Artisanne at Home - with Natasha Poliszczuk from Book(ish)
At Artisanne our focus is helping you create spaces that work for you and your family, enhancing the way we live and enjoy our homes.
So, in the second of our Artisanne at Home series bringing you more inspiration, we're delighted to introduce Natasah Poliszczuk (or P for short!), the founder of Book(ish). In her regular blog, writer Natasha combines her passion for reading and recommending amazing books with her entertaining experience of renovating her home and her love of good frocks!
Introduce yourself in a sentence or less!
Enthusiastic and affectionate; compulsive reader and writer.
(This was surprisingly hard. So much so, I had to ask my children for help. I did not include my son’s suggestion “good at making up words”.)
Where is your favourite place in your home?
When we built our own ‘library’ It was the fulfilment of a lifelong dream. It has floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, huge windows, and a pink sofa, with my desk tucked into a corner. But my bedroom (Cole & Son Hummingbirds wallpaper; vast super king bed) runs it a close second.
What’s the most unexpected thing your home?
Until very recently, I would have said the large tile depiction of The Last Supper in the kitchen. It was quite something – and rather unsettling to have Jesus gazing down mournfully as you buttered your toast in the morning. But this has now been removed (intact, if anyone fancies it?), so I’d say the old-fashioned washing copper in our scullery area. It’s absolutely not in use as a washing machine, but when we eventually renovate our kitchen, I plan to use it as an ice bucket at parties!
What is the most common question you are asked in your line of work?
It’s a toss-up between ‘How do you read so much?’ and ‘What should I read next?’
For the curious, the answers:
- A combination of being a quick reader, squeezing reading into every spare corner of the day, and reading when I should/could be doing other things e.g., exercising, watching TV – the list of great programmes and films I have not seen is fathoms long.
- Try Kate Sawyer’s This Family, Ann Napolitano’s Hello, Beautiful, Talking at Night by Claire Daverley, Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld, or – if your heart can take it – We All Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman
Where in your home do you have an Artisanne Basket?
I am a basket obsessed. Honestly, I may have a problem. There is an Artisanne Basket in my son’s room (excellent toy storage as you can chuck everything in and ta-da: tidy room!) and one in a bathroom, where is it the most aesthetically pleasing loo roll storage imaginable. Our laundry basket is on its last legs, so I foresee another Artisanne basket will be entering my life very soon…
Image credit: Natasha Poliszczuk
Playlists or Radio?
I can’t work to music – far too distracting, so it’s always Radio 4 at my desk. Music in the kitchen – my daughter tends to helm the Alexa and does an excellent job: there’s a lot of Dua Lipa and Taylor Swift, and I’m very happy about this state of affairs.
What are you currently obsessed with?
Sabrina Ghayour’s baked halloumi with harissa, lime and honey from her book Bazaar. It is so good words fail me. (A rare occurrence.) I could easily eat one all by myself.
Favourite place to visit locally where you live?
My favourite thing to do in Winchester is a walk. Grab a coffee (try Flat White’s van or Open House Deli) and stroll around the cathedral to College Street, past the house where Jane Austen died, and circumnavigate venerable Winchester College. Then, follow the River Itchen as it flows out of town – past the Hospital of St Cross (open for teas at certain times) and St Catherine’s Hill. It never fails to delight me that I can walk from this beautiful city into the Water Meadows and surrounding countryside.
What makes a piece of homeware something you treasure?
The memories and associations. Value has very little to do with cost.
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