A Room Of Your Own

 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.orgInstagram - @aroyo.podEmail - 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 JacksonAnd 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)

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 OwnAROYO 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.