Profile: Tim Mutton at Blacksheep
Q. What are some of your notable projects?
Voyage - a central London flagship store for the cult Italian fashion label. This was our first project and really put us on the map with its low-budget but highly creative solutions, from theatrical lighting rigs to its 'Hollywood star' runway flooring.
The Cuckoo Club - the hit London West End club that has played host to everyone from British royalty to Robert De Niro and Christina Aguilera, winning a clutch of design and trade awards along the way
Whisky Mist at Zeta - this year's luxe club to be seen at; a bar and nightclub based around the theme of whisky as the world's most aspirational spirit, housed within one of the world's premier locations: The Hilton Hotel on Park Lane
Inamo, Blacksheep's latest project to complete, is a radical new restaurant concept making headlines for its digital interactive tablecloths, from which customers can order food or the bill or a taxi and can access a web cam through to the kitchen to see their food being prepared!
Q: What is your personal design style?
At Blacksheep, we don't like the thought of being confined to a style. That's what the Blacksheep approach is all about - daring to stand out in a crowd. Our ethos is to deliver quality, simplicity and innovation and our clients come to us looking for a clear point of difference. The only thing I would say about our style is that we aim for long-lasting elegance and avoid themes and quick-fix fashions.
Q: How does this influence particular projects?
Our approach affects everything we do and means that we always approach our clients as real individuals and each space and building as a blank canvas, full of unique possibility.
Q: What excites you about designing for a hotel?
Everything! Hotels are very dynamic public spaces, where you can enjoy many different aspects of leisure time. This offers up such a sense of possibility. Also, operationally, hotels are one of the most challenging environments there are to design and we enjoy all the complications and processes involved to make the whole environment work holistically.
Q: Who is your favorite hotel designer?
I admire Jean Nouvel. Having stayed in one of the hotels he designed, I enjoyed the seamless link between the macro and the micro, from a piece of designed furniture to a clever door pivot detail and from educated space planning to stunning architecture.
Q: What emerging design trend entices you most?
People's increasing appreciation of design and how this can captivate them and create a really special experience.
People have an ever-increasing level of design and cultural education - through travel, the media and better spaces on offer - and this means that they are much more ready to comment than they were before on a space, the food they have been served, the service or what their night's sleep was like. This ups the ante continually and I find that challenging and exciting.
Q: How do you get inspired?
These days, by listening and talking to clients and hearing about their aspirations, as well as by working with very talented people. Since I was a child, I have always enjoyed travelling, drawing and people-watching and this has never changed.
Tim Mutton is co-founder and managing director of Blacksheep, a London-based architecture and interior design firm.