Alice Sheriff is the co-founder and managing director of Black Rabbit London, a social-first, motion-led creative production agency embracing a fundamentally different way of working. Across her career, Alice has worked with big brands like Calvin Klein, Lacoste and Diesel, where she witnessed the outdated production models constraining the industry's most valuable voices.
In response, Alice leads Black Rabbit with a system that prioritises more flexible, human ways of working, leading to stronger creative and better business outcomes (discover more in our recent interview). As part of our 5 Questions series, I caught up with Alice to discuss creative pet peeves, the value of care and the simple joy of creating "beautiful work with good people."
What has been your biggest middle finger to the creative industry?
Probably just doing it differently and not making a big thing of it. I came from retail, not advertising. I have kids, I leave when I need to leave. I built something that I actually want to walk into every morning, and it turns out that's not as common as it should be. I didn't set out to prove a point. I just wanted to make beautiful work with good people. Other women, friends, people I had met along the way and had the same eye. Network is everything, and remaining someone who people genuinely love collaborating with is your legacy.
What's the ugliest object/design trend you secretly love?
Overstuffed interiors. Too many plants, mismatched ceramics, a slightly chaotic bookshelf. It shouldn't work and it always does. I find myself more inspired by a room that feels truly lived in than anything on a mood board. Saying that, I am constantly throwing everything out, the big spring clean, every weekend. I guess thats the outcome of 3 kids, husband dog, cat and no mansion to live in.
How do you get people to care about a brand?
You have to care first. Genuinely. I think people feel when something has been made with attention and when it hasn’t, and they might not be able to articulate it, but they feel it. So we spend a lot of time on the details that most people won't consciously notice. That's where the love is, I think. Experts in the room are absolutely focused on the craft of an image of footage that’s being made.
What's your creative pet peeve?
When the environment doesn't match the ambition. You can't ask people to make beautiful things in a space that feels stressful or unwelcome. I'm quite particular about the atmosphere we work in at the studio or on location, even the email tone. It all feeds into the work, whether you think it does or not.
What would be the name of your autobiography?
I'll Be Back by Five. That's basically the whole story. The ambition, the kids, the juggle, the fact that I wouldn't change any of it. Everything I've built has been built around that sentence.
