Sir Terence Conran dead: Designer, retailer and restaurateur dies at 88
Best known as the founder of Habitat, Sir Terence Conran ‘passed away peacefully today at his Barton Court home aged 88’, according to his family
Designer, retailer and restaurateur Sir Terence Conran has died aged 88.
The founder of Habitat, who was known for bringing Scandinavian style to the UK, “passed away peacefully today at his Barton Court home aged 88”, according to family.
A statement released by the Design Museum described Sir Terence as a “visionary who enjoyed an extraordinary life and career that revolutionised the way we live in Britain”.
It went on: “A proud patriot, Sir Terence promoted the best of British design, culture and the arts around the world and at the heart of everything he did was a very simple belief that good design improves the quality of people’s lives.
“From the late forties to the present day, his energy and creativity thrived in his shops, restaurants, bars, cafes and hotels and through his many design, architecture and furniture making businesses.
“Founding the Design Museum in London was one of his proudest moments and through its endeavours he remained a relentless champion of the importance of education to young people in the creative industries.
“Sir Terence enjoyed a remarkable life to the full and always maintained that his work never felt like a job – everything he did for business he would have done for pleasure.
“In his private life he was adored by his family and friends and we will miss him dearly.
“It gives us great comfort to know that many of you will mourn with us but we ask that you celebrate Terence’s extraordinary legacy and contribution to the country he loved so dearly.”
Conran hailed from Surrey, and after showing a flair for art at school, he went on to study textiles at the prestigious Central School of Art and Design.
He quit after 18 months to take a job with a company working on the 1951 Festival of Britain but after a year he’d left to set up his own company.
Design group Conran & Company was born in 1952 and was given a huge boost when he was asked to design the interior of one of Mary Quant’s shops.
The business later became the Conran Design Group, finding fans with his furniture designs, and he opened the first Habitat shop on London’s Fulham Road in 1962.
Conran aimed to make stylish homeware affordable, and became the first store to sell duvets after he fell in love with them on a trip to Sweden.
Habitat was a huge success and he went on to become head of a retail empire, with Heals and British Home Stores under his belt
His success catapulted him to the forefront of British business and he was awarded a knighthood in 1983.
However, profits began to plummet after the country became mired in a recession and he left the Habitat group in 1990.
He retained his Conran brand, opening self-titled stores as well as a property company, which went belly up in 1990 and lost him millions.
Conran went on to help found the Design Museum and open a string of upmarket restaurants.
As well as his business empire, he also wrote more than 50 books throughout his career, mostly focusing on design.
He received another nod from the Queen in 2017 when he was made a Companion of Honour in the birthday honours list.
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