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Showing posts with label Terence Conran. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Terence Conran. Show all posts

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Sir Terence Conran

Terence Conran
Terence Conran (1931- ) was born in Kingston upon Thames and was educated at Bryanston School and Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, where he studied textiles and other materials, adopting the Bauhaus belief that "a good design should be available to the whole community, not just to a few." He opened his own design practice in 1956 at the age of 21 and designed a shop for Mary Quant. In 1964 he opened the first Habitat shop in Chelsea, which grew into an international chair selling household good and furniture in contemporary designs. Habitat was instrumental in imbuing the country with a modernist view, using simple shapes, natural materials and a colorful palette, showing postwar England that design could be glamorous. Habitat catapulted Conran into the mainstream of design. In the mid-1980s, he expanded Habitat into the Storehouse group of companies which included Heals. Later he started the Conran Shop and Benchmark Furniture.

He is also a noted restaurateur, had an architectural practice with Fred Lloyd Roche and has written several books about interior design. The Conran Foundation also manages the Design Museum. He was knighted in 1983 and was a winner of the Chartered Society of Designers Minerva Medal, the Society's highest award. In 2003, he received the Prince Phillip Designer's Prize in recognition of his lifetime achievements in design. He has been provost of the Royal College of Art since that year.

From designmuseum.org and wikipedia.org

Matador chair and ottoman
designmuseum.org
Boomerang dining table and chairs
archithing.com

C.20 stack chair
designaddict.com
Balance Alcove shelving
designmuseum.org
59th Street sofa
designmuseum.org
Mon Oncle chairs
retrotogo.com
Tableware for Midwinter
vam.ac.uk

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Pssst...It's called a tight seat.

No, not the kind you get by going to the gym. I'm talking about the upholstery term for a chair or sofa on which the seat fabric is attached directly to the frame and does not have a removable seat cushion.

While loose cushions were typical in mid-century pieces, I found some beautiful examples of classic MCM chairs and sofas with fixed seat cushions. My sofa has loose cushions, but I'm considering changing it to a tight seat and back when I have it recovered. Let me have some feedback on that. Which style do you prefer?

Hans Wegner sofa
1stdibs.com
Vladimir Kagan Fireside chair
vladimirkagan.com
Isamu Noguchi sofa
prweb.com
Terence Conran Steinbeck chair
Harvey Probber gondola sofa
1stdibs.com
Adrian Pearsall swivel chairs
vandm.com

Friday, February 4, 2011

More Midwinter

Midwinter produced tea sets in so many wonderful patterns that I just had to share some more of them with you. They're my new favorite thing to look for, and I've decided that Jessie Tait and Terence Conran are my two favorite designers for the company, producing patterns in the 1950s that still look fresh and interesting today.


Nature Study by Terence Conran
ebay.com - carmon03

Chequers by Terence Conran
ebay.com - pooleretro1

Cherokee by Jessie Tait
deco-etcetera.com

Homeweave by Jessie Tait
deco-etcetera.com

Red Domino by Jessie Tait
langserve.net

Zambesi by Jessie Tait
madeleineellis.com

Hollywood by Jessie Tait
20thcenturyforum.com