Twenty Years In: The Work Behind The Work
Twenty years in, and I would say our biggest realisation is that the work is never just the work. It’s always been about trust, perspective, and the discipline of taking meaning into real life.
I didn’t start BLINK with a twenty-year plan. It was more of a reaction to seeing too much that felt formulaic. Hospitality design was either ‘traditional’ by default or ‘modern’ by styling. There was a lack of deep thought and interpretation.
From the start, our instinct was to interpret. To take what was local and specific to a place and evolve it through a modern, refined lens without defaulting to familiar motifs.
The Antithesis of Formula
Formula is faster. Meaning lasts longer. While our intent hasn’t changed, the industry around it has. Designing with a strong sense of place wasn’t the expectation. Today, everything is expected to belong to its location. Guests seek narrative, and brands are investing more in places that feel considered. Clients are also more experienced, well-travelled and clearer in what they want. The job now is less about introducing ideas and more about interpreting them, aligning early, and distilling a point of view that still feels distinct. There’s less room for error, so the work has to be precise. The work moves faster and stays stronger when you understand the person behind the decisions.
Moments That Shaped Us
As the industry evolved, so did the studio. Growth wasn’t a single moment; it was a series of decisions: building the right structure, protecting culture, and choosing relationships we could go on a journey with. We grew beyond what I ever expected, from a small team to five studios and around 120 BLINKers, and we’re still growing.
Today, that growth is reflected in the trust of leading owners, developers and global hospitality brands across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific. From newly opened work in France to confidential commissions and long-term projects in emerging destinations, the work has evolved alongside the team.
Where We’re Headed Next
If the first twenty years were about proving what we could do, the next chapter is about where we can take it. London is now an important base for us, not only in the UK, but as a platform for Europe. We currently have projects underway in Italy and France, and the London studio will also serve our work from India westward, supporting our Dubai studio in Africa and the Middle East.
This isn’t growth for growth’s sake. It’s a way to keep discovering new places, meeting new people, and building the kind of long-term client relationships that make the work better.
Change in the Work, Consistency in the Thinking
People assume BLINK has a style and that it’s minimalist or quiet luxury. But we’ve always felt the work has to respond to people and place. In many of the places we work now, guests and owners want more colour, more pattern, and more expression.
What stays consistent isn’t a look. It’s the lens we look through. Everything goes through a modern, refined process with extensive editing, always treating each project as a one-off.
The Invisible Work: Culture
As BLINK grows, culture becomes something we have to deliberately design, not just hope for. It’s important for us to be egoless, keep our hierarchy light and give everyone a voice. We have no private offices across our studios, and believe that wins and losses belong to the group, not the individual.
Our openness matters because it keeps our ideas moving, reduces friction and creates a calm working environment. This is the system we want to protect as we expand into new regions and new kinds of work.
Our Next Chapter
Twenty years have passed, but my most important insight remains unchanged. The work is never just the work. It has always been, and always will be, about the people behind it. The conversations, the trust, and the shared discipline of making meaning hold up in real life.
Our next chapter won’t be about just doing more. It will be about keeping curious and continuing to design spaces that feel real and connected. Because it’s about what people feel, what stays with them, and helping operators to realise that what guests feel the first time brings them back.