagram)

This week I chat with historian and podcaster Anouska Lewis to talk about her latest show ‘Hometown Boring’, what it meant to delve into the history of her home, and the memories and people that she associates with that home.

We cover her obsession with nostalgia and of making sure that the present is memorialised day by day, before moving on to construct her dream library - a dream open space that couples modern classics with ancient craft.

Listen on for conversation pits, turrets, and stained glass windows standing over a cityscape on one side, and a rolling pastoral landscape on the other.

Find out more about my work building libraries below:

A Room Of Your Own

@aroyo.pod (Instagram)

This week I was so lucky to be joined by author, artist and academic Amy Jeffs. Amy’s work centres around the medieval world of the British Isles, and looks to capture and give in her own words the sense of wonder that she finds in the foundations of our own mythologies.

Amy's writing takes you deep into the landscape - both physical and psychological - of Medieval Britain. Re-telling myths and legends from the 7th to the 14th Centuries, Amy makes these foundational stories accessible to a modern audience, and accompanies this with her own artwork and music.

Her latest work - Saints - takes us through the calendar year of Saints days and feasts - re-telling the stories that inspired followers in Medieval Britain and across the world.

In this episode, Amy tells me about some of the books, places and memories that have inspired her and that bring her closer to the world that she creates for her readers – as well as some of her favourite stories and characters that she came to know while writing Saints. In the second half, she builds her perfect garden writing shed, and talks about the objects and the books she would fill it with.

You can pre-order Saints here: https://geni.us/saints

A brief chat talking about what I’m intending to do with A Room Of Your Own and what you can expect to hear on a weekly basis. We cover my approach to building libraries, my thoughts about creating spaces that are meaningful and what that means in our lives, and how you can get to know someone through the books they read and the spaces that they make for themselves.

Find out more about my work below:

A Room Of Your Own

AROYO Instagram

An introduction to my new show - A Room Of Your Own - where I will be inviting guests on weekly to explore their lives through the books and the spaces that they’ve loved, and envisioning with them a dream space where they can hide away from the chaos of day-to-day life.

This week, I was joined by author and Art Historian Ferren Gipson who’s written some amazing books including ‘Women’s Work – From Feminine Art to Feminist Art’ and The Ultimate Art Museum – where she curates 4,000 years of Art History into a dream museum that tells its story – correcting some of the wrongs of the past and highlighting overlooked pioneers.

We start off going into her journey into Art History and the objects, artists and books that have inspired her throughout her life. We then go on in Part 2 to discuss a little bit about what our book collections can mean to us, before building up a dream library-cum-gallery-cum-studio-loft that has all of the things she would need to keep on exploring her interests and exploring new types of creative projects.

If you enjoy this episode and want to find out more about the work that I do as a Library Curator, do visit my website - www.aroyo.org

This week's episode will be an unusually personal one for me, on a topic that has been centralto my life and the lives of so many other young people.

I'll be constructing an imagined library for someone suffering from depression.

I recently came through one of my worst ever bouts - that took me off work for months and in the end completely changed my life. It was at times crippling, desperatley terrifying and all-consuming.

Creating and imagining a private safe space filled with everything you need to pull you out of your current situation can be such a great mental tool. It was one of the things that in a small way helped me to claw my way out.

I've decided to reconstruct my personal imagined space, and hopefully will demonstrate the tools you can use to create your own.

I also share some of what I think is some of the best writing to approach the subject - some of it to inform, and some others that do a great job of articulating what it really feels like, so that you might be able to relate to bits and pieces and feel understood.

I hope this could be useful for anyone suffering froma period of depression, or anyone that is worried about a friend or a family member.

This week, I was joined by author and comedian Rosie Wilby. Rosie through her podcast and subsequent book ‘The Breakup Monologues’ has been dubbed the ‘Queen of Breakups’. Her work brings together her own journey as a queer woman in London, the testimonies and stories of heartbroken guests, and the science of love and relationships – to create a relatable and funny approach to how we think about love in the modern world.

In the following conversation we discuss some of the places and books that have inspired her writing – particularly the parks and open spaces of South London. She then guides us through some of the queer venues that were such an important facet of life and identity to so many in the nineties and noughties, and what their disappearance means to the community today.

In the second half, we build what we call the ‘Heartbreak Clinic’ – a place to relax and recuperate should she ever need that kind of comfort again. I found it so interesting to consider for myself what would be my go-to comforts to set me back on track.

I really enjoyed our chat, and it touches on so many things around modern relationships. If you’re interested in Rosie’s work, check out the link below where you can find her latest book, The Breakup Monologues:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/1472982282/

In this week’s episode I was joined by tattoo artist, ex-musician, bookshop owner and owner of micro-publisher Moonlight Editions – Liam Sparkes. Liam is best known for his work as a tattoo artist, having set up one of London’s most famous studios – Old Habits.

Liam describes himself as a bibliophile, and in this episode we delve deep into the ways that books have influenced his approached to tattoo art. Having roamed around and explored for years, I catch him in a reflective mood, and we discuss the different stages of life, and the figures that he has looked up to and whose biographies have inspired him to live in his own way.

I really enjoyed my time chatting to Liam, and he doesn’t hold back on questioning himself and really thinking through what I’m asking. If you’re interested in his work, go and visit his Instagram page @liamsparkesok, where you can also find links to old habits tattoo studio, as well as his book shop and publishing house.

If you’re interested in the work that I do curating people’s home collections, please do visit my website – www.aroyo.org.

Today’s episode is the second half of my chat with Professor Edward Hollis of Edinburgh University’s Interior Design program. 

In this episode, we discuss some of his favourite depictions of place in literature and how he thinks we should think of space to make it work for us, before delving into the multi-sensory landscapes of his remembered childhood dreams, and a ‘dream cabinet of curiosities’ to house all of his treasured personal objects and heirlooms. 

If you want to find out more about the work I do, please do visit my website at www.aroyo.org or contact me on my email address: arroyo.podcast@gmail.com

I’m so excited for this episode though – it’s a chat that I had a couple of weeks ago with Edward Hollis – who’s the Professor of Interior Design at Edinburgh University, and the author of books exploring the influence of our surroundings on our lives. His work delves into what’s left behind of historic sites that we know throughout history, and re-constructs them so his readers can find new ways of imagining themselves into them. His books include The Secret Lives of Buildings, The Memory Palace – which we cover a lot in this episode, and more recently ‘How To Make a Home’ for The School of Life.

I enjoyed speaking to him so much because of how his answers span so many creative worlds to link back to the meaning of space – especially music. This made for some quite weird turns – as we go from discussing the Palace of Versailles to talking about Berghain and Ibiza.

I’ve split this into two parts. In part 1, we discuss his work and his approaches to making meaningful spaces, both in his writing, and how he teaches. In Part 2, next week – we’ll go much more into the history of interiors in literature, and the different ways that they’ve been channeled by different authors at different times – covering some of his favorites, before digging into what the settings that we imagine in our dreams mean, and digging into his own.

My favourite thing about our chat was that he talks in the same way that he writes, which is precise and lyrical. To give you a taster, I think this quote from the Memory Palace sums this – and his philosophy of space.- up perfectly.

He writes: “There’s nae pockets in shrouds, they say, and none of our things belong to us. We have borrowed, inherited, and purchased them all, and one day we shall lose them.  In the meantime, the rooms we live in are dolls’ houses and memory palaces. We arrange their worthless elements as shrines to departed shades – temporary meeting places, cabinets of curiosity. Settings for tiny plays and reveries, items of exchange, electronic images, texts like the one you are reading now, and ultimately, ringings that fade on the ear even as they are heard.”

Apologies for the slightly strange timing of this episode – I’m doing some work in China for the next month – which has been amazing and I hope to create some great content to share with you – but it’s also completely wrecked my schedule.

This week sees a return to my themed libraries to look at 'Classics Re-Imagined'.

I'll be surveying the ways that authors are updating and bringing new life to the canon. I’ll be exploring the works of writers who have injected new life into the Greek Myths by putting the overlooked female characters at the centre, and taking a very quick run through literary history up to the present - and the future with the reinventions of dystopian fiction.

In the first segment, I’ll be exploring the theme and building the space with Ollie, who you might have heard in previous episodes. After the break, I’ll be alone, and surveying some of the major works in this area, and giving some reading recommendations.

If you enjoy this episode and would like to find out more about the work that I do with clients to create dedicated spaces for reading and relaxing in their homes, you can find me at www.aroyo.org

Or follow me on Instagram @aroyo.pod for podcast announcements, interview snippets, and regular advice on reading and making a home with your books.

This week I talked to poet, novelist and performance artist Joelle Taylor. Joelle is the author several works of poetry, including C+NTO – for which she won the T.S. Eliot Prize in 2021 – which is both a memorial of and a tribute to the places and people that were part of the butch culture of the 90s in London. She has most recently published a novel – The Night Alphabet – which expands horizons and narratives to tell the story of violence done to women, weaving together narratives from the past with imagined futures to tell the story of the female body as the sight of experience, shared knowledge and resistance.  

In this conversation, we just straight into discussing The Night Alphabet, and how she imagined drawing together the stories of different people at different times to tell a story of violence.

This week I talked to author and journalist Dominic Bradbury, whose writing over his career has focused on showcasing and exploring the world’s most inspiring architecture and design, with his recent writing particularly focusing on the Mid-Century Modern Style.

We talk about his upcoming book – The Atlas of Mid-Century Modern Masterpieces , as well as his reading influences from his parents – who were both deeply bookish and who introduced him to the authors and designers from around East Anglia in the 1960s.  

This is a fascinating and wide-ranging conversation about where the world of architecture and design stand now and what we can expect looking forward. It is also a fascinating look into the early reading life of someone who grew up surrounded by some of Britain’s most influential authors.

This week I talked to author, podcaster and comedian Christopher Beanland. His work spans a huge range of subjects, and seems to really reflect a life spent pursuing his own interests. He’s written a number of books exploring and celebrating favourite public spaces in the city including Lidos and City Parks, as well as two novels – Spinning Out of Control and The Wall In The Head.

In this conversation, we jump straight into talking about what it means to lead a ‘creative lifestyle’ and making sure that your work follows your interests, before moving on to the power of buildings to shape our lives.

Check out Christopher’s work either through his website: https://christopherbeanland.com/

Or on Instagram @christopherbeanland

This week I’m joined by interior designer Carina Harford of Harford House. I got the chance to ask Carina a bit about the aspects of her life away from design that inform her process. We delve into the experiences and the books that help her keep in touch with herself, and that have informed how she understands her clients and what they need from their space.

This episode dives straight into a subject that I couldn’t wait to talk about with Carina, which is fashion, and she told me about some of the amazing pieces that she has stashed away.

AROYO Podcast is back this week, and I'm so delighted to announce my guest Ana Sampson

Ana has not only worked with some of my very favourite authors - including Joelle Taylor and Amy Jeffs - but has produced numerous poetry anthologies aimed both at adults and children.

Some of her most notable works include 'She Will Soar: Bright, Brave Poems About Freedom' and more recently 'Gods And Monsters' and 'Heroes And Villains' - which are accompanied by Chris Riddell.

We had such a lovely chat about the state of publishing, what it means to be surrounded by books from a young age, and her dreaming reading space.

This week I’m joined by musician and artist Susan O’Neill. We had a wonderfully in-depth conversation about the creative process, and particularly the environments that have inspired her to compose music. We also dive deep into what it means to collect and gather objects around us, and how those objects – particularly the books that we pick up for ourselves or have gifted to us - come to tell a story about our lives.

Susan recently released an album called Now In A Minute, which I’d thoroughly recommend finding on youtube, spotify, or on her website susanoneill.ie

This week I’m joined by Bibliotherapist and artist Ella Berthoud. What started out as a conversation between Ella and her friend – novelist Susan Elderkin – turned into a career of talking to clients about their lives and prescribing reading solutions. She has written a number of books all about what she does and about the power of reading to change our lives – including The Novel Cure, and The Story Cure for children.  

This episode dives straight into me asking Ella exactly how she and Susan developed the idea of becoming Bibliotherapists.

This week I was lucky enough to visit the studio of Adémidé Udoma – who is the creative director of Artisanal One – where he and his team produce wonderful clothing and objects – as well as working collaboratively with others on styling, art and creative direction.

He’s creative in the truest sense of the word – thoughtful about his influences and staying true to himself and his vision with whatever he creates. 

In this episode we cover what he has learned from his life in the arts so far, the vast range of creative influences that he channels when producing work, and his approach to creating with authenticity and consideration.

To find out more about his work, search for him @adeudo or his studio @artisanalone

Alternatively, find his website here:

https://www.artisanalone.com/

I hope you enjoy it!

This week I was joined by creative duo Duncan Campbell & Charlotte Rey. Duncan & Charlotte have been working together for almost their entire careers, and now have the very enviable task of crafting and assembling some of the finest interiors around the world.

As a duo, they are fun, warm and approachable - making this episode a joy to record.

In this episode, we jump straight into talking about how they met in their early days working for Acne in Paris, and what made them form such a close creative partnership.

To find out more about their amazing work, give Campbell-Rey a follow on Instagram, or visit their website - www.campbell-rey.com

This week I had the pleasure of talking with interior designer Amy Dalrymple – founder of Dalrymple Studios – where she works globally with clients to create beautiful interiors.

In this episode we jump straight into talking about her own journey into design – the influence of growing up in a household of designers – and the inspiration she takes from the stories and advice of other creative entrepreneurs.

 If you’re interested in finding out more about the amazing work of Dalrymple Studios, give them a follow on Instagram @dalrymplestudio – or check out the studio’s website at www.dalrymplestudio.co.uk

This week I’m joined by interior designer James Mackie to talk about his journey from the world of fine art and Sotheby’s to taking on a new challenge heading his own design firm. I was lucky enough to join James in his beautiful purpose-built library in Oxfordshire, where he has created his own private reading space filled with the designers, artists and houses that he loves.

After talking a bit about his early years in the art world, we jump into a really interesting discussion on the country houses that continue to inspire him, and what we mean when we talk about ‘English’ style.

If you’re interested in finding out more about James’ work as a designer, you can find him on Instagram @jjamesmackie, or on his website at www.jjamesmackie.com.

This week I’m joined by author Stephen Ellcock to talk about his creative process, and the books and works of art that have inspired his work. Stephen has a remarkable gift for finding patterns among images. Anyone who has read his books or who has visited his Instagram page knows that it’s his attention to the subtle details of artistic works that make his observations a joy to follow.

I discovered through our chat that what drives Stephen is a relentless and almost obsessive curiosity to find the patterns beneath what we see at first. For his readers, following these patterns offers a glimpse behind his eyes and offers the opportunity to follow the burrows that he relentlessly digs.

I had the pleasure of recording this episode in Haven Talks Studios in Bermondsey, whose lovely owner Rachel was so so helpful, and on hand for all of our set-up. You can find them at: https://www.haventalks.co.uk/

Today’s guest is author Lucy Steeds. Lucy won the 2025 Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize for her novel ’The Artist’. It’s a subtle and really atmospheric book that takes readers into the household of a great reclusive master - Tartuffe. The story unfolds through the eyes of Joseph - a young English journalist who has the unique opportunity to write about Tartuffe so long as he sits for him as a model, and through Ettie - Tartuffe’s shy, elusive niece - whose own character and brilliance slowly begin to reveal the true heart of the story. As well as a brilliant character portrait, it goes to the heart of the ‘great master’ myth, erasure, and the ways that creative genius finds a way to show itself under tyrranical suppression.

Lucy and I jump straight into discussing the novel, and move on in the second half to discussing her own dream library hideaway. 

I hope you enjoy it. 

In this episode, I was joined by Abigail Horace, who runs her own Design Studio - Casa Marcelo. I joined her in her studio in lovely Salisbury, Connecticut, to talk about her early childhood influences - walking round New York City's great buildings with her father, and her young dream of becoming a librarian. If you want to find out more about Abigail’s work in design, you can follow her on Instagram @casamarcelo.co or look on her website: www.casamarcelo.co

Today’s guest is Heide Hendricks - one half of the architecture and design studio Hendricks Churchill. I joined Heide in her beautiful renovated farmhouse which is the subject of a book published by Rizzoli in 2023 called ‘Our Way Home - Reimagining an American Farmhouse’. We talked about what goes into the Hendricks Churchill aesthetic, Rafe’s habit of turning sketches and renderings into works of art, before moving on to her own dream studio.

 If you want to learn more about the work of Hendricks Churchill, you can find them on Instagram @hendrickschurchill, or on their website at www.hendrickschurchill.com

Today’s guest is interior designer Andrew Torrey. Andrew recently published a book with Rizzoli celebrating his life and journey in design. I joined him in his design studio in Manhattan to talk about what it was like to put the book together, his influences in art and design, before moving on to imagine his dream library space.

If you want to learn more about his work, you can find him on Instagram @torreyllc, or buy a copy of his book - Torrey: Private Spaces: Great American Design.

Today’s guest is Karun Thakar - one of the world’s leading collectors of and experts on global textiles. Using his extraordinary collection of textiles, Karun tirelessly works to illuminate history through the lives and the hands of remarkable and often overlooked artists. As well as being a prolific writer, he is an active philanthropist, encouraging young people to learn about world history through textiles.  

 I joined Karun in his London home to talk about his life as a collector and the importance of textile history to our understanding of the world.

If you want to learn more about his work, you can visit his website www.karuncollection.com