Beyond the lounge room door is Tonia Composto’s favourite room – her studio. “It’s a place where I can listen to my favourite tunes and creatively just go for it. I often lose track of time in this room and end up rushing to cook dinner and pick up kids.”

“I love to have child-like or kitsch things around me. As an illustrator or any other creative job, it’s important to pull yourself back to your childhood because creativity requires child-like thinking. Having fun objects around you is like a tool to think differently and problem-solve more creatively.”

Tonia’s concept wall – jammed packed with past, present and future works – is her favourite thing about the space.

A ‘doodle’ never looked so good. This one may or may not eventually end up as a gift card, but for now is just the result of Tonia reminiscing about her childhood.

“I have a secret addiction to eBay and vintage sunglasses, these are only just a few on show. I plan to illustrate them soon.”

The inspiration for this illustration came from an Italian folk tale called ‘The Three Dogs’. “I’ve been a little obsessed with this story and I have created quite a few drawings surrounding it. It’s about three dogs who each have a special gift. In true fairy tale style it has a tragic ending where they risk their lives for their owner. I also love dogs and animals and I’m a passionate advocate for animal welfare. I have some posters on animal cruelty coming out soon.”

“My banana cake tea towels are a new exciting project that I’ve been selling online via my Etsy shop – Lemon Chicken Por Favor. I whip up a banana cake almost every week, so one day I thought – I’m going to illustrate this recipe! I have more illustrated recipes in progress that I plan to have out later in the year, so look out for pumpkin soup, chilli con carne and pavlova.