Tiny Desk Tour: Anoosha Syed

An honest glimpse into the studio of a picture book author and illustrator

Jan 30, 2026

Welcome to the Tiny Desk Tour series! View the whole archive of artists, writers, and illustrating sharing their creative spaces here.

Musicians give tiny desk concerts for NPR, and artists give tiny desk tours for The Museum of Small and Important Things. Today’s featured artist is Anoosha Syed of Studio Secrets!

Here’s Anoosha’s bio: “I’m a Pakistani-Canadian illustrator-extraordinaire based in Dallas, TX. With a decade of experience in character design, animation, and publishing, I’ve illustrated over forty children’s books (and counting!) and am currently working on my fourth authored title. As a kid who rarely saw herself in the books she loved, I now create the kind of stories I once needed… ones that celebrate kids for who they are.”

I first came across Anoosha via her YouTube channel, which she shares loads of helpful information for illustrators. I am blown away by her ability to write, illustrate, and create high-quality informational content. How does a person have time to do all three? Maximum efficiency, years of experience, crystal clear focus, and an organized studio, perhaps.

Many of us have an image of an ideal studio in our heads. A studio is a beautiful space dedicated to making art and art only. Not making dinner for husbands or entertainment for kids. I often think about how Miranda July did this, but with an entire apartment. That kind of separation isn’t really possible for most of us, so we make do with the space we have and accept and manage the mess of entangled and entwined identities (partner, mom, artist, etc.) and objects (art materials, personal projects, and kid toys).

Studio spaces change over time and reflect our current life circumstances. Even Miranda July is moving out of her studio this month. Anoosha’s account of studios present and past is a pretty dang good example of the way an artist’s space can change over time and I appreciated her reflections on what’s best for her and her family for the time being.

Without further ado, Anoosha’s desk tour!

Anoosha: I want to share with the readers that it took me several weeks to gather the photos needed for this Tiny Desk Edition. I kept waiting for those rare moments when my studio is clean and aesthetic and substack-worthy. But I eventually gave up on that notion, because I have a rambunctious, curious toddler… Especially because I share my studio space with him! As he sits on my desk, he even gives frequent contributions to my writings like “ond noyg mt”. How poignant!

And so here is an honest look at what a parent-artist’s working space might look like.

Although I hate working from home, we felt it was best to have my studio at home for the time being. In the past, I have worked at co-working studios and artist lofts.

On one end, I have an array of Nayel’s books and toys. These will normally be all over the floor. Note the baby gates and child-proof locks on every drawer; this is a must when you have tempting and expensive art supplies.

At the moment, I don’t have anything very exciting on my desks! I am in the middle of a book submission (wish me luck!) and am taking this month to focus on my Youtube channel and other projects, since I know I’ll be in the thick of drawing again soon enough. On my drafting table is my Inktober art piece, that will soon be framed for the nursery.

My desk is either going to be covered in junk (checks needing to be deposited, 3 empty mugs, various toys), or be cleared entirely so they don’t get grabbed by Nayel. Note; the standing desk also has a child-proof lock. The wall calendar, from Andy J Pizza, is purely decorational and still stuck in December. The Brittney Lee Ladies calendar on my bookshelf is from 2017 and stuck in March, but at least that’s coming up again soon.

One of my favourite parts of this room are my bookshelves. They are entirely dedicated to picture books. The shelf on the left is composed of books from various authors; some gifted by publishing friends and some bought myself. The one on the right is made up of my own published books. Most of my fun trinkets are found on these shelves. I am a stuffie collector, and these are found on the fireplace, shared begrudgingly by my toddler.

I also do a lot of filming in this corner of the room. I have two tripods set up for easy access; one for my DSLR and the other for my phone (which is conveniently being used as a bag rack right now.) You can also see a sneak peek of my upcoming book, Love In Every Language on my Ikea drawers. I received the proofs earlier this month, though they still need a few color tweaks before they go to print.

I’ll be honest, I am not happy with my current set-up. My ADHD brain works best with routine and a dedicated workspace, but with a child I often find myself working from anywhere from my couch to my bed, in tiny increments throughout the day in whatever meager moments of time I can snatch up. But on the other hand, when it’s good, it’s great. I love having the little guy right behind me reading his books or playing with his puzzles, and hopefully one day making his own art as well.

Last but not least, I wanted to share a look into all my previous workspaces in the past ten years. (This can be a slideshow). These range from co-working studios, to home studios, to my parents house. It’s fun to see how the space evolves over time!

Thank’s for the tour, Anoosha! Be sure to check out Anoosha’s work, subscribe to her Substack, and preorder her new book Love In Every Language!

Thanks for reading! I’m an independent freelance artist, writer, and illustrator. If you liked this post, one of the biggest ways you can support my work is by subscribing, sharing, or liking this post. If you’d like to check out more of my work, here’s my website and my Instagram.