20 Years of Blacksheep
Blacksheep turns 20 – The lamb becomes the ram. This year marks an incredibly, exciting milestone for Blacksheep as we celebrate our 20th Anniversary.
20 years ago, Our Founder, Tim Mutton, sought to change the landscape of hospitality and design industries for the better and created Blacksheep – A groundbreaking design studio that partners with brands around the world to create powerful and meaningful hospitality and leisure guest experiences.
Today, the evolution and expansion of the Blacksheep brand has enabled us to develop many areas of speciality including – Brand & Strategy, Hotel & Leisure and F&B Retail and Experience allowing for a multi-disciplined approach that helps our client partners from project conception to completion and beyond.
Blacksheep’s 20-year journey and impact on the hospitality landscape have been impressive to date, from our first project, The Cuckoo Club in Mayfair London to our early credentials of Whisky Mist on Park Lane and Boujis in Hong Kong, which led on to further work with acclaimed chefs such as Gordon Ramsey, Jamie Oliver and Raymond Blanc.
Over the last 10 years, we have successfully transformed the UK eating out and retail landscape, helping to transform, innovate and develop brands such as Wagamama, Cote, Popeyes, Brasserie Blanc, The Alchemist and Five Guys to name a few.
Our first large foray into the world of hotels came with the commission to create and design seven different F&B outlets for the Fairmont Hotel in Amman.
The project success then became the launch pad for an over 15-year relationship with Marriott International and has resulted in a roster of new partnerships with luxury and lifestyle brands including Ritz Carlton, St Regis, Luxury Collection, Autograph Collection, Treehouse Hotels by SH Hotels and Resorts and Tribe Hotels by Accor.
Brand is at the heart of everything we do at Blacksheep.
In the past five years, we have developed and evolved into a strategic, brand-led agency – creating desirable and future-proof brands with a purpose. Our most recent work includes the brand creation of Marriott’s first standalone Autograph Collection Residence – The Lucan and the brand conception of Montcalm East, Autograph Collection Hotel in Shoreditch, London.
We have also expanded our creative capabilities by taking on new experiential projects such as the creation of the Hyundai Cooking Library in Seoul, South Korea and the re-transformation of the Glenlivet Distillery in Speyside, Scotland, which recently received a British Institute of Interior Design award as well as numerous design accolades for its visionary design.
Looking to the future, Blacksheep has a host of new projects on the horizon including the world’s oldest luxury casino, a wellness and health resort and the rebranding of a large hospitality investment platform, alongside collaborations with acclaimed chefs Akira Back and Simon Rogan.
“Wow… 20 years of Blacksheep that’s some achievement, it’s totally crept up on me, and I’m so thankful to be connected to a community I adore. I couldn’t have done it alone and thank all those that have contributed to making it happen.
I started with one vision: allowing designers creative freedom, untied from ego, design dogma and plain agency strain. The studio’s evolution has always been about being a Blacksheep forging our creative path, being curious, pushing the boundaries, questioning, teaming, dreaming, daring, and always believing in better.
Looking ahead at the next 20 years, we want to harness our amazing team talent, establish some international hubs, forge some really challenging partnerships, make a positive mark on the world, give back, and move into new areas of products and design services and ultimately have fun”.