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A black swan on bright blue water

Why Blackswan Lane?

We consider a black swan to be a symbol of uniqueness, sophistication, adaptability and quiet strength.

Elegant and seemingly delicate on the water, black swans are in fact powerful and resilient birds — grace can be a form of strength. They are remarkably adaptable, thriving across freshwater, wetlands, rivers and coastal environments.

Highly social, they gather in large groups while forming strong pair bonds — they belong to a community without losing their individuality.

That is the spirit of Blackswan Lane (BSL): thinking differently, challenging assumptions, and innovating through individuality and careful consideration of our clients’ real strengths.

At Blackswan Lane we turn this idea into a way of working.

We look beyond the obvious. We search for opportunities beyond the obvious ones. We are able to arrive at unexpected solutions. Our interventions may be small, but when they are precisely targeted, they can create major positive impacts.

Unexpected thinking. Small choices. Disproportionate positive results.

We help clients stay in their lane — focused on what matters most, what makes them distinctive, and where they can create the greatest value. We create clear routes through complexity and toward successful outcomes.

The word lane also has a deeper connection to BSL’s real-estate roots. A lane is away from the noise and scale of the city — a place where distinctive properties, character, and hidden value can be found.

Less noise. More character. Clearer direction.

Blackswan expresses our mindset and slogan of ‘Innovation as the Norm’.

About the founder.

More than two decades of innovation expertise in higher education and business. A decade of investing in and managing properties.

With a distinctive combination of academic expertise and hands-on industry experience, Irene brings a broad, forward-thinking perspective to innovation, consulting, and real estate investing.

Irene holds a PhD in Strategic Brand Management and Design Thinking — a modern multidisciplinary specialisation that applies product and service design knowledge and creative thinking to all business aspects. For more than two decades, she has taught and led postgraduate programmes at design and business schools across the UK, Spain and Greece. In 2019, she relocated to Edinburgh to join Heriot-Watt University as Associate Professor of Design Thinking and Innovation, following a decade at Northumbria School of Design — one of the world’s most respected institutions, renowned for its forward-thinking curriculum and distinguished alumni, including Sir Jonathan Ive, former Vice-President of Apple Design, and Tim Brown, founder of global innovation consultancy IDEO.

Irene’s work spans collaborations with global organisations and growing businesses. Through university-industry partnerships, she has led and contributed to open-innovation projects with companies including Unilever, Procter & Gamble (P&G), GANT, and numerous start-ups. She has also delivered keynote talks at internationally recognised institutions, including the University of Cambridge and Yale School of Management. Her research publications on strategic brand management, design thinking and management, service design, experience design, and innovation are read and accessed globally.

Alongside her academic career, Irene has spent the past decade as an active real estate investor, developing and managing a range of residential projects and properties. This practical experience has given her first-hand insight into every stage of the property lifecycle — from creating a compelling ‘living experience’ and rental ‘product’ to managing complex refurbishments and multidisciplinary projects.

Blackswan Lane is the culmination of these two complementary worlds: academic expertise and real estate business know-how. It combines the strategic thinking, innovation mindset, and analytical rigour developed through decades of work in higher education and consultancy with the practical knowledge gained from real-world property investment projects and processes. The result is a distinctive real estate innovation business that brings together expertise rarely found in one place, with a commitment to delivering high-quality results.

20+Years of teaching and research in Higher Education

10+Years of active real estate investing and management

3+Professional sectors of extensive experience (academia, property, business)

Global experience and collaborators

Our global community of collaboratorsForward-thinking professionals bringing to Blackswan Lane interdisciplinary expertise and distinctive perspectives.

Conor De’Ath, collaborator at Blackswan Lane

Conor De’AthAlgarve — Portugal

Websites developer, digital optimisation manager

Conor De’Ath is the founder of digital services agency Booked&Ready, developing corporate websites and SEO strategies for companies across the UK and Portugal, while steadily expanding into new territories. His work combines hands-on expertise in web design, automation and AI with a strong understanding of online sales, digital marketing and entrepreneurship. The result: smart, effective digital platforms that help his clients stand out and get found online.

Alongside his digital expertise, Conor holds a BA in Criminology from Nottingham Trent University. He brings to Blackswan Lane an inquisitive mind, a passion for diverse pursuits and a rare, black-swan-like eye for design. With these qualities, he has naturally become Blackswan Lane’s ideal ‘Partner in Crime’.

Deon Kotze, collaborator at Blackswan Lane

Deon KotzeNewcastle upon Tyne — UK

Data analyst, entrepreneur and property investor

Deon Kotze is a UK-based data analyst, entrepreneur and property investor. Within the real estate sector, he specialised in property portfolio acquisitions and lease management, as director/owner of Safari Properties Ltd and partner at “We Buy Property Portfolios”. He has also been an active contributor to one of the UK’s most respected and established property investor networks, the Property Investors Network (PIN), hosting its North-East monthly events.

Alongside his business ownership and property investment expertise, Deon brings experience across several technology fields. He has hands-on skills in data analysis, automation and information design, with the technical knowledge to support strategic decision-making and effective organisational reporting.

Emily Toder, collaborator at Blackswan Lane

Emily ToderNew York — USA

Information Governance Strategist, Content Editor, Typography Artist

Emily Toder is a New York-based information governance professional who develops organisational strategies for managing information throughout its lifecycle. She is also a writer, editor and translator whose work brings together creative writing, visual culture and typography, with a particular interest in the written word as both language and visual form.

Emily has collaborated with Irene for many years, beginning in Barcelona in the early 2000s and continuing throughout Irene’s academic career in the UK. She now brings to Blackswan Lane her expertise in organisational information management and content editing, together with her background in language, typography and visual craft. She holds a Master’s degree in Library and Information Science from Simmons University, as well as graduate degrees in Creative Writing from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and Literary Translation from the University of East Anglia.

Susana Varela, collaborator at Blackswan Lane

Susana VarelaMadrid — Spain

Senior designer, author

Susana Varela is a Senior Designer and accomplished author. She has extensive experience working with advertising agencies, luxury brands such as Bimba y Lola, and third-sector organisations. She brings a deep understanding of the visual, functional, aesthetic, communicative and commercial power of design, approached through a broad, forward-thinking and interdisciplinary perspective.

She has extensive experience developing brand identities across a diverse range of sectors and industries. Alongside her design practice, Susana is also an exhibiting artist and the author of unique artist’s books, including Modos de Vida Adornados con Flores, a collection of illustrated reflections on life.

Francesc PunsolaBarcelona — Catalonia

Designer of the Blackswan Lane logo — multifaceted artist

Francesc Punsola, the designer of the Blackswan Lane logo, is a Barcelona-based multidisciplinary artist: an advertising illustrator, accomplished graphic designer, and visual artist whose work encompasses painting, what he calls “eco-graffiti”, as well as ephemeral creations — all distinguished by rare aesthetic quality and rich layers of meaning.

Francesc’s design work over the years has helped shape the visual identity of Barcelona. In 2005, Barcelona City Council commissioned him to create almost 70 pictograms for the city’s parks — signage covering everything from playgrounds and drinking fountains to trees of heritage value. The pictograms became a distinctive and enduring part of Barcelona’s urban landscape. As an illustrator, he has contributed to the corporate identities of several firms and illustrated numerous books.

A black swan is rare, elusive, quiet — yet strong.

Rare thinking, innovative doing

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