Desk Tour: Azora Zoe Paknad

Welcome to Desk Tour, a series where I interview creative folks about their desks and workspaces. In case you missed it: Krisserin Canary’s Desk Tour from last time. You can also browse the entire catalog of Desk Tours.

If you’re a Bad on Paper listener, you may recognize Azora Zoe Paknad’s name from this episode, where she discussed starting her own business, then parting ways with it at the end of 2022. In her own words: “It was a hell of a ride— my writing about trying, failing, and finding myself on the other side of it all turned into my Substack Best Seller First Rodeo.”

I am continuously inspired by women who bet on themselves and take chances in creativity and business, especially if they are honest about the highs and lows that can happen along the way. It’s been a joy to see Zoe find her audience on Substack and to learn from her. I do have to say that as much as I love following Zoe via First Rodeo, I may love her writing nook even more. I think you’ll love it too.

OM: Describe your workspace.

AZP: Okay, I’m spoiled— I’ve worked from home for the last 6 years (Jesus…send help) and so a home office has always been a must for me. I used to live in sort of a cavernous Brooklyn bunker condo, where I was always re-doing and re-decorating my office. I never felt quite myself in a productivity or creativity sense there.

A few months ago I left NYC for good and moved to a charming beach bungalow on Long Island. I still have an office in our “guest room”-- should I be calling it a den?-- but I also got a bonus workspace out of it, with an ocean view. (Eek!)

In the center of our home there’s a spiral staircase that leads up to a crow’s nest that overlooks the ocean. There’s a little built-in ledge just before you step out to the crow’s nest, and the broker told us that it was a cubby meant to house a wine or beverage fridge so you could entertain out on the deck. (”Nope,” I told myself in that moment. “That is my writing nook.”)

In the mornings, I rise early and make my way up the spiral staircase to this little ledge that overlooks the ocean. This is where I do my “not day job” work: journaling, working on the first draft of my novel which I hope to finish this year, and writing my Substack, First Rodeo. If I’m honest, I will also occasionally online shop here and/or plan my wedding here.

I get awesome sunlight and being able to separate my creative work from my work work is just… life changing. It’s made a huge difference in my attempts to write fiction, which I felt so blocked on when I tried to write in the same space I do my day job. This is a luxury. I know this. I moved into this home specifically with this delicious luxury in mind.

My “den” has a charming little desk, a desktop computer I love, and is where I work on my “real” job! This is where I’ll take meetings from. It’s still important to me that it’s a clean, inspiring space— but compartmentalizing in such a literal way means that I literally feel the vibe change when I transition from one workspace to another throughout the day.

There’s a little built-in ledge just before you step out to the crow’s nest, and the broker told us that it was a cubby meant to house a wine or beverage fridge so you could entertain out on the deck. (”Nope,” I told myself in that moment. “That is my writing nook.”)

OM: What are your three favorite items on your desk right now?

AZP: In my “creative” workspace, it is undeniably the mermaid statuette that I bought at Home Goods a few months ago— I felt that I needed it biblically.

In my “work” workspace, it’s probably the framed photo of me and my fiancé happy and smiling during peak summer, which I framed for myself in the dead of winter. Or potentially the seashell lamp finial that I bought on eBay.

OM: Do you keep anything specific at your desk that you use as inspiration to stay creative or positive?

AZP: My mermaid statuette. Who knew Home Goods would add so much spiritual value to my creative life! She reminds me— subconsciously, I’ve never thought this hard about it before— of my child self, who was eternally playing make believe and writing stories just to write them. The last decade has really hardened me to that person, and in writing fiction I have been trying to get to know her again. I can’t emphasize enough how challenging I’ve found it, but with this space all to myself, I’m chipping away at it slowly.

In my den, I’ve framed a few photos next to my desk that are secretly special to me: a vintage sketch— and a more recent watercolor by a local artist— of Slains Castle in Scotland. It’s the setting of one of my favorite books that sent me on a journey to Scotland twice last year (!), The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley.

My mermaid statuette…she reminds me— subconsciously, I’ve never thought this hard about it before— of my child self, who was eternally playing make believe and writing stories just to write them.

OM: Is there anything you absolutely HAVE to have at your desk/workspace or you can’t be productive?

AZP: In my more creative workspace, I actively want almost nothing on my desk. Blank canvas! (Beverages, though, are welcome.)

My other desk is littered with pens, drawers full of random bills to pay, and much more… stuff… I wonder what that says about the separation between work and play….

OM: Is there anything you’d change about your workspace? If so, what?

AZP: No!

OM: What books are on your desk right now?

AZP: I have a few coffee table books, but as a Kindle gal, there are rarely actual books on my desk. Right now I do have a writer's craft book up in my creative writing space: Suleika Jaouad's The Book of Alchemy: A Creative Practice for an Inspired Life. To start the day, I read a few pages and then journal. I recommend it if you're looking to do morning pages but with a slight jump to your engines in the form of a gentle prompt.

OM: Describe your ideal work day at your desk.

AZP: I get up super early. The sun is blazing! I finish my morning reading early and am boundlessly inspired, so I sprint up the spiral staircase to my creative workspace, where 150 pages of top tier NOVEL spill forth from me, I am but a vessel.

I read them back. They’re excellent. I’ve finished the book!! I send the pages off to an agent who instantly agrees. A frenzy ensues.

Next I go downstairs to the den to do my paying job. I have a few inspiring conversations with founders and people in my network who could be good additions to my team. These exchanges fill up my cup. The day flies by, and I am not in back to back meetings all day, so I can step away from my desk to eat lunch and read my Kindle for 10 minutes. At the end of my work day, the sun is still up and my fiancé invites me to play pickleball with him, I tear myself away from my desk so I can beat him 15 to 5.

OM: Where can people find you on the internet?

AZP: I write on Substack over at First Rodeo! I have an Instagram (@tehranosaurus) but I’m not allowed to have the Instagram app on my phone (says me), and I used to post quite regularly on TikTok (@azorazoe) before I woke up one day and became violently private. So if you’d like to be friends, Substack is the place! If you’d like to work together, or you’re curious about the “business” stuff I do— buying, selling and supporting beloved consumer brands— then find me or shoot me a note over at www.azorazoepaknad.com/.

Note from Olivia: I have to say I felt very, very seen by the HomeGoods mermaid. I don’t have a mermaid statue myself, but somehow I have never related to anything more.

A portion of May’s subscriber proceeds will go to Columbia Kitchen, a local nonprofit which helps provide free meals to those in need in my community.