Sir Terence Orby Conran (4 October 1931 – 12 September 2020) was a British designer,

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 aspe ...

, retailer and writer. He founded the

Design Museum The Design Museum in Kensington, London, England, exhibits product, industrial, graphic, fashion, and architectural design. In 2018, the museum won the European Museum of the Year Award. The museum operates as a registered charity, and all fund ...

in Shad Thames, London in 1989. The British designer

Thomas Heatherwick Thomas Alexander Heatherwick, (born 17 February 1970) is an English designer and the founder of London-based design practice Heatherwick Studio. He works with a team of more than 200 architects, designers and entrepreneurs from his studio in ...

said that Conran "moved Britain forward to make it an influence around the world." Edward Barber, from the British design team Barber & Osgerby, described Conran as "the most passionate man in Britain when it comes to design, and his central idea has always been 'Design is there to improve your life.'" The satirist Craig Brown once joked that before Conran "there were no chairs and no France."

Early life

Conran was born in

Kingston upon Thames Kingston upon Thames, colloquially known as Kingston, is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, south-west London, England. It is situated on the River Thames, south-west of Charing Cross. It is an ancient market town, notable as ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

, the son of Christina Mabel Joan Conran (née Halstead, d.1968) and South African-born Gerard Rupert Conran (d.1986), a businessman who owned a rubber importation company in

East London East London is the part of London, England, east of the ancient City of London and north of the River Thames as it begins to widen. East London developed as London Docklands, London's docklands and the primary industrial centre. The expansion of ...

. Conran was educated at Highfield School in

Liphook Liphook is a village in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is 4.1 miles (6.6 km) west of Haslemere, bypassed by the A3 road, and lies on the Hampshire/West Sussex/Surrey borders. It is in the civil parish of Bramshott an ...

Bryanston School Bryanston School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Private schools in the United Kingdom, private boarding school, boarding and day school for pupils aged 13–18) located next to the village of Bryanston, and near the ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

and the

Central School of Art and Design The Central School of Art and Design was a school of fine and applied arts in London, England. It offered foundation and degree level courses. It was established in 1896 by the London County Council as the Central School of Arts and Crafts. ...

(now incorporated into

Central St Martin's Central Saint Martins is a Colleges of the University of the Arts London, constituent college of the University of the Arts London, a public art university in London, England. The college offers full-time courses at foundation, undergraduate a ...

, a part of the

University of the Arts, London The University of the Arts London is a public collegiate university in London, England, United Kingdom. It specialises in arts, design, fashion, and the performing arts. The university is a federation of six arts colleges: Camberwell College of ...

), where he studied

textile Textile is an Hyponymy and hypernymy, umbrella term that includes various Fiber, fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, Staple (textiles)#Filament fiber, filaments, Thread (yarn), threads, and different types of #Fabric, fabric. ...

s and other materials.

Work

Conran's first professional work came when he worked in the

Festival of Britain The Festival of Britain was a national exhibition and fair that reached millions of visitors throughout the United Kingdom in the summer of 1951. Labour Party cabinet member Herbert Morrison was the prime mover; in 1947 he started with the ...

(1951) on the main

South Bank The South Bank is an entertainment and commercial area on the south bank of the River Thames, in the London Borough of Lambeth, central London, England. The South Bank is not formally defined, but is generally understood to be situated betwe ...

site. He left college to take up a job with

Dennis Lennon John Dennis Lennon (23 June 1918 – 16 April 1991) was a British architect, interior designer, and furniture designer. He was responsible for the interior design of the ''Queen Elizabeth 2'' and of 190-192 Sloane Street, London. Lennon worked ...

's architectural company, which had been commissioned to make a 1/4-scale interior of a Princess Flying Boat. Shortly after the Festival ended, Conran was laid off and started focussing on furniture and fabric designs for David Whitehead. He worked with his friend

Raymond Elston Raymond Elston was a British textile designer, furniture designer and abstract artist. He was influenced by abstract expressionism and modernist principles and is remembered for his early work with the fashion and furniture designer Terence Conran ...

, who had some knowledge of welding and making clothes. In May 1953, Conran, his friend

Eduardo Paolozzi Sir Eduardo Luigi Paolozzi (, ; 7 March 1924 – 22 April 2005) was a Scottish artist, known for his sculpture and graphic works. He is widely considered to be one of the pioneers of pop art. Early years Eduardo Luigi Paolozzi was born on 7 M ...

and Elston were invited to take part in the ''Third Weekend Exhibition'' of abstract art, organised by

Adrian Heath Adrian Paul Heath (born 11 January 1961) is an English football manager and former player. He most recently served as head coach of Major League Soccer club Minnesota United until October 2023. As a player, he is best known for his six season ...

in his studio at 22 Fitzroy Square, London. Conran showed some furniture: "''a low table, a stool, a dining table and an upright chair - all in his familiar spindly-leg style''"; Paolozzi some collages, and Elston some mobiles. Conran started his own design practice in 1956 with the Summa furniture range and designing a shop for

Mary Quant Dame Barbara Mary Quant (11 February 1930 – 13 April 2023) was a British fashion designer and icon. She became an instrumental figure in the 1960s London-based Mod and youth fashion movements, and played a prominent role in London's Swingi ...

. In 1964, he opened the first

Habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

shop in

Chelsea, London Chelsea is an area in West London, England, due south-west of Kilometre zero#Great Britain, Charing Cross by approximately . It lies on the north bank of the River Thames and for postal purposes is part of the SW postcode area, south-western p ...

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. In the mid-1980s, Conran expanded Habitat into the

Storehouse plc Storehouse plc, traded as Storehouse, 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 ...

group of companies that included BhS,

Mothercare Mothercare plc is a global brand for products for parents and young children. The company's shares are listed on AIM in London. Mothercare was founded in the United Kingdom in 1961, and specialized in products for expectant mothers and in ge ...

and

Heal's Heal's (originally Heal & Son) is a British furniture and Home decor retailer, homeware retail company comprising seven stores, selling a range of furniture, lighting and home accessories based in London, England. The business was started in 1 ...

but in 1990 he lost control of the company. The Conran Shop Fukuoka 2

His later retail companies included the Conran Shop and FSC-certified (

Forest Stewardship Council The Forest Stewardship Council GmbH (FSC) is an international non-profit, multistakeholder organization established in 1993 that promotes responsible management of the world's forests via timber certification. This organization uses a market-b ...

) wood furniture maker Benchmark Furniture, 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 Fred Roche in 1980. Their projects include

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. In 1987 the building was converted ...

(which he turned into the restaurant Bibendum) and the

Bluebird Garage Bluebird Chelsea, at 330–350 King's Road, Chelsea, London, is a Grade II-listed building that is now a noted D&D London restaurant and café, but which had its origins as a noted Art Deco garage complex built for the Bluebird Motor Company, w ...

, both in Chelsea. Conran had a major role in the regeneration in the early 1990s of the

Shad Thames Shad Thames is a historic riverside street next to Tower Bridge in Bermondsey, London, England, and is also an informal name for the surrounding area. In the 19th century, the street included the largest warehouse complex in London. Location S ...

area of London next to

Tower Bridge Tower Bridge is a Listed building#Grade I, Grade I listed combined Bascule bridge, bascule, Suspension bridge, suspension, and, until 1960, Cantilever bridge, cantilever bridge in London, built between 1886 and 1894, designed by Horace Jones ...

that includes the

. His business, Conran and Partners, is a design company comprising product, brand and interior designers and architects, working on projects all over the world. Conran designed furniture for

Marks & Spencer Marks and Spencer plc (commonly abbreviated to M&S and colloquially known as Marks & Sparks or simply Marks) is a major British multinational retailer based in London, England, that specialises in selling clothing, beauty products, home produc ...

, J. C. Penney, Content by Conran, Benchmark, and The Conran Shop. Conran's architecture and design practice also worked on projects in North America and Asia. 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 where it still thrives with four stores. In 2019, the Conran Shop opened in Seoul, South Korea. 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 and elsewhere. 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 percent of the restaurant business was sold to two former managers, who rebranded it as D&D 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 Shoreditch is an area in London, England and is located in the London Borough of Hackney alongside neighbouring parts of Tower Hamlets, which are also perceived as part of the area due to historic ecclesiastical links. Shoreditch lies just north ...

. This was followed in 2009 by Lutyens, a restaurant and private club within the former

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...

building in

Fleet Street Fleet Street is a street in Central London, England. It runs west to east from Temple Bar, London, Temple Bar at the boundary of the City of London, Cities of London and City of Westminster, Westminster to Ludgate Circus at the site of the Lo ...

London. In 2018, Lutyens, together with two other related restaurants, closed as Conran's hospitality venture wit
Peter Prescott
went into administration.

Books

He wrote over 50 books which broadly reflect his design philosophy, The majority of these books were published by

Conran Octopus Conran Octopus is a division of Octopus Publishing Group, a cross-platform illustrated book publisher. Including architecture, design and gardening. It was founded in 1984 by Sir Terence Conran and Paul Hamlyn, and publishes about eight title ...

, a division of

Octopus Publishing Group An octopus (: octopuses or octopodes) is a soft-bodied, eight-limbed Mollusca, mollusc of the order (biology), order Octopoda (, ). The order consists of some 300 species and is grouped within the class Cephalopoda with squids, cuttlefish, ...

, a cross-platform illustrated-book publisher founded by Conran and

Paul Hamlyn Paul Hamlyn, Baron Hamlyn, (born Paul Bertrand Wolfgang Hamburger; 12 February 1926 – 31 August 2001) was a German-born British publisher and philanthropist, who established the Paul Hamlyn Foundation in 1987. Early life He was born Paul Be ...

Honours and awards

Conran was appointed

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised Order of chivalry, orders of chivalry; it is a part of the Orders, decorations, and medals ...

in the

1983 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1983 were appointments by most of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other countrie ...

and

Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour The Order of the Companions of Honour is an order of the Commonwealth realms. It was founded on 4 June 1917 by King George V as a reward for outstanding achievements. It was founded on the same date as the Order of the British Empire. The orde ...

(CH) in the

2017 Birthday Honours The 2017 Queen's Birthday Honours were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours were awarded a ...

for services to design. He was a winner of the

Chartered Society of Designers The Chartered Society of Designers (CSD) is a professional body for designers. It is the only Royal Chartered body of experienced designers. Its membership is multi-disciplinary – representing designers in all design, disciplines including I ...

''Minerva Medal'', the society's highest award. Between 2003 and 2011, Conran was

provost Provost may refer to: Officials Ecclesiastic * Provost (religion), a high-ranking church official * Prince-provost, a high-ranking church official Government * Provost (civil), an officer of local government, including the equivalent ...

of the

Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public university, public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City, London, White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design uni ...

. In 2003, he received the

Prince Philip Designers Prize The Prince Philip Designers Prize is an annual design recognition given by the Chartered Society of Designers and originally awarded by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (1921–2021). It is the longest running design award in the United Kingdom, ...

in recognition of his lifetime achievements in design. In 2010, Conran was appointed a Royal Designer for Industry by the

Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, commonly known as the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), is a learned society that champions innovation and progress across a multitude of sectors by fostering creativity, s ...

. He won the Lifetime Achievement Award at The Catey Awards in 2017. In 2019, Conran was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award b
The Furniture Makers’ Company
the City of London livery company and charity for the furnishing industry.

Academic honours

In 2007, he received an honorary degree from

London South Bank University London South Bank University (LSBU) is a public university in Elephant and Castle, London. It is based in the London Borough of Southwark, near the South Bank of the River Thames, from which it takes its name. Founded in 1892 as the Borough Po ...

and, in August 2012, an honorary doctorate from the

University of Pretoria The University of Pretoria (, ) is a multi-campus public university, public research university in Pretoria, the administrative and ''de facto'' capital of South Africa. The university was established in 1908 as the Pretoria campus of the Johan ...

. In May 2012, he received an honorary professorship from the

University for the Creative Arts The University for the Creative Arts is a specialist art and design university in Southern England. It was formed in 2005 as University College for the Creative Arts at Canterbury, Epsom, Farnham, Maidstone and Rochester when the Kent Institu ...

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 Sebastian may refer to: People and fictional characters * Sebastian (name), including a list of persons and fictional characters with the name * Saint Sebastian, a Christian saint martyred in the 3rd century * Sebastian of Portugal (1554–1578 ...

and

Jasper Jasper, an aggregate of microgranular quartz and/or cryptocrystalline chalcedony and other mineral phases, is an opaque, impure variety of silica, usually red, yellow, brown or green in color; and rarely blue. The common red color is due to ...

– 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 Sophie is a feminine given name, another version of Sophia, from the Greek word for "wisdom". People with the name Born in the Middle Ages * Sophie, Countess of Bar (c. 1004 or 1018–1093), sovereign Countess of Bar and lady of Mousson * Soph ...

, and Edmund – before ending in divorce in 1996. Conran married his fourth wife, Victoria Davis, in 2000.

Death

Sir Terence Conran died on 12 September 2020, at the age of 88.

Bibliography

* ''The House Book''. Pub. Mitchell Beazley, 1974. . * ''The Kitchen Book''. Crown Publishers, 1977. * ''The Bed and Bath Book''. Crown Publishers, 1978. . * ''The Cook Book''. with Caroline Conran. Crown Publishers, 1980. ,. * ''The Vegetable Book''. Crescent, 1984. . * ''Terence Conran's New House book''. Villard Books, 1985. . * ''Terence Conran's plants at home''. with Susan Conder. Conran Octopus, 1986. . * ''Terence Conran's France''. with Pierrette Pompon Bailhache, Maurice Croizard. Little, Brown, 1987. . * ''Terence Conran's Home Furnishings''. 1987. . * ''Terence Conran's do-it-yourself with style''. Simon & Schuster, 1989. . * ''Tableware''. with Jeremy Myerson, Sylvia Katz. Pub. Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1990. * ''Conran's Decorating with Plants''. Smithmark Pub, 1990. . * ''Terence Conran's garden style'', with John McGowan. Ed. Roger DuBern. Crown Publishers, 1991. . * ''The Soft furnishings book''. Conran Octopus, 1995. * ''The French Room: Simple French Style for Your Home''. with Elizabeth Wilhide. Conran Octopus, 1995. . * ''Terence Conran on design''. Conran Octopus, 1996. . * ''The Essential Garden Book'' (Co-authored with Dan Pearson), Three Rivers Press, 1998. . * ''Terence Conran's Easy Living''. Soma Books, 1999. . * ''Terence Conran on restaurants''. Overlook Press, 2000. . * ''Terence Conran Small Spaces''. Clarkson N Potter Publishers, 2001. . * ''Kitchens: the hub of the home''. Clarkson Potter/Publishers, 2002. . * ''Bathrooms: just add water''. Conran Octopus, 2004. . * ''Designers on Design''. with Max Fraser. Collins Design, 2005. . * ''The Ultimate House Book: For Home Design in the Twenty-First Century''. Ed. Elizabeth Wilhide. Pub. Conran Octopus, 2006. . * ''The Conran Cookbook''. with Simon Hopkinson, Caroline Conran. Conran Octopus, 2007. . * ''How to live in small spaces: design, furnishing, decoration, detail for the smaller home''. Pub. Conran Octopus, 2007. . * ''Storage: Get Organized''. Conran Octopus, 2007. . * ''Chef's Garden: Fresh Produce from Small Spaces''. Conran Octopus, 2008. ,. * ''Terence Conran's Inspiration''. with Stafford Cliff. Conran Octopus, 2009. . * ''Essential Colour''. Conran Octopus Publishing, London 2011, . * new edition ''Eco House Book''. Conran Octopus Publishing, London 2012, . * ''Plain, Simple, Useful: The Essence of Conran Style''. Conran Octopus Publishing, London 2014, .

Biographies

* ''Terence Conran: The Authorised Biography''. by Nicholas Ind. Sidgwick & Jackson, 1996. . * ''Terence Conran: Design and the Quality of Life'' by Elizabeth Wilhide. Watson-Guptill, 1999. * ''Conran and the Habitat Story'' by Barty Phillips. * ''Terence: The Man Who Invented Design'' by Stephen Bayley & Roger Mavity. Constable, 2021.

References

Other Sources

* * * *

External links

Conran.com

The Brits Who Designed the Modern World
Artsnight - Series 4: 7, BBC Two
Obituary by Stephen Bayley, 12 Sep 2020

The transformation of London dining in the 1980s and 1990s
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Conran, Terence 1931 births 2020 deaths 20th-century British artists 20th-century British businesspeople 20th-century British non-fiction writers 21st-century British artists 21st-century British businesspeople 21st-century British writers Alumni of the Central School of Art and Design British retail company founders Businesspeople from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Businesspeople from the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames Chartered designers

Terence Publius Terentius Afer (; – ), better known in English as Terence (), was a playwright during the Roman Republic. He was the author of six Roman comedy, comedies based on Greek comedy, Greek originals by Menander or Apollodorus of Carystus. A ...

British businesspeople in retailing British company founders British industrial designers British interior designers British male non-fiction writers British non-fiction writers British restaurateurs Fellows of Chartered Society of Designers Knights Bachelor Members of the Order of the Companions of Honour Compasso d'Oro Award recipients People associated with the Royal College of Art People educated at Bryanston School People from Chelsea, London People from Esher People from Kingston upon Thames People from Kintbury Product designers Restaurant founders Writers from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Writers from the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames British republicans