Terence Conran
Encyclopedia
Sir Terence Orby Conran, FCSD
, (born 4 October 1931) is an English
designer
, restaurateur
, retailer and writer
.
, the son of Christina Mabel (Halstead) and South Africa
n-born Gerard Rupert Conran, a businessman who owned a rubber importation company in East London. Conran was educated at Bryanston School
in Dorset
and Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design
where he studied textiles and other materials.
on the main South Bank
site, he left his college education to take up a job with Dennis Lennon's architectural company, they had been commissioned to make a 1/4 scale interior of a Princess Flying Boat
.
Conran started his own design practice in 1956 with the Summa furniture range and designing a shop for Mary Quant
. In 1964 he opened the first Habitat
shop in Chelsea with his third wife Caroline Herbert, which grew into a large chain selling household goods and furniture in contemporary designs. In the mid-1980s, Conran expanded Habitat into the Storehouse plc
group of companies that included Mothercare
and Heals but in 1990 he lost control of the company. His later retail companies include the Conran Shop and FSC-certified wood furniture maker Benchmark Furniture, which he co-founded with Sean Sutcliffe in 1983.
He has also been involved in architecture
and interior design
, including London
's Michelin House
(which he turned into the restaurant Bibendum) and the Bluebird Garage
both in Chelsea. Conran had a major role in the regeneration in the early 1990s of the Shad Thames
area of London next to Tower Bridge
that includes the Design Museum
which is managed by the Conran Foundation.
Conran has also created various other London restaurants including the Soup Kitchen
, Orrery
, Quaglino's, Mezzo (restaurant), Pont de la Tour, Blueprint Cafe, Butler's Wharf Chop House, together with restaurants in various other countries. In 2005 he was named as the most influential restaurateur in the UK by CatererSearch, the website of Caterer and Hotelkeeper
magazine. In 2007, 49% of the entire Conran restaurant business was sold to D&D, a company run by two former Conran employees, Des Gunewardena and David Loewi.http://www.conran.com/press/docs/Restaurant%2520Group%2520Name%2520Change.pdf+%22D%26D%22+restaurants&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=7&gl=uk In 2008, he returned to the restaurant business on a personal basis by opening Boundary in Shoreditch, East London, a restaurant/bar/cafe/meeting room complex.This was followed in 2009 by Lutyens, a restaurant and private club within the former Reuters
building in Fleet Street
London.
He has written and published various books, particularly on interior design. Many were published by Conran Octopus
, a division of Octopus Publishing Group, a cross-platform illustrated book publisher founded by Sir Terence and Paul Hamlyn
.
Conran is a winner of the Chartered Society of Designers
Minerva Medal, the Society's highest award.
Since 2003, he has been provost
of the Royal College of Art
. That was also the year he received the Prince Phillip Designers Prize, in recognition of his lifetime achievements in design. In 2007, he received an honorary degree from London South Bank University
.
is his son with his second wife, writer Shirley Conran
. Other members of the family include Sebastian Conran
(designer), Tom Conran (restaurateur), and daughter Sophie Conran
(cars, pies, and design). His youngest son, Edmund (known as Ned) has suffered from psychiatric problems; he was remanded in a secure unit in November 2001 after an assault on a tourist in London.
Conran and Caroline Herbert divorced in 1996; she settled for £6.2 million out of his £80 million assets. Although the court had acknowledged that she had for more than 30 years made an outstanding contribution to the Habitat and restaurant businesses, the trial judge thought it "absurd" to suggest that she had played an equal role in the generation of wealth.
Conran's sister Priscilla is the former wife of Antonio Carluccio
who once worked for Conran.
Conran and his wife, Vicki, live in London
, Berkshire
and France
.
Chartered Society of Designers
The Chartered Society of Designers , headquartered in London, England, is the professional body for designers. It is the world's only Royal chartered body of professional designers...
, (born 4 October 1931) is an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
designer
Designer
A designer is a person who designs. More formally, a designer is an agent that "specifies the structural properties of a design object". In practice, anyone who creates tangible or intangible objects, such as consumer products, processes, laws, games and graphics, is referred to as a...
, restaurateur
Restaurateur
A restaurateur is a person who opens and runs restaurants professionally. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who owns a restaurant, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspects of the restaurant business.-Etymology:The word...
, retailer and writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
.
Early life and education
Terence Conran was born in Kingston upon ThamesKingston upon Thames
Kingston upon Thames is the principal settlement of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames in southwest London. It was the ancient market town where Saxon kings were crowned and is now a suburb situated south west of Charing Cross. It is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the...
, the son of Christina Mabel (Halstead) and South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n-born Gerard Rupert Conran, a businessman who owned a rubber importation company in East London. Conran was educated at Bryanston School
Bryanston School
Bryanston School is a co-educational independent school for both day and boarding pupils in Blandford, north Dorset, England, near the village of Bryanston. It was founded in 1928...
in Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
and Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design
Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design
Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London. The school has an outstanding international reputation, and is considered one of the world's leading art and design institutions...
where he studied textiles and other materials.
Work
Conran's first professional work came when he worked in the Festival of BritainFestival of Britain
The Festival of Britain was a national exhibition in Britain in the summer of 1951. It was organised by the government to give Britons a feeling of recovery in the aftermath of war and to promote good quality design in the rebuilding of British towns and cities. The Festival's centrepiece was in...
on the main South Bank
South Bank
South Bank is an area of London, England located immediately adjacent to the south side of the River Thames. It forms a long and narrow section of riverside development that is within the London Borough of Lambeth to the border with the London Borough of Southwark and was formerly simply known as...
site, he left his college education to take up a job with Dennis Lennon's architectural company, they had been commissioned to make a 1/4 scale interior of a Princess Flying Boat
Saunders-Roe Princess
-See also:-Bibliography:* Bridgman, Leonard. Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1952-53. London: Jane's, 1953.* . Flight, 6 July 1951. pp. 10–11.* Flight, 16 March 1950, pp. 344–345....
.
Conran started his own design practice in 1956 with the Summa furniture range and designing a shop for Mary Quant
Mary Quant
Mary Quant OBE FCSD is a British] fashion designer and British fashion icon, who was instrumental in the mod fashion movement. She was one of the designers who took credit for inventing the miniskirt and hot pants. Born in Blackheath, London, to Welsh parents, Quant brought fun and fantasy to...
. In 1964 he opened the first Habitat
Habitat (retailer)
Habitat Retail Ltd. is a retailer of household furnishings in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, and has franchised outlets in other countries. Founded in 1964 by Terence Conran, it was sold by the IKANO Group, owned by the Kamprad family, in December 2009 to Hilco, a restructuring...
shop in Chelsea with his third wife Caroline Herbert, which grew into a large chain selling household goods and furniture in contemporary designs. In the mid-1980s, Conran expanded Habitat into the Storehouse plc
Storehouse plc
Storehouse plc was a large UK retail business formed by Terence Conran through the merger of various high street chains. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index before it was renamed Mothercare in 2000....
group of companies that included Mothercare
Mothercare
Mothercare plc is a British retailer which specialises in products for expectant mothers and in general merchandise for children up to 8 years old. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.-History:...
and Heals but in 1990 he lost control of the company. His later retail companies include the Conran Shop and FSC-certified wood furniture maker Benchmark Furniture, which he co-founded with Sean Sutcliffe in 1983.
He has also been involved in architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
and interior design
Interior design
Interior design describes a group of various yet related projects that involve turning an interior space into an effective setting for the range of human activities are to take place there. An interior designer is someone who conducts such projects...
, including London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
's Michelin House
Michelin House
Michelin House at 81 Fulham Road, Chelsea, London was constructed as the first permanent UK headquarters and tyre depot for the Michelin Tyre Company Ltd. The building opened for business on 20 January 1911.-Brief history:...
(which he turned into the restaurant Bibendum) and the Bluebird Garage
Bluebird Garage
Bluebird Garage, at 330-350 King's Road, Chelsea, London, is a Grade II listed building that is now a noted Conran restaurant and retail space, but which had its origins as a noted Art Deco garage complex built for the Bluebird Motor Company, which had connections with Sir Malcolm Campbell.-Early...
both in Chelsea. Conran had a major role in the regeneration in the early 1990s of the Shad Thames
Shad Thames
Shad Thames is an historic riverside street next to Tower Bridge in Bermondsey, London, England, and is also an informal name for the surrounding area...
area of London next to Tower Bridge
Tower Bridge
Tower Bridge is a combined bascule and suspension bridge in London, England, over the River Thames. It is close to the Tower of London, from which it takes its name...
that includes the Design Museum
Design Museum
Design Museum is a museum by the River Thames near Tower Bridge in central London, England. The museum covers product, industrial, graphic, fashion and architectural design. It was founded in 1989 and claims to be the first museum of modern design...
which is managed by the Conran Foundation.
Conran has also created various other London restaurants including the Soup Kitchen
Soup kitchen
A soup kitchen, a bread line, or a meal center is a place where food is offered to the hungry for free or at a reasonably low price. Frequently located in lower-income neighborhoods, they are often staffed by volunteer organizations, such as church groups or community groups...
, Orrery
Orrery
An orrery is a mechanical device that illustrates the relative positions and motions of the planets and moons in the Solar System in a heliocentric model. Though the Greeks had working planetaria, the first orrery that was a planetarium of the modern era was produced in 1704, and one was presented...
, Quaglino's, Mezzo (restaurant), Pont de la Tour, Blueprint Cafe, Butler's Wharf Chop House, together with restaurants in various other countries. In 2005 he was named as the most influential restaurateur in the UK by CatererSearch, the website of Caterer and Hotelkeeper
Caterer and hotelkeeper
Caterer and Hotelkeeper is a weekly magazine for hospitality professionals. Published since 1878, Caterer and Hotelkeeper is part of the Caterer Group which also includes the Caterer Search website and various industry events....
magazine. In 2007, 49% of the entire Conran restaurant business was sold to D&D, a company run by two former Conran employees, Des Gunewardena and David Loewi.http://www.conran.com/press/docs/Restaurant%2520Group%2520Name%2520Change.pdf+%22D%26D%22+restaurants&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=7&gl=uk In 2008, he returned to the restaurant business on a personal basis by opening Boundary in Shoreditch, East London, a restaurant/bar/cafe/meeting room complex.This was followed in 2009 by Lutyens, a restaurant and private club within the former Reuters
Reuters
Reuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...
building in Fleet Street
Fleet Street
Fleet Street is a street in central London, United Kingdom, named after the River Fleet, a stream that now flows underground. It was the home of the British press until the 1980s...
London.
He has written and published various books, particularly on interior design. Many were published by Conran Octopus
Conran Octopus
Conran Octopus is a division of Octopus Publishing Group, a cross-platform illustrated book publisher. It was founded by Sir Terence Conran and Paul Hamlyn to publish high-quality book in terms of both design and content.- External links :*...
, a division of Octopus Publishing Group, a cross-platform illustrated book publisher founded by Sir Terence and Paul Hamlyn
Paul Hamlyn
Paul Hamlyn, Baron Hamlyn of Edgeworth, CBE , was a German-born British publisher and philanthropist.-Family:...
.
Representation and Awards
Conran was knighted in 1983.Conran is a winner of the Chartered Society of Designers
Chartered Society of Designers
The Chartered Society of Designers , headquartered in London, England, is the professional body for designers. It is the world's only Royal chartered body of professional designers...
Minerva Medal, the Society's highest award.
Since 2003, he has been provost
Provost (education)
A provost is the senior academic administrator at many institutions of higher education in the United States, Canada and Australia, the equivalent of a pro-vice-chancellor at some institutions in the United Kingdom and Ireland....
of the Royal College of Art
Royal College of Art
The Royal College of Art is an art school located in London, United Kingdom. It is the world’s only wholly postgraduate university of art and design, offering the degrees of Master of Arts , Master of Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy...
. That was also the year he received the Prince Phillip Designers Prize, in recognition of his lifetime achievements in design. In 2007, he received an honorary degree from London South Bank University
London South Bank University
London South Bank University is a university in south London. With over 25,000 students and 1,700 staff, it is based in the London Borough of Southwark, near the South Bank of the River Thames, from which it takes its name...
.
Family
Fashion designer Jasper ConranJasper Conran
Jasper Alexander Thirlby Conran OBE is an English fashion designer. He is the son of the designer Sir Terence Conran and the author Shirley Conran.-Education:He was educated at Port Regis School and Bryanston School in the 1970s...
is his son with his second wife, writer Shirley Conran
Shirley Conran
-Background:Shirley Conran is a bestselling author, whose books include Lace, which was made into an 80s US miniseries and Superwoman. She has been a columnist for Vanity Fair, women's editor of The Daily Mail and a feature writer for The Observer newspaper.Conran was educated at the University...
. Other members of the family include Sebastian Conran
Sebastian Conran
-Early life:Born 5 April 1956 at Hyde Park Corner in London), his father is designer Terence Conran and mother, author and journalist Shirley Conran. He is the elder brother of the fashion designer Jasper Conran....
(designer), Tom Conran (restaurateur), and daughter Sophie Conran
Sophie Conran
-Early life:Conran is the daughter of designer and restaurateur Sir Terence Conran and food writer Caroline Conran, the sister of fashion designer Jasper Conran, restaurateur Tom, artist Edmund and product designer Sebastian.- Career :...
(cars, pies, and design). His youngest son, Edmund (known as Ned) has suffered from psychiatric problems; he was remanded in a secure unit in November 2001 after an assault on a tourist in London.
Conran and Caroline Herbert divorced in 1996; she settled for £6.2 million out of his £80 million assets. Although the court had acknowledged that she had for more than 30 years made an outstanding contribution to the Habitat and restaurant businesses, the trial judge thought it "absurd" to suggest that she had played an equal role in the generation of wealth.
Conran's sister Priscilla is the former wife of Antonio Carluccio
Antonio Carluccio
Antonio Carluccio, OBE OMRI is an Italian chef, restaurateur and food expert, based in London.-Biography:Antonio Carluccio was born in Vietri sul Mare, Salerno, Italy. His father was a stationmaster, and he moved with his father's job when he was young and grew up in Piedmont...
who once worked for Conran.
Conran and his wife, Vicki, live in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
External links
- Conran.com
- Content by Conran furniture line
- D&D London
- Light By Conran
- Vision By Conran
- The Conran Shop
- Conran & Partners Architecture, Product Design, Interior Design, Graphic Design
- BBC website article
- Guardian newspaper article
- Terence Conran profile on CatererSearch
- Terence Conran interviewed by Ginny Dougary (2005)