IN CONVERSATION WITH CONRAN

IN CONVERSATION WITH CONRAN

Sir Terence Conran, one of the world’s best-known designers and founder of Habitat, on Redbrick.

Q. What are your thoughts on Redbrick and its retail offer?

A. There are not many department stores in the UK that have such a substantial and interesting homewares offer under one roof. Redbrick seems to emanate a passion for design and what it sells, which is missing in so many retail sites these days, people who are passionate about the products they are selling and who care about what is on their shelves. Unless you have that passion, I don’t think you are going to have a very interesting shop and that transmits to customers. It seems that the staff at Redbrick have this quality in abundance.

I also think it is wonderful how new life has been breathed into an old Victorian mill, transforming it into a wonderful lifestyle store. Many designers, myself included, are attracted to these robustly engineered buildings that truly reflect the energy and entrepreneurialism of this age. We recently completed the transformation of an old printworks in Shoreditch in East London into a restaurant, hotel and rooftop bar & grill called the Boundary.

Q. Redbrick houses a collection of leading names in furniture, how do you feel your brand sits 

within this eclectic mix?

A. I love the eclectic mix on offer at Redbrick. I’ve been influenced by Scandinavian and Art Deco furniture, amongst many other things during my career and think that Content by Conran sits comfortably alongside it. The Content range doesn’t shout for attention – it is well-designed furniture made from good quality materials that are built to last so I think they would look good in any home. If furniture is intelligently designed it will help improve the quality of life of customers and that is what I have been trying to do for most of my life, which is why I think it sits so well amongst all the other offerings in Redbrick. 

Q. It has often been perceived that the North of England suffers from a lack of cutting-edge furniture and accessory stores. What is 

your perception?  

A. I don’t think so at all and if so, somebody is clearly missing out on a huge market. I feel there is a great passion for design throughout the UK that certainly doesn’t stop at the Watford Gap. There is a danger that you can become too London-centric but personally speaking, our collections sell equally well across the country. Magazines and television programmes have demonstrated very intelligently that people can enjoy a better style of life and help people make their choices about their homes which has created an enthusiasm for our homes countrywide.

Q. Do you have any favourite locations in the North and why? 

A. We opened our first Habitat outside of London in Manchester, which I have always felt is a terrific city with a real sense of its own identity and of reinvention. I couldn’t believe the transformation when I visited a few years ago shortly after the Commonwealth Games and saw the terrific urban regeneration in the city centre. Daniel Libeskind’s Imperial War Museum is breathtaking. Liverpool seems to be having a lot of fun and I was very sorry that I was unable to see the Le Corbusier exhibition at the Tate there, as he is a design hero of mine.

Fill your home with all the things you need and love. Your home should always be a reflection of your own personality and a place you feel comfortable in. I may put things in front of people in our shops and through my designs which help them make choices, or give them practical advice in my books but the final line is that they need to trust their own taste. I would never want to go into somebody’s home and find it entirely furnished by Conran. I want to see people’s character through what they have chosen and love.

Q. What is your favourite piece of furniture and why?

A. The Karuselli is the most comfortable chair I know – it is wonderful to sit in because it relaxes you. There is a marvellous, if a little fanciful, story behind the design. Yrjö Kukkapuro, the Finnish designer, fell into a snow drift on his way home after a few too many drinks. When he came to his senses and managed to drag himself out, he realised how comfortable he was so he used the impression made by his body as the model and inspiration for his chair. A wonderful icon that looks as good today as it did in 1964. I can’t say I have had a similar experience, but the Karuselli did inspire the Glove Chair, which is one of the earliest pieces from the Content by Conran range. We felt we could improve on the swivel mechanism so we have brought the manufacturing back to the UK and are delighted that it is now back in the range with a black back and cream front, which I think makes it just that little bit more handsome. 

Q. What are your thoughts on the increase of ‘online shopping’ when shopping for furniture? 

A. Online shopping for furniture has always slightly bemused me – how on earth can you buy a sofa without having felt its texture, tried it out for comfort and seen the colour in the flesh? Even in the early days of Habitat when we first started the catalogue, it amazed me how many people bought our products without having actually visited the store. I can understand the role of e-commerce as a resource tool but I have always felt the experience of going out shopping as a family or as a couple and enjoying a meal is very important to your experience. Certainly much more fun than sitting at home trawling the web.