Meet James Flick and Matt Mars of Flick Mars

Today we’d like to introduce you to James Flick and Matt Mars.

Hi James and Matt, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Flick Mars really started with a friendship. We met in the early 1990s while working together at Wilson & Associates, Trisha Wilson’s firm. We knew of each other, but it took one of Trisha’s ideas to really bring us together. As the “class clowns” on opposite sides of the office, she decided it would be a brilliant idea, or perhaps a questionable one, to throw us into a conference room and have us plan the firm’s annual Christmas party. Fortunately, we survived the assignment, and somewhere along the way, a friendship stuck.

Years later, while traveling together with our families in South Africa, we found ourselves sitting on the hood of a truck, watching animals gather at a watering hole and, admittedly, enjoying some Scotch. Somewhere in that conversation, we started talking about combining our passion for design, architecture, hospitality and travel into something of our own. The Scotch may have helped with the timing, but the idea stuck. We came home from that trip with the beginnings of a business plan, and in 2005, Flick Mars was born.

Our first office was James’ dining room table, which lasted about a week before James’ wife evicted us. Apparently, leaving fast-food wrappers and samples scattered across the dining table was not the long-term office solution we had envisioned. From there, we moved into a tiny office in a building that was scheduled to be demolished within six months. Like most startups, we designed during the day and figured out how to run a business at night, chief cooks and bottle washers in every sense of the phrase.

Early on, we were fortunate to have clients who took a chance on us, including Enchantment Resort in Sedona and Windsor Court in New Orleans. Those projects helped establish us and gave us the opportunity to prove what we could do. We also had the opportunity to work with developers who were willing to explore the emerging boutique and lifestyle hotel market, which became an important part of our story.

Over the years, the firm has grown, the projects have gotten bigger and more complex, and the industry has changed dramatically. But the fundamentals have remained the same. We are still passionate about hospitality, we are still deeply involved in the design process, and we still believe the best work comes from collaboration, curiosity and personal experience.

More than 20 years later, we are incredibly proud that Flick Mars remains an independent, design-driven studio with a strong portfolio of hospitality work across the country and a team that continues to challenge us creatively every day.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Has it been a smooth road? Definitely not, and we probably wouldn’t have it any other way.

Owning a business is very different from simply designing great projects. In the early years, we were learning everything at once: how to win work, manage clients, negotiate contracts, manage cash flow, hire people, build a culture and, of course, actually deliver the design work. There were plenty of late nights and plenty of moments when we had to figure things out as we went.

As the firm grew, the challenges changed. One of the hardest things has been learning how to grow without losing what made Flick Mars special in the first place. It is easy to become focused on growth for growth’s sake. We have always wanted to be intentional about the projects we take on, the people we bring into the firm and the culture we create.
Another constant challenge is protecting time for creativity. When you are running a growing design firm, there are always schedules, budgets, contracts, staffing and business decisions competing for your attention. But the creative process is why we started the firm in the first place. We still make a point of getting together with our teams, sketching, brainstorming and challenging ideas. Those collaborative moments are what keep us energized.

The industry itself has also changed considerably. Social media and digital imagery have made it easier than ever to see what everyone else is doing, which makes originality even more important. We encourage our team to get out into the world, travel, observe, experience places and bring those experiences back into their work. Inspiration should come from life, not just a screen.

Ultimately, the struggles have helped shape the firm. They have taught us to stay adaptable, protect our culture and never lose sight of why we started.

As you know, we’re big fans of Flick Mars. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Flick Mars is a hospitality interior design studio specializing in hotels, resorts, restaurants, spas and other hospitality environments. We work across a wide range of project types, from new-build lifestyle hotels to renovations, repositionings and historic adaptive reuse.

One of the things that has always set us apart is that we are a boutique firm by design. We believe there is real value in staying close to the work and close to our clients. We remain actively involved in projects, and our designers are encouraged to bring their own perspective and ideas to the table. We don’t believe creativity should be limited to a particular department or title.

Collaboration is at the center of our process. Some of our best ideas have come from unexpected conversations and from simply being willing to listen. We want our clients to feel like they are part of the creative process rather than simply receiving a finished product.

We have also always been drawn to projects with a story. Early in our history, we jokingly said, “We love ugly,” because we enjoyed taking properties that were overlooked, struggling or simply in need of a new point of view and transforming them into places people wanted to experience. That spirit has stayed with us. Today, that might mean breathing new life into an existing hotel, working within the constraints of a historic building or finding a way to give a new property a genuine sense of place.

We are particularly proud of our experience with adaptive reuse and historic properties because those projects require a different level of sensitivity and creativity. You are not simply designing a beautiful space; you are working with the history, architecture and character of a building and figuring out how to give it a new life.
After more than 20 years, we are also incredibly proud of the brand we have built. Flick Mars has grown through relationships, reputation and the quality of our work. We have had the privilege of working with many leading hospitality brands and owners, but we have never wanted the firm to be defined solely by logos or flags. We want to be known for thoughtful, memorable hospitality design and for being a partner who understands that great design has to work in the real world.

Our philosophy today could probably be summed up as “Where Creative Meets Constructed.” We love the creative side of design, but we also understand that an idea ultimately has to become a real building, a real guest experience and a successful business. The intersection of those things is where we do our best work.

What’s next?
After more than 20 years, we are as excited about the future of Flick Mars as we were when we started it.
We don’t necessarily see the future as being about becoming a massive firm. For us, it is about continuing to do meaningful work, building strong relationships and creating opportunities for our team to grow while maintaining the culture and personal involvement that have always been important to us.

We are excited about the continued evolution of hospitality and the opportunities that come with it. Hotels and resorts are becoming increasingly experiential, and guests are looking for places that feel authentic and connected to their surroundings. We see tremendous opportunity in adaptive reuse, historic properties, lifestyle hotels and projects that have a strong sense of identity and place.

We also want to continue investing in our people. The next generation of designers will shape where the industry goes, and one of the most rewarding parts of being in business this long is having the opportunity to mentor young designers and watch them develop their own voices.

Most importantly, we want to keep learning. We still travel, we still look for inspiration everywhere we go, and we still get excited when a project presents a problem we haven’t solved before.

We started Flick Mars because we wanted the freedom to create great hospitality experiences together. More than 20 years later, that is still what gets us up in the morning. If we can continue to surround ourselves with talented people, great clients and challenging projects, we think the next chapter will be pretty exciting.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://flickmars.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/flickmarsdesign/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Flickmarsdesign/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/flick-mars