For our inaugural issue of RUSSH Home, we launched our people pages; a space where six creatives shared the places they're eating at, the books they're reading, their most treasured gifts and the moments they'll never forget. From the ever faithful Fratelli Paradiso in Sydney's Potts Point, to vacations in Begur, Spain, we get to know what makes these talents tick.
While model and aesthete ALEXANDRA AGOSTON is a fixture of downtown New York, it has always been all about Paris.
[1] The best advice you’ve ever been given ...
Sun protection. Thanks Mum.
[2] In your fridge, you’ll always find?
Lots of fresh veggies and fruit, and dark chocolate.
[3] Nostalgic scent and why?
Fresh rain on concrete pavement and trees.
[4] As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
Architect.
[5] Share your life mantra/words you live by ...
To really appreciate life, listen to your body and respect it, and trust your instinct. When you are lost, find truth in nature. Live freely, keep learning, stay curious. Love.
[6] Where was the best meal of your life?
This is tough… A tie between an Omakase in Tokyo, and a homemade meal on vacation in Sicily with all the local organic produce from stands on the side of the road, sitting in a swimsuit still wet from the sea, and having a Campari with my man.
[7] What do you collect?
Memories from so many travels and true friendships I have made along the way.
[8] What’s on your bedside table?
Book, notepad, water, my watch.
[9] One word that best describes you?
Genuine.
[10] Item you are most coveting …
An apartment in Paris.
[11] An indulgence you would never forgo?
A really nice winter coat.
[12] What book do you gift to your friends?
First edition photo and art books. I love books from the past that you can feel the history when you open.
[13] Your last supper?
Making out.
[14] Train or plane?
Plane.
[15] Favourite city?
New York and Paris. So much of my adult life is divided between the two, memories of first relationships, friendships, and figuring out life live in the streets of both of them for me.
[16] Favourite restaurants in the world?
Pier Luigi in Rome, ISODI in New York, Fratelli Paradiso in Sydney, baguette and wine from anywhere in Paris and sitting in Parc Monceau or Palais Royal.
[17] If you weren’t a model what would you be doing?
Art Director.
[18] What’s the last object you acquired that gave you great pleasure?
A 1997 Gucci by Tom Ford black dress.
[19] Favourite family vacation?
Uluru, Alice Springs, staying with the Anangu people and sleeping under the desert sky with my mum and brother. I was four years old, and the memory is still so vivid.
[20] Who is your hero?
My Grandmother.
[21] The most played songs on your playlist currently …
We Float – PJ Harvey.
[22] The best gift you ever received?
Love.
[23] What was the first thing you bought with your own money?
I can’t remember the first, but the most substantial was a plane ticket and a rented studio in Paris when I was 18.
For photographer ROB TENNENT, it’s all about going with the flow and following the process – because it is there that the magic happens.
[1] What’s the last object you acquired that gave you great pleasure?
I recently bought a throw blanket from a brand called Carne Bollente. The artwork on it is called Kinky Nap and depicts an abstract orgy scene.
[2] Where was the best meal of your life?
There is a place in New Zealand called Pici and they do the most incredible cacio e pepe.
[3] Favourite city?
I went to Quito, Ecuador, when I was 17 and spent a month there. [It’s] certainly one of my favourite cities, or Osaka in Japan.
[4] The best advice you’ve ever been given …
Just chill.
[5] Item you are most coveting …
I’d say it’s probably my Mamiya RZ medium format camera – I treat her like my first born.
[6] What book do you gift to your friends?
The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran. It’s a short yet impactful book that I have given to many friends before a big life change/event.
[7] One word that best describes you?
Particular.
[8] What was the first thing you bought with your own money?
I think it was Sims 3 for my Xbox! I am a bit of a gamer.
[9] The most played songs on your playlist currently …
Home by Snoh Aalegra, All That I Am by James Vickery and Pure Imagination by Gene Wilder.
[10] What is a nostalgic scent to you, and why?
Jasmine. I was born and raised in Cambodia, which is a Buddhist country. Jasmine flowers were a huge part of the culture and the temples would be covered in them, so it brings a sense of calm to me when I smell it now.
[11] As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I wanted to be a veterinarian. I have always loved animals and thought it’d be a way I could spend every day with them. I soon realised you are often caring for sad and sick animals and I couldn’t do that.
[12] Favourite family vacation?
My family and I travelled every year and I think one of my favourites was when we went to Koh Samui, an island in Thailand. After the first time, we ended up going most years.
[13] If you could be any fictional character who would you choose?
My dad bought me a pogo stick when I was seven, that was quite fun.
[14] Share your life mantra/words you live by …
Things will happen when they are supposed to. If not now, then later.
[15] An indulgence you would never forgo? Chippies.
[16] Train or plane?
I hate both but if I had to pick, it’d probably be a plane because I’d probably get out sooner.
[17] Who is your hero? My mum.
[18] What do you collect?
I actually don’t collect anything, other than photographs. When I was younger, I would collect sand from different beaches I had visited from around the world. It started to become a lot harder to get through customs, so I just kept a small folder of different currencies.
Melbourne artist BRENDAN HUNTLEY stepped out from a punk band and into primordial sculptures. Now, it’s all white noise.
[1] If you could pick anyone, who would you pick as your mentor?
James Mollison – R.I.P.
[2] What do you collect?
Art, books, records, plants, pots for plants, door-knobs, quilts, lamps, jackets… lots of stuff.
[3] If you weren’t an artist, what would you be doing?
Sometimes in the bathroom when I’m cutting my hair, I pretend to be a hairdresser.
[4] If you could be any fictional character, who would you choose?
That character in the movies who pulls the lapels of his jacket up around his neck and his hat down over his head when it’s cold and windy outside.
[5] Train or plane?
I love trains.
[6] Favourite city?
Matera, Italy.
[7] Item you are most coveting …
A Fred Ganim coat rack, or a Karl Fritz ring.
[8] What’s the last object you acquired that gave you great pleasure?
My partner had a gold pendant made for me for my birthday by Sheena Sexton. Set in the middle of the pendant is an uncut blue sapphire that my neighbour dug up from an old riverbed and gave to me.
[9] In your fridge, you’ll always find?
Capers.
[10] Where was the best meal of your life?
Good Thaimes at Cam’s Kiosk.
[11] What’s on your bedside table?
A book called Education, a thermometer, a lamp, my wristwatch and my phone.
[12] Share your life mantra/words you live by ...
Not really a mantra but when I look at the clock and it reads 11:11, I hear myself say ‘it’s all good.’
[13] What book do you gift to your friends?
Anything by Mind Head Publishing.
[14] The most played songs on your playlist currently are …
White noise.
[15] One word that best describes you?
Brendan
[16] Who is your hero?
I have a friend, Ed Mulvey, who is a doctor. I call him pretty much any time my kids are sick and he always puts me at ease. We love Doctor Ed!
[17] The best advice you’ve ever been given ...
Many years ago, I went to see a guy named Hermann for some herbal spray, to get rid of a wort on my finger. The first thing Hermann told me to do was to thank the wort for bringing me to him. So, I said thank you to the wort and then we did a therapy session and a week or two later, the wort was gone.
[18] An indulgence you would never forgo?
Dark chocolate.
[19] Your last supper?
My last supper was Dahl and rice. But if it was my very last supper, I’d say pasta with Napoli sauce.
[20] Favourite family vacation?
I did a month-long residency back in January 2020 at Driving Creek Railway and Pottery, in Coromandel, New Zealand. My partner and son came with me. In between making sculptures and paintings we went to the beach, went on bushwalks and caught Barry Brickell’s miniature train up the mountain.
[21] What was the first thing you bought with your own money?
A bag of mixed lollies from the Austin Road Milk Bar in Seaford.
For ENY PARKER, her world abounds in colour, shape and texture, with art an inherent part of her being.
[1] Where was the best meal of your life?
One of my most memorable meals was a seafood cataplana at this beach near Lisbon. It was a rocky beach with a restaurant on a hill, and the food with the view was quite perfect.
[2] What is a nostalgic scent to you, and why?
Honeysuckle. There used to be these bushes on the way to school when I was little and I loved sucking on the flowers.
[3] What book do you gift to your friends?
An old art book or A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara.
[4] The most played songs on your play list currently …
Renaissance by Beyoncé, of course.
[5] What’s on your bedside table?
A few books, a menu of this meal I really enjoyed, and usually my phone.
[6] The best advice you’ve ever been given …
At a job, if someone asks you to go get apples, and you go to the market and they don’t have apples, don’t come empty handed. You go to a few markets, if no one has apples, you look at other options. Always be prepared for backups. There will always be more talented people, younger with fresher perspective. Find what is important to you in growth, and stay with it. Don’t compare, it’s not fair for anyone.
[7] One word that best describes you?
Sensitive.
[8] Train or plane?
Plane – I’m impatient when it comes to traveling.
[9] Favourite city?
Copenhagen, Lisbon, New York and Savannah, Georgia.
[10] If you weren’t an artist, what would you be doing?
Perhaps set design for films? Or, marketing!
[11] Favourite family vacation?
When I was a kid, I had moved to Fortaleza, Ceara from Sao Paulo in Brazil. My family friends came to visit our family, and it was the most fun I remember having as an 11-year-old!
[12] If you could pick anyone, who would you pick as your mentor?
Solange and Isamu Noguchi.
[13] Who is your hero?
My mum.
[14] If you could be any fictional character who would you choose?
Peter Pan.
[15] What’s the last object you acquired that gave you great pleasure?
My mum recently bought a very old cast iron pot from Korea for stews and soup. The shape is so perfect, it’s so simple yet feels substantial because of its weight. The soup also stays hot because of it!
[16] In your fridge, you’ll always find?
Greek yogurt, Gia drinks and some sort of pickled veggies.
[17] What was the first thing you bought with your own money?
Like, something big? Probably this commission painting by Jordy Kerwick. But if we’re talking about childhood purchase, probably a fashion magazine with my weekly allowance!
[18] An indulgence you would never forgo?
Groceries.
[19] Item you are most coveting …
An apartment in Brooklyn because rent is so ridiculous at this time.
[20] What are your words you live by?
Everybody is capable of being kind, and everybody is capable of being an asshole. We just gotta keep each other accountable to choose kindness more often.
[21] As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I always wanted to be an artist.
[22] Your last supper?
A tomato and cucumber salad from a friend’s garden, with my pickled onions on top.
[23] The best gift you ever received?
My old Jeep Wrangler. A family friend wanted me to swap cars and I couldn’t accept a whole new car from them, so we found this old Jeep Wrangler that I still have. I know it sounds so luxurious to receive a car as a gift – of course it was – but also very humbling. It’s such a long story, and it was genuinely such a huge act of kindness and love. The car is falling apart now, but I can’t seem to let it go.
Illustrator and film maker QUENTIN JONES is the kind of woman who will dine out alone. Wine and a bowl of a pasta – that’s her hedonism now.
[1] What’s the last object you acquired that gave you great pleasure?
Tile samples for my new home renovation. Finally the ideas for the bathroom space coming together with the right shade of pink. Maybe more relief than pleasure.
[2] An indulgence you would never forgo?
Wine.
[3] Where was the best meal of your life?
Tough question. Every week a meal blows my mind. But it has to be dining alone in Paris when I am working there. I love going to Le Bon Georges solo, and nestling into one of the outdoor booths and drinking amazing wine as they bring me delights to eat.
[4] In your fridge, you’ll always find?
Miso paste, Lemons, Oat milk, and Parmesan.
[5] What book do you gift to your friends?
Changes every few months, but I loved the Paper Palace and gave that to my mum and sister recently.
[6] What is a nostalgic scent to you, and why?
I have two. The stalks of tomatoes- reminds me of cooking with my mum as a child. I always thought it should be bottled up and sold as perfume. And the rain on warm pavements in London in the summer. Flashback to getting home from summer holidays to the perpetually wet streets of London. And somehow it is the most reassuring cosy smell.
[7] The most played songs on your play list currently …
Having a bit of a Jorja Smith moment recently, as well as Khruangbin, Mustafa and Charlotte Day Wilson.
[8] As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
An actor or a doctor.
[9] The best gift you ever received?
My mum’s diamond ring. I haven’t taken it off since I was 18.
[10] Share your life mantra/words you live by ...
I have always worried I was too hedonistic. Choosing to do what made me happy or felt fun at any moment. Nothing has changed, I have just grown to realise it’s a positive quality. Sometimes the things that are really fun are more productive than others but it’s all part of leading an energised, creative and happy life.
[11] What do you collect?
I wouldn’t say I collect anything, but I seem to have a ridiculous amount of black leather ankle boots.
[12] If you could be any fictional character who would you choose?
Reva from My Year of Rest and Relaxation.
[13] What’s on your bedside table?
Books I didn’t finish on holiday that won’t be opened again until the next.
[14] Item you are most coveting …
I wish I could say some delicious pair of boots, but it’s heirloom dining tables or ridiculous lights. My whole life is currently uprooted doing the designs for my new house, and all desires have fallen into the pit.
[15] Train or plane?
Train for the experience, plane for where it can take you.
[16] Favourite family vacation?
My family and I have fallen in love with Costa Rica in the last few years. For me because it is also where I discovered and learnt how to surf.
[17] Your last supper?
Spaghetti vongole and a dirty martini.
[18] The best advice you’ve ever been given …
Work hard, play harder.
[19] If you weren’t a model, what would you be doing?
Have immersed myself in doing the interiors for the new house, I can see why that is such a great job. I love how instinctive and free it is.
[20] Who is your hero?
I am not sure. I have always jumped into things feet first without getting help or advise, and I wish I had assisted or looked up to someone. It would have been a nice relationship. My only real mentor has been my dad, and I can’t really imagine it another way.
[21] One word that best describes you?
A lot.
[22] Favourite city?
I hate favourites – can I have three? Paris, New York and Rome.
[23] What was the first thing you bought with your own money?
A second-hand car when I passed my driving test as a teenager. Such a thrill.
For Maison Balzac’s Director, Elise Pioch, living is all about spending time by the sea, collecting chairs and never ceasing to dream.
[1] As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I wanted to be a Shepard during the day and write poetry at night.
[2] Favourite city? Or favourite restaurants in the world?
My favourite city is Cadaques, Spain, and my favourite restaurant is Aponem in the South of France.
[3] What are your words to live by?
You never regret a swim.
[4] If you weren’t Maison Balzac’s Director what would you be doing?
I would be writing children’s books with my daughter.
[5] What is a nostalgic scent to you, and why?
The smell of burnt feathers because I used to help my dad to prepare small birds before we cooked them and we used to burn the remaining duvet over the flame of a candle in winter.
[6] Favourite family vacation?
In Begur, Spain, and Vanuatu.
[7] If you could pick anyone, who would you pick as your mentor?
Jean Cocteau.
[8] Who is your hero?
Inspector Columbo.
[9] Item you are most coveting …
The Snoopy lamp by Castiglioni for Flos.
[10] What was the first thing you bought with your own money?
A black leather suitcase at 16! So prophetic, knowing that I moved to Australia aged 28.
[11] Where was the best meal of your life?
I have a few but the latest one was last night at Hotel de Tourrel in St Remy de Provence with my friend Robyn. Being with her and eating this delicate food was like building a core memory of happiness.
[12] The most played songs on your playlist currently are …
Ibrahim Maalouf’s Will Soon Be a Woman and Billie Eilish’s No Time to Die.
[13] The best advice you’ve ever been given …
Everyday, the sun rises over a new world.
[14] In your fridge, you’ll always find?
Unsalted butter and Maille mustard.
[15] The best gift you ever received?
My grandmother’s watch, it has no financial value but she wore it every day
so it’s like being with her when I wear it.
[16] What do you collect? Chairs!
If I buy another one, my husband will divorce me.
[17] What’s on your bedside table?
A jar full of tiny love notes that my daughter made for Mother’s Day last year. I open one from time to time – it’s so sweet.
[18] One word that best describes you?
Dreamer.
[19] An indulgence you would never forgo?
Dulce de leche.
[20] What’s the last object you acquired that gave you great pleasure?
I just bought a small evening bag for five Euros at the local flea market made of silk satin with a clasp made of white elephants. It’s as old as quirky!
[21] What book do you gift to your friends?
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupery.
To experience RUSSH Home in its entirety, issue one will be available on newsstands from October 20 and through our shop. Find a stockist near you.
