Sir Terence Conran is a name that has become synonymous with furniture design around the world.
Born in 1931, Terence enrolled at the Central School of Art and Design, London in 1948 however departed in 1951 at the age of 19 to work for architect Dennis Lennon.
In 1952 Terence set himself up as an independent designer opening Conran & Company from a basement in Notting Hill.
Driven by the notion of establishing a shop that would sell modern designs to the general public he founded home furnishing chain Habitat with the first opening in Chelsea in 1964.
The success of Habitat further fuelled Terence’s retail ambitions and in 1973 the first branch of The Conran Shop opened on the site of the original Habitat store in Chelsea.
In 1990 Terence set up Conran Holdings from an apartment in Shad Thames, London and had a major role in the regeneration of the area close to Tower Bridge, which was managed through the Conran Foundation: a charitable fund set up in 1980.
Throughout the nineties and noughties The Conran Shop  continued  to expand and now has 10 stores with outlets in Japan, France, Milan, Ireland, America and its two London-based stores on Fulham road and Marylebone High Street.
In addition to his success in the retail sector Terence has achieved notable triumphs in other pursuits.
He has written over 30 informative books that broadly reflect his design philosophy, selling over 20 million copies of his publications worldwide.
Over the past 50 years the name Conran has become linked with restaurants.  Initially opening up The Soup Kitchen in 1952 Terence has subsequently opened more than 30 restaurants in central London, Paris, Copenhagen, New York and Tokyo.
Since his knighthood in 1983 Terence has received numerous awards for his services to design: he is currently the Provost of the Royal College of Art in London and was awarded The Prince Philip Designer of the Year award in 2004.  In 2007 he also became an honorary Doctor of Science at Southbank University.
Terence continues to release books, open shops, restaurants and hotels, sell his designs and take an active role in the product selection at The Conran Shop.