Visions That Take Shape

Sally learned her trade in London, studying interior design and working with leading studios until she made the move to Marbella, where she collaborated on projects with local stylists before founding Blackshaw. “It was and continues to be my main focus, and is the business from which everything flows,” says the designer whose knowing eye includes not only home decoration and furnishing but also entire construction and development projects.

“I found my voice as a designer and brought some British and other European influences both internally and architecturally, but always within the context of the home, the client, and the setting.” This includes the capacity to work with the finest high end quality soft furnishings and finishes, a feature that has since become highly prized by many a homeowner. “We brought a softer touch of elegance and style to the homes we decorated, and to great visual effect.”

That said, hers is an approach characterised by creative flexibility and the desire to design for each individual home. “We have a very broad palette to work with, including the finest fabrics from Britain, France, and Italy, as well as top Spanish and Italian furnishings and our own team of craftsmen and artisans.

Taken together, it means we can accommodate just about every taste and home configuration, and produce fresh new home interiors in a wide variety of styles.”

Growth With The Home As The Base

Sally’s approach, along with hard work, design flair, and a very personable way of executing projects paved the way for success, with a growing portfolio of homes decorated and revived evolving into clients asking her to take on renovation projects that involved interior and exterior styling as well as project management, reconstruction, and landscaping. “What began as an occasional request has now grown into a fully-fledged division of the business.”

Blackshaw now takes on full renovation and reconstruction projects as part of which older homes are given an updated architectural design and interior styling, including also upgraded technical infrastructure to bring properties of this kind right up to date. “Many of the potentially most beautiful homes situated in the very best locations are in need of such treatment, and when done well it produces a home that competes with the top new builds.”

The success with which she both designs and project manages has led investor clients to approach her to also work on commercial home renovations for them. “Some clients recognised the potential to work together. They see the possibilities for fruitful investment and believe in my ability to deliver on time, on-budget, and to produce something that the market will readily snap up. I now work with them on a regular basis, and in the process, we bring such homes back to life.”

Blackshaw Estates

Before long, Sally also began to receive requests to find suitable homes for investment, and this expanded into overall home finder applications. “We found ourselves straying into searching for the right kind of property for our clients to buy or invest in, and found that we were good at it.” The process grew to the point where it made sense to establish a dedicated operation and provide this service on a fully structured, professional level. “It was never really my intention to found a real estate company, but it works well and is very complementary to our other activities, so it’s been a great success.”

What started small continues to grow, developing in unison with the other divisions of the company to provide a fully integrated service that can begin with a home search and end with interior styling or even a complete renovation project. “The objective with all this is to offer our clients a beautiful home to step into and start enjoying,” says Sally. With regard to that she has recently realised a longstanding ambition to collaborate more closely with one of her all-time favourite designers, Paolo Castelli.

Representing Paolo Castelli

“We work with a variety of top fabric and furniture brands, but one of my absolute favourites is Paolo Castelli, with whom we have collaborated for some years now, yet it was always my dream to expand that relationship. Strangely, I somehow knew it would happen and now it has.” She met the Italian designer and furniture maker during a recent visit of his to Marbella, and a connection was immediately made. “We got on straight away, ending up spending a long time talking about design and architecture in general but the details and nuances of the work in particular.”

Sally was excited to have made such a strong connection with someone she admires so much within the field, and as the dialogue continued it also expanded into discussions about Blackshaw becoming the official representative of Paolo Castelli for the Costa del Sol and Málaga. “It all just flowed so naturally, and now we have completely renovated our showroom just up from the copper tower on the Golden Mile to dedicate the whole space to the brand and it’s wonderful collection of furniture.”

Sally’s excitement grew when she flew to Bologna to visit the factory and meet the team. “I was there to select pieces for the showroom that would be best suited to the Marbella environment, but they invited me to view the furniture design and manufacturing process, and even asked for my feedback,” says Sally, for whom this is the start of a wonderful collaboration.

“We’ve been working with the brand for a long time, but now that it’s been taken to the next level it is wonderful to feel such a fantastic connection with them. This can only lead to the very finest results, and I’m looking forward to creating the most amazing homes in collaboration with Paolo Castelli.”