TONI BLACK, INTERIOR DIRECTOR AND PARTNER, BLACKSHEEP COLLECTIVE

Posted in People on 26 September, 2024

Few would deny that reaching the pinnacle of any industry demands hard work, determination, and a flair for creative thinking. With an abundance of the latter, Toni Black’s journey to success was anything but conventional.

WORDS BY Emma Kennedy.

Getting a foot through the door of an industry where nobody ‘looks like you’, is never easy. But channelling her creativity into navigating an alternative route, ultimately led Toni Black to multidisciplinary design studio, Blacksheep, where she was welcomed with open arms. Making up for lost time, within one year of joining, she had become a partner and is now the creative vision behind a fast-growing portfolio of luxury hospitality projects across the globe. With a work ethic matched only by her unflinching refusal to ever accept no as an answer, the years of knocking on doors have finally paid off, and I’m all ears.

Bermondsey’s Leather Market is a busy, bustling corner of London, steeped in history and creativity. Adding to its palpable vibrancy and energy, Toni Black, waves me down as I’m about to ring the studio’s buzzer. Warm, friendly, and very chatty, she leads the way to the local coffee shop to take advantage of the air conditioning on London’s hottest day of the year.

Finding a cool corner – in every sense of the word – within five short minutes, we have covered the weather, work-life balance, the challenges of hiring talent, social media, and the joys of motherhood. Whilst enjoying the conversation, it dawns on me that if Toni is as prolific when discussing her journey in design, then there was going to be a lot to cover, and the clock was ticking.

Reception at Montcalm East in Shoreditch. Photograph courtesy of BLACKSHEEP COLLECTIVE

Animated and descriptive, as she paints a colourful picture of growing up in a ‘concrete jungle’ in South London, it soon becomes apparent where Toni gets her energy from. “We really were an all singing, all dancing family. My sister went to Sylvia Young stage school, and at 14 I was packed off – albeit reluctantly – to BRIT School, convinced I was going to hate it. I wanted to be an architect, not a performer!” she begins, “Then suddenly I was 15, in a girl band, and like my sister, I too was all singing and dancing.” Staying on topic, (making a mental note to return to the girlband later) I ask Toni where the notion of becoming an architect had stemmed from. “My sister had taken me to Tate Modern, and I’d never seen anything quite like it. I just saw this colossal building, with all these arches and artworks and fell in love with it all. After that, when my mum thought I was out playing with friends, I was on a bus and sneaking back over there. To be honest, I couldn’t even spell architecture, all I knew was it involved buildings and creativity.”

Becoming a young mum, with BRIT school and the girl band days behind her, she took stock and considered her next move. Deciding she didn’t have the seven years needed to train as an architect, she enrolled on an arts foundation course at Camberwell, waited for her son to turn one, and promptly started an interior design degree at Chelsea School of Art. As a former student of the latter, we briefly exchange notes, which inevitably revealed two very different experiences. “Well for a start, I was one of just three black women in the whole establishment, and the only one on my course,” she tells me before recalling her strict day-to-day routine of study, childcare, work, and very little sleep. “And that was the start of my journey,” she laughs.

Bar 1920 at Prince De Galles in Paris. Photograph courtesy of BLACKSHEEP COLLECTIVE

Following graduation, like her peers, Toni started applying for jobs. “Looking back, I was so naive; I honestly didn’t realise the creative industry was so hard to get into, and back then, it really was ‘spot the black woman’. I remember finally getting an interview in a design studio somewhere in Chelsea, coming home and telling my husband I didn’t get it. When he asked why I was so sure, I told him ‘Honey, I was the wrong colour and the wrong class.”

Refusing to give in, she realised she needed to find a different approach. “I was so depressed. I had literally sent out 100 CVs and not received a single response. So, I thought OK, I need to widen my search. At the time I was temping in an admin role at Balfour Beatty, where some of the engineers were working on CAD. I mentioned to a manager, that I had those skills, and he said, ‘well why aren’t you doing that?’ and promptly made me part of the team. I wish I could remember who he was as, I would love to thank him, as that really was the beginning.”

While grateful she had moved on from admin, but still not in the sector she wanted to be in, Toni came across a job as a Lighting Designer. “I thought, this looks interesting. It required CAD skills, creativity and above all, mood boards. Again, it was a different angle into the world of creation, a different path, so I applied for it. Suddenly I was a lighting designer, working in hospitality, on multiple hotel projects. The company turnover was crazy, and it was incredibly hard work. I would be working on 10 hotels at a time, but what I learnt was amazing and invaluable. We were working for world leading architects and interior designers – but I couldn’t help looking at their work, thinking I could have designed that – I want to do that!”

Akira Back restaurant at Prince De Galles in Paris.

With a growing skillset, her next career stop was to become an FF&E designer with Blampied (part of Areen Design) a role which soon crossed over into interior design, involving high profile clients and large teams. “I stayed there for over 10 years, had two more babies, and finally decided to go it alone as a freelancer,” she continues. “By then I was happily delivering multiple projects across the hospitality sector, when I went for an interview Blacksheep. They had been working on a hotel project, but at that point their focus was on F&B and needed someone with experience of running large hospitality projects. I started, and it was all going well. So well, that within six weeks, I sat down with one of directors and was asked if I would like to become an associate… and I’m like, ‘Excuse me?’”

Accepting the new challenge, more hotels and F&B projects followed, and within a year she was asked to become a director, soon followed by a restructuring of the company and the invitation to become a partner.

Three years on and Toni is clearly enjoying the role. “We’ve all created our own divisions, and mine is the luxury and lifestyle team. Within three short years, we’ve gone from working on one hotel to 15 hospitality projects, It’s amazing. And considering a lot of these projects are on-site, we are receiving so much attention and enquiries. I sometimes feel quite emotional at the faith our clients have in us,” she tells me before adding, “and I’m proud to say, I have a very diverse team.”

Discussing the team, Toni tells me how it has grown organically. “In total I now have about 15 designers, but it has taken quite a while to get it right. We are working hard, but I like to think the team are happy because we’re all in it together – and they can see the growth. Some are super technical, others super creative, and then there are those who are also super organised,” she beams.

Now called Blacksheep Collective, the three other arms of the multi-disciplinary studio – which covers F&B design, branding and architecture, are led respectively by original Founder and Partner, Tim Mutton, and Co-Partners, Paul Mann and Brian Turner.

“I like to call them the brothers. They’re great, and the sweet spot is when both brand and ID work together on a project. It’s definitely what makes us special. We look at everything as a whole; who’s the client, who’s the target market, what’s the brand vision, the identity, and then we can set the narrative. From there we consider the scent, the touchpoints – everything and together we can take it to a whole other level. You don’t realise how good you’ve got it until you work with external branding.”

With years of graft and determination having finally paid off, Toni tells me what’s currently on the boards. “So many projects!” she laughs, before launching into a list as long as my arm. “We are currently working in the U.S, Kenya, Saudi and Rome. In the UK, we’re working on a Boutique Salon in London, and a Treehouse hotel in Manchester. We’re starting a project this week in Jakarta, and we’ve literally just had an enquiry for the Caribbean.” She claps her hands and busts out laughing at the mention of the latter. “When I took that call, I just thought ‘I don’t know what stars are aligning here but keep on aligning because this is phenomenal.’”

There is so much more to Toni Black than could possibly fit into a single interview. She is opinionated about the interior design world she inhabits, caring about its future, occasionally concerned about the calibre of talent that’s coming through, and obviously about the severe lack of diversity in design. In short, she is a creative force of nature. Her interiors are a breath-taking collection of rich, elegant and sophisticated spaces. Like her character, there is nothing ambiguous. Strong lines and beautiful textures fuse classic elegance and contemporary luxury. I close the interview by asking Toni where she sees herself and Blacksheep in years to come. She thinks hard.

“You know those beautiful books we decorate our houses with – like a Chanel book… I would like to think of someone in the future, being handed a book about Blacksheep, in reference to amazing design. For them to open the book, turn the pages and be inspired. To look at spaces and see how we kept the essence of what design is really about.”