Sir Terence Conran

Sir Terence Conran opened the first Habitat shop in Chelsea, London in 1964, with his third wife Caroline Herbert. Habitat grew into a large chain selling furniture and household goods with a strong emphasis on contemporary design. 

He attended the Central School of Art and Design (now incorporated into Central St Martin's, a part of the University of the Arts, London), where he studied textiles and other materials.

The designer's job is to imagine the world not how it is, but how it should be.

He has also been involved in architecture and interior design, including establishing the architecture and planning consultancy Conran Roche with Fred Roche in 1980. 

Good design is probably 98% common sense. Above all, an object must function well and efficiently... and getting that part right requires a good deal of time and attention.

In the mid-1980s, Conran expanded Habitat into the Storehouse plc group of companies that included BhS, Mothercare and Heal's but in 1990 he lost control of the company.

Home is the heart of life, Home is where we feel at ease, where we belong, where we can create surroundings that reflect our tastes and pleasures Making a home is a form of creativity open to everyone.

If our homes should provide anything, they should provide a sense of who we are and how we got here, a sense of connection balanced by a sense of direction and progress.

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

Conran has also created various other London restaurants including the Soop Kitchen, Orrery, Quaglino's, Mezzo - he has worked with Joel Kissing on Le Pont de la Tour, Blueprint Cafe, Butler's Wharf Chop House and many other restaurants around the world.

Conran was knighted in 1983 and was appointed Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour (CH) in the 2017 Birthday Honours for services to design. He has also won the Chartered Society of Designers highest award - The Minerva Medal and was provost of the Royal College of Art between 2003 and 2011.

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