Pioneering British designer Terence Conran dies at 88
Source: Associated Press, via the Roanoke Times
Pioneering British designer Terence Conran dies at 88
By PAN PYLAS Associated Press 19 min ago
LONDON (AP) Terence Conran, the British designer, retailer and restaurateur who built a furniture empire around the world, founded The Design Museum in London and modernized the everyday lives of British people, has died at 88. ... Conran, who was knighted in 1983, 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.
In a statement released by The Design Museum, his family described Conran as a visionary who revolutionized the way we live in Britain. ... At the heart of everything he did was a very simple belief that good design improves the quality of peoples lives, his family said, adding that Conran died peacefully Saturday at his 18th-century country home in Barton Court, west of London.
Born in Kingston upon Thames, southwest of London, in 1931, Conran studied textile design at Londons 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.
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Read more: https://roanoke.com/entertainment/pioneering-british-designer-terence-conran-dies-at-88/article_c33fddb5-7cc1-5d63-b8af-dcb8030230dc.html
50 Shades Of Blue
(10,043 posts)Still using the furniture and dinnerware I got at a long-gone DC area Conrans in the early '80s.
Warpy
(111,339 posts)Jt was frustrating, never could afford most of what was in there but the kitchen stuff, which was very good.
greymattermom
(5,754 posts)Years ago when I was a grad student in Cambridge.
50 Shades Of Blue
(10,043 posts)And almost 40 years later, they still haven't.
PennyK
(2,302 posts)I bought a big book on practical home design and decoration ages ago and still have it. Lots of great stuff in it.