#conran

Sir Terence Conran's country house shot by Lord Snowdon

Ran Mouri and Conan Edogawa (as a kitten) in Drop Pop Candy Theme. Took me five hours to make, possibly one of my last fanarts before my first day of classes.

Sir Terence Orby Conran (4 October 1931 – 12 September 2020)

Sir Terence, who founded both furniture retailer Habitat and the Design Museum, promoted British design, culture and the arts around the world through his wide-ranging body of work.

In Britain, he helped break down class boundaries by making quality designs more widely available across the population.

Sir Terence studied textile design at London’s Central School of Art before beginning his career making and selling furniture, including innovative flat-pack creations.

He went on to open restaurants across London before launching the first Habitat furniture store in 1964 on Fulham Road in Chelsea, which was at the heart of the “Swinging Sixties” phenomenon in the British capital.

Its staff were attired in uniforms by Mary Quant and had their hair styled by Vidal Sassoon. Many more furniture and lifestyle stores would follow in the years to come.

Sir Terence, who was knighted in 1983, personally influenced other household-name brands like Heal’s and Mothercare. He also set up the Conran Roche architecture practice in 1980. 

Sir Terence Conran and His Iconic Cone Chair by Ray Williams, 1950s,

Glove chair, manufactured by Conran UK, Moulded Fibreglass with Leather,  Dimensions (mm): 910w x 800d x 950h,

Cabinet by Sir Terence Conran, c. 1953, Painted angle sectioned steel, African walnut, with glass doors, 48 x 48 1/2 x 15 1/4 in (121.9 x 123.2 x 38.7 cm),

Sir Terence Conran-designed furnishing fabrics, c1949-50, manufactured by David Whitehead Ltd,

“C20” armchair by Sir Terence Conran & Conran Design Group, 1960, Ebonised tubular steel frame, steam-bent beech seatback and a moulded teak plywood seat, Approximate dimensions: D – 50cm W – 53cm H – 73cm H to seat – 46cm,

1960'S Sir Terence Conran MacLamp N°8 Originally retailed by Habitat,  Cherry/Burgundy (dark red) enamel shade industrial vintage look. H: 50cm (19.69 in).

Extract:

The pace of modern life, with all its jolting distractions, increasingly means that the home must provide a solid, restorative framework for everyday life. 

I have often thought that people sometimes fight shy of this pared-back approach because they imagine it implies that they don’t have enough money to spend. While it is true that simplicity can be economical – which is an advantage in itself – it is far from rough and ready, and sometimes not all that cheap.

While I would readily admit that many intelligent and beautifully made things are expensive, I hope people might realise that a simple life is an easier one and, in the end, much more luxurious.

PLAIN | Plain means materials that speak for themselves, uncluttered form, and an absence of the kind of decoration that is designed to obscure rather than enhance.

SIMPLE | Simple implies both ease of operation and a direct connection with the type of elemental pleasures that we go away on holiday (vacation) to experience – the sun streaming through the windows, for example, the texture of a rug underfoot, or basic peace and quiet.

USEFUL | Useful means true practicality, rather than gadgets and appliances whose plethora of functions invent problems to solve. Equally, it is a chair that is the right height and a bed that provides the optimum degree of support.