The author of two cookbooks - A Table in Venice and A Table For Friends, Skye's cooking and entertaining style is influenced by the Italian way of making an "art of simplicity and celebrating it". As she tells us, "the best meals never feel fussy or pretentious, but are always warm, generous and welcoming."

Here we chat with Skye about the joy of cooking for sharing, the inspiration behind her tableware brand Tavola, her desert island ingredients, her favourite places in Venice and how fuss-free entertaining is what our friends really want...

I am currently working on several houses for a client in Melbourne (one in the city and two at the beach on the Peninsula) which are going to be fabulous. They are a very cool young couple who love colourful, interesting interiors and they are so trusting of me and my team so I’m excited to be working with them on their projects.

Your online shop is filled with beautiful textiles, antique finds, and other treasures – what do you look for when curating and creating products for the shop?
I am always looking for things other stores don’t have. Things I am always trying to find in stores myself for my own home. I also love to support local artists and craftspeople and we are offering more and more one-off pieces, special things that you just can’t find everywhere. I am also hoping that Spiro Store will be the go-to place in Australia for customers who just want to order a custom-made sofa or an armchair in a fabulous fabric. They may not want to do the full design with me, but they can just come in and get a piece of what we do. I hope people really embrace that.