Terence Conran
Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design | |
|---|---|
| Occupation(s) | Designer, restaurateur, retailer, writer |
| Known for | Habitat |
| Spouses |
|
| Children | 5, including Sebastian, Jasper and Sophie |
Sir Terence Orby Conran
Early life
Conran was born in
Work
Conran's first professional work came when he worked in the Festival of Britain (1951) on the main South Bank site. He left college to take up a job with Dennis Lennon's architectural company, which had been commissioned to make a 1/4-scale interior of a Princess Flying Boat.[6]
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, London with his third wife Caroline Herbert, focusing on housewares and furniture in contemporary designs. Habitat grew into a large chain, the first retailer to bring such designs to a mass audience.[4]
In the mid-1980s, Conran expanded Habitat into the
His later retail companies[7] included the Conran Shop[8] and FSC-certified (Forest Stewardship Council) wood furniture maker Benchmark Furniture,[9] which he co-founded with Sean Sutcliffe in 1983.
He was also involved in architecture and interior design, including establishing the architecture and planning consultancy Conran Roche with
Conran's architecture and design practice also worked on projects in North America and Asia.[11] In 2009, he licensed the Conran Shop to a partner in Japan. In September 2014, Cassina IXC Ltd acquired the entire business of The Conran Shop in Japan[12] where it still thrives with four stores.[13] In 2019, the Conran Shop opened in Seoul, South Korea.[14][15]
In 1997 he appeared as himself in “In the Smoke”, S5:E7 of Pie in the Sky.
Restaurants
Besides Bibendum, Conran, with Joel Kissin, created many other restaurants in London
In 2008, he returned to the restaurant business on a personal basis by opening Boundary, a restaurant, bar, café, and meeting room complex in Shoreditch, East London. This was followed in 2009 by Lutyens, a restaurant and private club within the former Reuters building in Fleet Street London.[18] In 2018, Lutyens, together with two other related restaurants, closed as Conran's hospitality venture with Peter Prescott went into administration.[19]
Books
He wrote over 50 books which broadly reflect his design philosophy, selling over 25 million copies worldwide.[
Honours and awards
Conran was appointed
He was a winner of the Chartered Society of Designers Minerva Medal, the society's highest award.
Between 2003 and 2011, Conran was provost of the Royal College of Art.
In 2003, he received the Prince Philip Designers Prize in recognition of his lifetime achievements in design.[22]
In 2010, Conran was appointed a
He won the Lifetime Achievement Award at The Catey Awards in 2017.
In 2019, Conran was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award by The Furniture Makers’ Company, the City of London livery company and charity for the furnishing industry.[24]
Academic honours
In 2007, he received an honorary degree from London South Bank University and, in August 2012, an honorary doctorate from the University of Pretoria.[25]
In May 2012, he received an honorary professorship from the University for the Creative Arts.[26]
Personal life
Conran married architect Brenda Davison in 1952 at the age of 19; the marriage lasted six months. Conran married his second wife, journalist Shirley Pearce, in 1955 with whom he had two sons – Sebastian and Jasper – before they divorced in 1962. Conran married his third wife, cookery writer Caroline Herbert, the following year. The marriage lasted for 33 years and produced three children – Tom, Sophie, and Edmund – before ending in divorce in 1996.[27] Conran married his fourth wife, Victoria Davis, in 2000.[28][29]
Death
Sir Terence Conran died on 12 September 2020, at the age of 88.[30]
Bibliography
- The House Book. Pub. Mitchell Beazley, 1974. ISBN 0855330414.
- The Kitchen Book. Crown Publishers, 1977.
- The Bed and Bath Book. Crown Publishers, 1978. ISBN 0-517-53399-5.
- The Cook Book. with Caroline Conran. Crown Publishers, 1980. ISBN 0517540185,.
- The Vegetable Book. Crescent, 1984. ISBN 0517446456.
- Terence Conran's New House book. Villard Books, 1985. ISBN 0-394-54633-4.
- Terence Conran's plants at home. with Susan Conder. Conran Octopus, 1986. ISBN 1-85029-056-3.
- Terence Conran's France. with Pierrette Pompon Bailhache, Maurice Croizard. Little, Brown, 1987. ISBN 0-316-15327-3.
- Terence Conran's Home Furnishings. 1987. ISBN 5-551-98206-8.
- Terence Conran's do-it-yourself with style. Simon & Schuster, 1989. ISBN 0671687190.
- Tableware. with Jeremy Myerson, Sylvia Katz. Pub. Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1990.
- Conran's Decorating with Plants. Smithmark Pub, 1990. ISBN 0-8317-2169-3.
- Terence Conran's garden style, with John McGowan. Ed. Roger DuBern. Crown Publishers, 1991. ISBN 0517584638.
- The Soft furnishings book. Conran Octopus, 1995.
- The French Room: Simple French Style for Your Home. with ISBN 1-85029-825-4.
- Terence Conran on design. Conran Octopus, 1996. ISBN 1-85029-771-1.
- The Essential Garden Book (Co-authored with ISBN 0-609-80022-1.
- Terence Conran's Easy Living. Soma Books, 1999. ISBN 1-57959-045-4.
- Terence Conran on restaurants. Overlook Press, 2000. ISBN 1585670456.
- Terence Conran Small Spaces. Clarkson N Potter Publishers, 2001. ISBN 5-559-43946-0.
- Kitchens: the hub of the home. Clarkson Potter/Publishers, 2002. ISBN 0-609-61052-X.
- Bathrooms: just add water. Conran Octopus, 2004. ISBN 1-84091-357-6.
- Designers on Design. with Max Fraser. Collins Design, 2005. ISBN 0060834102.
- The Ultimate House Book: For Home Design in the Twenty-First Century. Ed. ISBN 1-84091-468-8.
- The Conran Cookbook. with Simon Hopkinson, Caroline Conran. Conran Octopus, 2007. ISBN 1-84091-496-3.
- How to live in small spaces: design, furnishing, decoration, detail for the smaller home. Pub. Conran Octopus, 2007. ISBN 1-84091-473-4.
- Storage: Get Organized. Conran Octopus, 2007. ISBN 1-84091-434-3.
- Chef's Garden: Fresh Produce from Small Spaces. Conran Octopus, 2008. ISBN 1-84091-510-2,.
- Terence Conran's Inspiration. with Stafford Cliff. Conran Octopus, 2009. ISBN 1-84091-494-7.
- Essential Colour. Conran Octopus Publishing, London 2011, ISBN 978-1-84091-567-9.
- new edition Eco House Book. Conran Octopus Publishing, London 2012, ISBN 978-1-84091-602-7.
- Plain, Simple, Useful: The Essence of Conran Style. Conran Octopus Publishing, London 2014, ISBN 978-1-84091-655-3.
Biographies
- Terence Conran. by Nicholas Ind. Sidgwick & Jackson, 1996. ISBN 0-283-06294-0.
- Terence Conran: Design and the Quality of Life by Elizabeth Wilhide. Watson-Guptill, 1999.
- 'Conran and the Habitat story' by Barty Phillips. ISBN 9780297784302
See also
- List of alumni of the Central School of Art and Design
- List of English writers
- List of restaurateurs
References
- ^ "Sir Terence Conran: No Designs on Taking Things Easy". The Daily Telegraph. 14 April 2008.
- ^ Design Museum. "Mourning the loss of Sir Terence Conran".
- ^ Rozzo, Mark. "Conran Country | Vanity Fair | May 2019". archive.vanityfair.com.
- ^ a b c "Conran Country | Vanity Fair | May 2019".
- ^ "Family Detective". The Daily Telegraph. 3 March 2003.
- ^ "Conran – Home". Retrieved 4 February 2015.
- ^ "TERENCE ORBY CONRAN - Company Director Check". www.flixens.com. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
- ^ "Conran Shop". Archived from the original on 19 August 2005.
- ^ "Contemporary Furniture Handmade at Benchmark - Benchmark Furniture". Retrieved 4 February 2015.
- ^ "Bibendum Oyster Bar reopens with new design by Sir Terrence Conran and new menu from Matthew Harris and Simon Hopkinson" Archived 11 January 2016 at the Wayback Machine, Brompton Design District. Accessed 29 October 2015.
- )
- ^ "ABOUT US | CASSINA IXC. Ltd". www.cassina-ixc.jp. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
- ^ 株式会社, LmD. "THE CONRAN SHOP | ザ・コンランショップ". THE CONRAN SHOP | ザ・コンランショップ (in Japanese). Retrieved 14 September 2020.
- ^ Q42, Fabrique &. "Sir Terence Conran Timeline". Design Museum. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "The Conran Shop opens biggest retail space yet in South Korea". Dezeen. 29 November 2019. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
- ^ "Conran press release" (PDF). Archived from the original on 27 March 2008.
- ^ "85 Fleet Street". www.lutyens-restaurant.com. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
- ^ Hansen, James (20 June 2018). "Sir Terence Conran's Restaurant Group Has Gone Bust". Eater London. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
- ^ "No. 49212". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 1982. p. 1.
- ^ "No. 61962". The London Gazette (Supplement). 17 June 2017. p. B25.
- ^ Designers Prize.
- ^ "Sir Terence Conran named Royal Designer for Industry". Design Week. 17 November 2010. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
- ^ "Design icon Sir Terence Conran presented with Lifetime Achievement Award". ACID - Anti Copying In Design. 16 May 2019. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
- ^ "News > University of Pretoria". Archived from the original on 16 September 2012. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
- ^ "UCA ceremony as Sir Terence Conran becomes honorary professor". BBC News. 4 May 2012. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
- ^ Brown, Mick (9 September 2011). "The taste maker: interview with Terence Conran". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
- ^ Blackhurst, Chris (1 May 2002). "The shattering of a dynasty". Evening Standard. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
- ^ "Sunday Telegraph Mandrake column 20 January 08 – update on Ned Conran headed 'Conran's artful son says stop shopping'". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 21 January 2008. Retrieved 20 January 2008.
- ^ "Designer Sir Terence Conran dies aged 88". BBC News. 12 September 2020.
