Toni Black, Interior Director & Partner at Blacksheep, leads with an open mind and a creative heart.
Toni Black is the Interior Director & Partner at Blacksheep, the multi-disciplinary design studio renowned for their work within the hospitality sector. Operating globally, the studio offers brand design, art direction and campaigns, spatial concepts and full interior design services through to implementation and completion on site.
With a multifaceted background and humble beginnings, Toni brings an inclusive approach to her leadership at Blacksheep. She is passionate about collaboration and gaining an understanding of individual perspectives; these values sit well within Blacksheep’s inviting work culture – Toni refers to the team as an extension of her “own family.”
Raised within a creative and joyful family, Toni was destined for a career that enabled her to flex her natural curiosity and creativity. Early childhood memories include visiting local London buildings that influenced her love for architecture and interior design, even if she didn’t have the exact vocabulary for it at the time. Coming from an “all singing and dancing” family, Toni joined a girl band in her teens and attended performing arts school, before she studied design and focused on a career in interiors. She has since gone on to lead projects in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, ranging from private residential to airports, palaces, malls and hospitality venues.
From life on a brutalist housing block and an unexpected design job with her dad to working on multi-million pound projects and leading a diverse team of designers on a global scale, here Toni discusses the multiple facets of her creative journey and why she doesn’t believe in hierarchies.
What is your earliest memory of design having an impact on you?
My earliest memory is visiting Tate Britain with my sister as a young girl. I was in awe of the scale — the vastness and grandeur of the space. I was probably around seven or eight, living in a 1970’s brutalist concrete and brick housing estate nearby. As a small girl, it felt colossal! I fell in love with the interior space.
Another key memory is the Kennington Library, where my sister often took me since she had to babysit me a lot. The inside wasn’t that impressive, but the building had this incredible history that spoke through its exterior, which contrasted with the brutalist blocks near where I lived.
Those two places — the grand scale of the Tate and the charm of the Kennington Library — really influenced me. I think that’s where my love for ornate, old architectural details began.
Where did you study design and what did you specialise in?
I did my foundation at Camberwell School of Arts, which was probably the highlight of my time as a student. It was such fun, absolutely brilliant. In my final term, I specialised in the 3D block, which was absolutely freezing! And then went on to study interior and spatial design at Chelsea School of Arts.
I’ve always known I was meant to be creative, whether through acting, drawing, singing, dancing, or even sewing. I come from a creative family — we’re all singing and dancing, it’s in my DNA, being creative is just part of who I am, and I wouldn’t know how to be anything else. I did once consider acting, which was probably my first love, and then singing. I was in a girl band at 15 and went to performing arts school but I realised I’m not great with rejection, the audition process can be brutal, and you can’t just get a job in it that easy, so I turned to design!
What kind of designer did you aspire to be and who are your inspirations?
As a young girl I didn’t really understand the world of interiors. Most of what I studied came from an architectural perspective. It wasn’t the internet era, so I learned through classic architects like Frank Gehry and Le Corbusier, and I developed a love for heritage architecture. Visiting places like Sir John Soane’s Museum definitely fuelled that passion.
I didn’t even know I wanted to be an interior designer at first. At Camberwell, someone introduced me to interior and spatial design, and I realised it had an architectural focus that appealed to me. Ultimately, I just knew I wanted to be creative and was happy as long as I could do that.
Coming from humble beginnings, I didn’t get to visit fancy spaces as such, but I’ve always appreciated design. I wasn’t trying to follow anyone or be like anybody in the design world — I’ve always created ideas from the heart. I think sometimes the design world can feel hierarchical, but I’ve learned to appreciate creativity at all levels.
What was your first professional design commission?
My first take on designing a space was when I was about 18/19. My dad, a plasterer, was working on someone’s loft, and they had no idea how to design the space. I jumped in and sketched out ideas for built-in seating and how to set up the bed. That was my first real experience designing a space — an unexpected opportunity that kickstarted everything.
What has been your biggest design commission to date?
Two of my largest projects were based in Saudi Arabia, both before I joined Blacksheep. One was designing King Abdulaziz International Airport, a massive project that included hotels, a transportation centre, and back-of-house facilities: a train station and a control tower. The scale was immense, with countless moving parts to coordinate. The other was designing a 10,000-room hotel, which was equally monumental. Both projects pushed me to refine my project management skills.
How would you describe Blacksheep as a studio and a community of designers?
Phenomenal! That’s the one word I’d use, and let me break it down. We’re phenomenal because of our diversity, our personalities, and the dynamic atmosphere. I’m incredibly proud of how diverse our studio is — it’s a great place to be. I know it sounds cliché, but I see my team, and especially the directors, as my brothers from another mother. Sometimes we get on each other’s nerves, but that’s what siblings do. As for my team, I guess I play this motherly role, where the team feels like an extension of my own family. We’re just a bunch of passionate creatives.
For me, it’s a wonderful environment, a melting pot of cultures and perspectives that bring new and exciting angles to design. No two days are the same. We’re fighting, we’re laughing, sometimes crying, but always collaborating. There’s this undeniable energy in the studio, a vibe that keeps everyone engaged and excited. I don’t believe in hierarchies. Yes, structure is important, but when it comes to creativity, I think it should be thrown out the window. Everyone is creative, no matter how much experience they have. It doesn’t matter if you’ve been here a year or a decade — everyone has a voice. That’s what I love about Blacksheep. It’s a place where people can grow, develop, and create!
What are the key characteristics you look for when bringing new talent into your studio?
Creative thinkers! We’re a brand-led studio, and not everyone who studies creativity is truly creative. It’s about understanding the storytelling aspect of design — not just loving nice things, but really understanding them. When I interview someone, I don’t just want to see pretty pictures. I want to know the thinking behind them. How did you arrive at it? That’s what matters to me — the depth, and the meaning behind each decision. I’m looking for the creative thinking behind it all, the process, not just the final beautiful result.
Where is the majority of your work based? And how has travel helped to shape and influence your ideas on design?
Oh, we’re everywhere. There’s no majority — it’s wherever people want Blacksheep. I feel incredibly fortunate and humbled that we get to work in such diverse locations. We have projects in the US, East Africa, Saudi Arabia, the Caribbean, Indonesia, and Europe. There’s no one place that dominates, and I think that’s beautiful. It’s a great position to be in.
Travel is key. You can’t just design from your desktop; you need to get out there and explore. With every project, it’s essential to understand the client, the place, and what draws people to it. Our focus is on people, place, and culture — and to do that well, we have to immerse ourselves in all three. Being present in space/location is key.
What do you think should be a key focus for designers working on hospitality projects moving forward in 2025?
I think it’s all about creating new experiences, honest experiences and stripping back. We’re in this land of Pinterest, and while sometimes it’s great, we’re stuck in a cycle of repetition. I come from a time before Pinterest when you had to go out with a sketchbook, buy magazines, and communicate with verbal interaction and not virtual. I think we need to bring some of those old-school methods back to remix and create new ones.
I’m not saying Pinterest or Google/internet searches are wrong, but we need to remember, we designed spaces before these things existed. It’s kind of like going back from digital to analogue.
As younger generations raised on TikTok become the end users, we need to think about how to engage them in creative, personal ways and not forget our maturing guest profile in doing so!
www.blacksheep.uk.com | IG: @blacksheepcreates
