Shaped by his hands, used by hers

From commute to clay

For two decades, Natasha’s days followed the same routine, battling a daily commute to Surry Hills where she worked as a designer. But by 2020, life had taken on a new beat.

“I decided I would do a Diploma in Ceramics,” Natasha tells us.

It’s a wonderfully messy pursuit. Pottery wheels, glazes, paints, drying racks and tools soon take over. It needs the right environment for creativity to be focused and nurtured. And it’s absolutely not suited to the dining table.

Pottery materials and equipment were spreading through the rooms of the house and disrupting family life. With her ceramics studies heading towards full-time work, Natasha was at a crossroads. She needed a dedicated studio space and was faced with two options – extending the home or adding something outside.

It quickly became apparent which path was right.

“I wanted a haven for inspiration – a place where I could listen to music, work slowly with clay, and be surrounded by nature.”

Where better to create this than in the garden, only steps from the house, but immersed in quiet focus and the leafy surroundings of her Upper North Shore suburb. So, Natasha decided to explore backyard cabins and studios.

And there was an additional advantage over a home extension.

“It’s a cost-effective way of extending the use of the property without redevelopment,” explains Natasha.

Designed around a designer’s vision

Being a creative, Natasha had her own vision for the studio, not wishing to settle for a standard product picked from a catalogue.

And it wasn’t just aesthetics driving the brief.

“I needed plenty of wall space, lots of natural light, and a deck for covered external storage,” she explains.

As she began investigating backyard studios and cabins, Greenspan stood out.

“We researched what was available on the market and were drawn to Greenspan’s design options and flexibility to tailor the design and colours,” she tells us.

And then a visit to a Display Centre brought it all to life.

Standing inside the buildings helped everything click into place. Natasha could understand the proportions, picture the layout, and begin imagining how her ceramics studio would function day to day.

Working alongside her Design Solutioneer, she refined both the practical and visual details, and within three days of the visit, the decision was made. A Melwood Porch 12 was the one.

“The process was seamless and fast,” Natasha recalls.

Final drawings and pricing followed within a week. Two weeks after approval, the PreCrafting process was underway. Four weeks later, the modular panels were delivered to her backyard.

And in less than a day, her new ceramics studio was installed to lock up stage.

Custom-built for ceramic work

Every design choice was shaped around Natasha’s ceramics practice, as well as the setting the studio would sit within.

Generally speaking, a ceramics studio doesn’t ask for much. But what it does need is non-negotiable.

Plenty of natural light, so colour and form can be read accurately. Wall space for shelving and storage, drying racks, and work tables. Easy access to water for the pottery wheel and clean up tasks. Hard wearing surfaces. And ideally, covered storage for overflow.

The Porch 12 delivered the foundation from the start. Measuring 3.2m by 3.6m, it offered the right footprint for its position in the garden. Its pitched ceiling added airy height, while the porch frontage added both visual character and practical shelter.

From there, the customisation began, with Natasha’s number one priority being the right working conditions.

“We maximised the light,” she tells us. “It’s important that I work in natural light.”

10-lite double glass doors open the studio to the porch and garden, allowing daylight and fresh air to pour in. Sliding windows run like highlights along the side and gable end, flooding the studio with even more light, while preserving the wall space needed for shelving. A full-length double-hung window sits exactly where Natasha planned it – right beside the rainwater tap and overlooking the garden.

“I’m able to have a pottery wheel inside, and I can dismantle it and wash it through the window,” Natasha explains.

Outside, beautiful Western Red Cedar weatherboard cladding and “Woodland Grey” Colorbond® roofing blend the studio with its garden setting. White aluminium windows and painted door frames pop against the warm wood tones and mirror the balustrades of the pretty front porch.

Shaped by him

The installation ended at lock-up stage, as it does for every Melwood.

That’s intentional.

Walls up, roof on, windows and doors fitted, weather-tight and ready. Because from there, the building is a blank canvas, waiting for its new owner to continue making it their own.

For Natasha this freedom was particularly appealing.

“As a designer, I had a clear vision for the interior,” she tells us.

This was for quiet, warm, honest materials that would let the clay and the light do the talking. Humble but beautiful ply with white accents. Earthy, natural materials that connect with the works taking place within.

“To have complete control of fitting it out has been empowering,” says Natasha.

Her husband embraced the opportunity to get hands-on with this project. He installed the insulation. He lined every wall in plywood. He fitted the timber ceiling and painted it white. He built every workbench in the studio, custom-sized to the way Natasha works. He even made the light fittings.

“It’s brought my husband many hours of joy. It was a great project for him,” Natasha tells us.

The finishing touch came from one final flourish. Solar-powered festoon lights strung outside, so the studio glows softly into the night.

“It gives it an ethereal quality,” Natasha says.

The result is a studio shaped entirely around the way she works – personal, practical, and unmistakably hers. Not a version dreamt up by someone else.

Used by her

Six years later and the Melwood is now Natasha’s full-time ceramics studio.

It’s where she throws, hand-builds, glazes, and refines the pieces that go out under her brand, TashTribe Ceramics.

“I use it almost every day,” she tells us. “It allows me to work from home without the cost of renting a separate studio and gives me the freedom to work at any time – day, night, or weekend – while feeling connected to nature and the seasons.”

After two decades of inner-city commuting, the change of pace has been profound for Natasha.

The studio has flipped her daily routine entirely. No more hours lost to the road. No more juggling work and craft in the same shared spaces. Just a few steps from the back door to her desk, her wheel, and her clay.

“After commuting to Surry Hills for 20 years, it has become a deeply peaceful and nurturing place to work,” she confirms.

Six years on

The investment in her Melwood studio paid for itself in commuting time alone.

But what Natasha values most isn’t the time saved. It’s the depth of focus it makes possible. Ceramics is slow, deliberate, contemplative work. The kind that requires uninterrupted hours, not stolen ones. Wedging, throwing, drying, glazing, firing, refining. None of it can really happen in the gaps between a city commute and a shared kitchen table.

And so, six years on, the studio is rarely empty.

Scout, the family’s long-haired chihuahua, has claimed a spot by the door, content to keep Natasha company through the day. Scruffy, a local magpie, has folded the studio into his daily route and drops by often enough to feel like a colleague.

And each evening, the solar lights still glow softly across the porch front.

For Natasha, the Porch 12 has done what an extension never could. It has given her craft room to grow, her family the rest of the house back, and her ceramics somewhere to belong.

And it’s a space she defined, finished, and shaped entirely around the way she wants to live and work. A space carved collaboratively between Greenspan, her husband, and her very own talented hands.

“It has given me a beautiful, wonderful space,” Natasha states, “It brings me so much joy.”

You can follow Natasha’s ceramic work on Instagram: @tash.tribe and at her website: www.tashtribeceramics.com/

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Natasha’s ceramics studio is a Melwood Porch 12 measuring 3.2m x 3.6m, with a 1.3m decked porch.

It features an upgrade to Western Red Cedar weatherboard cladding, and has been further personalised with timber 10-lite double glass doors, aluminium windows in “White”, and Colorbond® roofing in “Woodland Grey”.

All measurements are approximate.

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