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Discover our pioneering partners in sustainable production, as we celebrate the art of designing for the home, and our future.
At The Conran Shop, sustainable production and ethical design are founding principles of our company. Informed by our founder's values, we endeavour to work with talented brands and designers that share this mission, and design with longevity in mind.
In the words of Sir Terence himself, "our young and our talented creatives have a very important mission to help make our planet a better place and give it a future... We need to design sustainably, we need to cook sustainably and we have a great deal of responsibility to find eco-friendly solutions." With this ever-more important message looming, we take a look at our pioneering brands below.
Bamford
Committed to sustainability, organic farming and expert craftsmanship, beauty brand Bamford is driven by a desire to bring holistic living and sustainable luxury to the heart of every home. Crafted using organic ingredients, many of its products are certified by the Soil Association.
Pela
After witnessing the damage of plastic to our ecosystems in 2010, Pela's founders decided to contribute to a waste-free future. Driven by the values of community, creativity, courage and consciousness, it has so far saved over 130,000 kg of plastic from being produced.
Palorosa
Versatile, durable and water-resistant, Palorosa's handwoven baskets are crafted from recycled plastic, utilising the talents of the Guatemalan weaving industry. Inspired by the landscape of Guatemala City, Palorosa reflects its love for design, art and craftsmanship through its bags, accessories and home goods.
The Organic Company
A Danish lifestyle brand with a difference, The Organic Company sources its GOTS-approved organic cotton from naturally rain-fed soil, free from harmful chemicals, combating climate change, supporting local farming and offering a healthier alternative for the end-user.
Conran x Well-Lit
Utilising state-of-the-art LED technology, the Conran x Well-Lit collection offers a low-carbon replacement for traditional bulbs with a lifespan over 15,000 hours. Produced by ethical manufacturers Well-Lit, the collaboration presents The Conran Shop's first ever range of sustainable LED lights.
Click & Grow
Featuring specially formulated 'Smart Soil' and optimising nutritional conditions, the innovative Click & Grow helps to reduce plastic-wrapped supermarket purchases by enabling you to grow your own herbs at home, free from pesticides, plant hormones and harmful substances.
The Beeswax Wrap Co.
Offering a reusable alternative to clingfilm, The Beeswax Wrap Co. creates natural, biodegradable wraps in a variety of bold finishes. Each handcrafted wrap presents a combination of organic, GOTS-certified cotton, jojoba oil and beeswax from local sources, all assembled in Nailsworth.
BAGGU
Founded in California in 2007, BAGGU's vision is to create accessories that are as eco-friendly as possible, and each piece is constructed to minimise material waste. Newly launching this season is the exclusive Conran Shop BAGGU Tote Bag, featuring our signature blue hue and graphic eye design.
Vintage at The Conran Shop
If looking to infuse your home with enduring aesthetic value, our Vintage edit offers the opportunity to buy the best that design has to offer, in an environmentally-conscious fashion. We explore the farthest-flung antiques fairs and dealers to find pre-loved design icons with a history, for a truly one-of-a-kind collection.
Discover more about our brands and explore the collections over on our Website.
To celebrate the launch of MALIN+GOETZ at The Conran Shop, we sat down with its founders Matthew Malin and Andrew Goetz to discover a little more about the contemporary apothecaries.
What are the core values of MALIN+GOETZ?
The idea behind MALIN+GOETZ was to make skincare simpler, starting with sensitive skin. Part of what we tried to accomplish is keeping things authentic in a time when businesses are becoming more and more commercial. Being family-owned and operated, having a local sensibility with the neighbourhood apothecary, being New York-based, produced and manufactured local to New York City – all of these are our core values.
How do you find the perfect balance between using natural ingredients and the latest skincare technology?
One of the overriding principles and terminology of what we try to accomplish is that we make skincare simple but, first and foremost, starting with the most sensitive skin. If you can tackle the most sensitive skin, you can address every product to almost anyone that comes along. In doing so, as the overriding direction of the business (or at least product formulation) we make sure that we develop with the most tried, true and trusted natural ingredients you would have found throughout history. So, we are not experimenting with our customer in any way – we know these things work. In addition to that, we also know technology has advanced to help these ingredients perform better.
However, with that, there is a lot of experimental technology that happens to be out there – things that can cause irritation, or can be invasive, or even creating products that don’t need to exist in the first place. So, our idea is to use the gentlest technologies to help the ingredients that we trust to perform even better, to deliver deeper or hydrate more thoroughly, or whatever the idea is behind the formula specifically. As long as we are starting with the gentlest and more effective opportunities, we’re able to address the broadest amount that happens to be out there.
What are your current go-to MALIN+GOETZ products?
My favourite MALIN+GOETZ product is the first one we made, the Grapefruit Facial Cleanser. It is the foundation for everything else that you’re going to do after that. I wash my face every day, twice a day, without exception. So, if I’m exhausted at the end of the day or I’ve had too much to drink or whatever it is I will wash my face before I go to bed. It is the one thing I will not (not) do. I just think this particular product does exactly what we say it’s going to do – which is our mantra for every single product. It is thorough, it is not drying, it is balancing, it cleans the skin, it purifies, it leaves you feeling fresh and ready for whatever else you need to do on your face thereafter. Also, we must mention our most popular product, our Eucalyptus Deodorant – it’s a must for both of us. A quick swipe of our Eucalyptus Deodorant is all you need, it's aluminium and alcohol-free, yet it works which I suppose explains why it's our number one best-seller!
What has changed the most for you both, the brand and the industry since opening in 2004?
For the brand, it has just grown and become bigger. So, the platform for being local and specialists just becomes harder with the more staff you have and trying to mentor and keeping things simple and the way that they’ve always been. I think the industry has changed from both a retail and media perspective in ways that also are more commercial and faster. The demands are a lot greater in small business. And so, to stay authentic- you kind of have to pick a lane and sometimes that’s not so easy.
What did you learn from working for iconic brands like Barneys, Kiehls and Vitra?
From the perspective of Barney’s – it was a an introduction into niche luxury, independent and entrepreneurial businesses. This gave us a sensibility and sense of direction in terms of where we wanted to go and what we wanted to do personally, which is how MALIN+GOETZ has come about. I think there are some similarities in that to Vitra as well, because Vitra, where Andrew used to work, is family owned and operated, and Barney’s, where I worked, is family owned and operated by the Pressman family who is third-generation. In addition to that, Kiehl’s was also family-owned and operated and as a singular brand (personally for me), as opposed to multiple businesses that I was working for at Barney’s, I had the opportunity from the vendor and manufacturing side to see the inner workings of an entrepreneurial business. A business model that wasn’t orthodox or traditional – one that was based on a family that put things together in intuitive ways that they felt was appropriate and what their customer was looking for – and those same sensibilities have been built into MALIN+GOETZ.
What sets MALIN+GOETZ apart from the rest of the beauty and skincare industry?
We take the exact opposite approach from most of the skincare industry. We decided to create fewer products to make it easy and uncomplicated for people because traditionally it’s never been a complicated idea. Beauty has always been – if you think about what your grandparents did – these basic concepts of taking care of your skin, staying out of the sun, not smoking, washing your face, moisturizing it. Those are the basics, if you do those, you’re almost guaranteed a benefit. Rather than having these long regimens of 12 steps, we’ve stuck to 2 and kept it simple and uncomplicated. That’s probably the most important thing that sets us apart, the fact that we started this business as an independent, self-funded, family-owned and operated business, where we weren’t going to raise capital just so we could blow this out and sell it off, sets us apart compared to many and I’m really proud of what we have accomplished. Both of those two things together really have separated us from all the others out there.
Why is well-considered design such an important part of the MALIN+GOETZ brand?
Because design sells and people want things to be beautiful and we want things to be beautiful. We paid a lot of attention to that for those aesthetic purposes. Also, form does follow function, and great design solves problems and makes things not just beautiful to have around but it helps to make them better. One of the ideas behind MALIN+GOETZ was that if you live in a small, expensive, New York City apartment with limited space, you can’t just have thousands of things crowding cupboards. What if you could just have a few things sitting out on the shelves because they work because they look good because they do all the things you need them to do and they’re still beautiful. That’s what we tried to accomplish with design.
You are known for your unique store concepts, what do you look for in a retail space?
We look for a match in terms of the customer base and main street shopping locality. The idea is that these are neighbourhoods where people live and where they are looking to shop near their homes as a part of the community. If you think back to apothecaries 100 years ago, they were the local pharmacist or chemist that were serving us and being a part of those communities is important. We all want to be a part of these experiences and that’s what we aim to deliver – individualized experiences every time we open in a new neighbourhood. And those neighbourhoods are where our customers live and ultimately where we (myself and Andrew) would like to live ourselves.
The band hails from New York, what do you love about urban life and what excites you the most about launching with The Conran Shop in London and Paris?
London is very similar to New York and one of the greatest things about New York is it is one of the most diverse places on the planet. Maybe the second most diverse city would be London. I think it’s exciting, there’s great energy there, it’s diverse, young, it’s a terrific place. Urban living is about convenience and ease and the focus on your career. These three cities, in particular, are great urban centres for culture. So, just how rich these cities happen to be in terms of culture, and specifically from a diversity perspective is very exciting for us. The fact that we are partnering with a company that has been focused on design from its inception and continues to be a leader in design, feels well-suited for the brand.
Finally, congratulations, you're celebrating 10 years of your best-selling eucalyptus deodorant in June, what else does the future hold?
This is a question where we want to have an answer that’s as exciting as possible, but the reality is that for 15 years we’ve been staying focused and doing the same thing 15 years later – and that is keeping things simple and uncomplicated. We are looking to expand our product assortment where we fill a need and have customer requests, so we’re not overloading people with a product and producing things that aren’t necessary. Just continuing to do what we do – developing products, opening stores where appropriate, and most importantly keeping the range simple, tight and focused!
Now you can shop MALIN+GOETZ’s iconic skincare online and in store at The Conran Shop.
The Conran Shop steps inside Tate Britain's Van Gogh and Britain exhibition, showcasing the artist's finest pieces, sources of inspiration and the impact the post-impressionist mastermind had on modern British art.
Located a mere ten-minute drive from where the artist lived between 1873 and 1874, the Carol Jacobi-curated exhibition hosts works from globally-renowned museums and galleries, including the Kröller-Müller Museum in Otterlo and Paris’ Musée d'Orsay.
Presented over nine enticing rooms, the exhibition begins with the inspiration Vincent van Gogh sought during, and after, his stay in Britain between 1873 and 1876.
Working in the art trade but not yet a painter himself, van Gogh spent his time in London strolling along the Thames and visiting galleries such as The National Gallery, which was located near his office, and the V&A which was known as the South Kensington Museum. Evidence of this is displayed in one of the first rooms, where viewers can witness van Gogh's signature in Dulwich Picture Gallery's visitor book.
Spending his evenings appreciating the Thames and life by the river, a top hat-clad van Gogh drew his first works on the way back from the office, sketching the Thames at dusk. Taking inspiration from Gustave Doré’s The Houses of Parliament, the painting is also said to have led to van Gogh’s lauded Starry Night.
A lover of London’s cityscape and of Britain’s rich culture of literature and artists too, van Gogh spent his time consumed in the works of Dickens, Eliot and Shakespeare. Heavily influenced by the weekly illustrated newspaper 'The Graphic', van Gogh considered it “a great portrayer of the people”.
A painter of the people for the people, van Gogh was fascinated by everyday life. This can be seen throughout the exhibition in works such as The Dustman, which was inspired by Edwin Buckman's A London Dustyard and Entrance to Voyer d’Argenson Park at Asnières, as influenced by social realist painter Frederick Walker’s distinct modern sentiment in The Old Gate. The most notable example was the 1890 work The Prison Courtyard, which was van Gogh’s vigorous reinterpretation of Gustave Doré’s Newgate - exercise yard.
Portraying the shifting roles between influencer and influencee, Tate Britain digs deeper into Lucien Pissarro and van Gogh’s symbiotic relationship. Pissarro’s La Maison de la Sourde, Éragny inspired van Gogh’s Path in the Woods and likewise, Pissarro’s The Garden Gate, Epping was inspired by van Gogh’s orchard paintings. Other European artists influenced by van Gogh include renowned names such as Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse and Wassily Kandinsky.
Seeing his art through the eyes of British artists, the exhibition pays particular attention to Van Gogh’s impact on British art in the seventh room, entitled Van Gogh and British Flower Painting. Here, viewers can take a closer look at van Gogh’s National Gallery-owned Sunflowers and several interpretations by British artists, including Samuel John Peploe's smoothly painted Yellow Tulips and Statuette and Tulips in a Pottery Vase, Matthew Smith's Flowers in a Vase and more simplistic interpretations by Christopher Wood and Winnifred Nicholson, who has been hailed as the female van Gogh.
Other works on display include Sir Jacob Epstein's dramatically-shaped Epping Forest, Francis Bacon’s Study for Portrait of Van Gogh IV, Harold Gilman's In Gloucestershire, Roderic O'Conor's Yellow Landscape and Vanessa Bell's The Vineyard. Of the latter two, O’Conor was one of the earliest responders to van Gogh's forceful colours and strokes and Bell, like van Gogh, lived with mental illness and was inspired by his brushstrokes, but applied more harmonious colours to her own works.
As well as effortlessly proving how van Gogh’s intricate line patterns and deep brushstrokes bought movement, force and energy into an alternative British modern art, what the exhibition does best is reject the outdated notion that van Gogh’s creativity was linked to madness. Often referred to as a tortured genius, van Gogh insisted that his illness was like any other, and that art for him was a distraction – this exceptional exhibition confirms that he was a genius regardless of his mental state, not because of it.
Tate Britain’s Van Gogh and Britain exhibition will be running until 11th August.
In the meantime, why not explore The Conran Shop’s Gallery & Frames selection to add a piece of art to your home?
Come February there is often a panic that grows in your chest and a persistent internal voice that starts to berate your neglected personal training sessions, inconsistent beauty regime and desire for the food pyramid dark side. Relinquish your self-imposed guilt over forgotten resolutions with a relaxed stroll around our Chelsea store’s well-being pop-up, the Conran Clinic.
This tranquil treasure trove of positivity is bound to rebalance your mindset with a hunger for the healthy and nourishing inside and out. Discover our thoughtful curation of health and beauty products all designed to hit refresh from organic skincare to luxury bathroom accessories.
Kick-start your new wellbeing campaign with the serene spa area filled with a globetrotting menagerie of miracle-working wonders from France’s Compagnie de Provence, Switzerland’s Therme Vals and Brooklyn’s Pelle – whose jewel-like soaps look almost too good to lather up.
Gym and fitness equipment from Technogym offers to tone and shape your body in the comfort of your own home, so you can create a routine that works for you minus the drill sergeant chants of a personal trainer. Plus, state-of-the-art Aedle headphones will keep you moving and motivated as the Technogym equipment tracks your every step.
Quench your thirst with cold-pressed juices from The Good Life Eatery designed to detox and nutrient-load or visit the rustic wooden Tea House – whose aromatic leaf blends from fair trade favourite Takeawayporto will soothe the soul wherever you go.
A series of distorting fairground mirrors will stop the urge to smash through the treat-filled ‘In Case of Emergency Break Glass’ cabinets which add a playful touch to this health-conscious setting. Striking the perfect balance between your vices and virtues, this must-see destination promises to be fun, interactive and inspirational.
So what are you waiting for? Rejuvenation awaits at the Conran Clinic – open now until 31st March 2014 in The Blue Room at The Conran Shop, Chelsea, with elements also found at the Marylebone store and online.
Last week, one of The Conran Shop's expert foodies received a golden ticket to visit a real-life Willy Wonka chocolate factory in the North of Italy. From the Piedmont capital, comes this report...
"On visiting the Italian artisan Guido Gobino in Turin last month, we were warmly welcomed to the world of chocolate that has surrounded him since childhood.
Guido Gobino's 'Fabbrica del Cioccolato' in Turin
Invited on a behind the scenes tour at his headquarters we learned about Guido’s new take on this specialist tradition. Following a walk through all the stages of production from start to finish, our visit concluded with an opportunity to taste his current range of chocolates. This week you will be able to sample a selection of his range at both our London shops when Loredana Ligori visits us to oversee a tasting (see below for details).
Located in a historic part of Turin not far from the snow capped Italian Alps is the factory where Guido’s father Bepe originally made chocolates and candies. Guido has continued the family tradition, searching for the best ingredients from across the world to make extraordinary chocolate. Cacao (the bean-like seeds from which cocoa, cocoa butter, and chocolate are made) is sourced from Java, Venezuela, Trinidad, Ecuador and Ghana. His approach combines a deep respect for traditional craftsmanship with innovation and cutting edge technology. In 2012, the new roasting and refining area was dedicated to his father who devoted his life to the company with passion, perseverance and enthusiasm.
Guido's first step was to focus on production of the iconic ingot shaped Turinese Giandujotto. Originally created in 1865, it is regarded as the first individually wrapped chocolate. Its development was a fortunate outcome of the difficulty in importing cacao in the 1800’s. Chocolate makers began to replace cacao with locally grown Piedmont hazelnuts.
The use of a hazelnut paste as an ingredient produced a new and intense flavour when combined with cacao, milk and sugar to create Gianduja chocolate. Today the hazelnuts used by Guido Gobino are harvested from fields owned by his company or from local farms which have collaborated with him for many years.
Based on the original Giandujotto his interpretations now include the Giandujotto Classic which weighs 10 grams and has a high percentage of PGI Piedmont Hazelnuts. The smaller Giandujotto Tourinot weighs just 5 grams and is still packed full of flavour, while the Tourinot Maximo contains no milk, which enhances the PGI Hazelnut scent.
A limited edition in the range, Maximo +39 contains more than 39% PGI Piedmont Hazelnuts. Made only from October to March these are hand tempered as the consistency of this recipe is so dense.
An assorted selection of Guido Gobino’s Giandujotti are included in our Chocolate Christmas Hamper which contains over 15 white, milk and dark chocolate goodies priced at £170. The boxed sets of Gobino's chocolates also make a perfect Christmas gift (from £12 to £65).
For further information about our in-store chocolate tasting sessions with Loredana Ligori at our Marylebone shop on Wednesday 4th and the Chelsea shop on Thursday 5th December take a look at the events page of The Conran Shop online.
Spring brings lighter evenings, a bit more sunshine and a bit less bitter wind-chill. It also shakes us from our winter slumber and gives us a kick up the social backside with a host of gatherings on the cards for the coming months. Whether it is a birthday, christening, anniversary or wedding, The Conran Shop has thought long and hard about the sort of things you might like to give and be given. Our hand-picked, eclectic mix of presents includes something for everyone, whether it’s a love of design heritage, quirky artisan crafts from around the world, classic home basics or fun and witty accessories.
Laguna B Glassware
We have sorted shopping for every room of the house in the hope that all bases are covered for the person who has everything. From decorative to practical, highlights include the most enormous collection of John Derian decoupage ceramics (much of which is available online), classic Jasper Conran dinnerware, Laguna B colourful glassware and of course a host of worktop essentials - toasters, coffee makers and teapots. If technology ticks the boxes then we have everything from headphones to televisions, cameras to radios to tempt gadget geeks and novices alike. Bathroom essentials, gift cards, iconic furniture for indoors and out, inspiring lighting...we’ve got big and little gifting sorted.
If you are the one walking up the aisle then you may want to check out our gift service, the most versatile offering that combines flexibility and convenience. You can read more about it here or check us out at the Chosen wedding fair in Chelsea on the 5th May. If your nuptials are pending and you are in the area then swing by and say hello. For further info click here.
On the eve of two new Agonist fragrances arriving at The Conran Shop, we take the opportunity to talk to the founders in an exclusive Q&A. Talking tips to make your fragrance last, creative process and inspiration, we welcome Swedish designers Christine Gustafsson and Niclas Lydeen to Talking Shop.
Please tell us about your background and how AGONIST first started.
Agonist founders, Christine Gustafsson and Niclas Lydeen
Christine has a background in fashion and studied at Studio Bercot in Paris, Niclas is a graphic designer and Art Director. We met during various collaborations with photoshoots for fashion stories and branding. We felt that we really connected and had the same vision and shared the dream of working artistically with fragrance. For us it is an invisible product and such a beautiful starting point for artistic expressions.
Where do you find inspiration for your work?
From all aspects of life in general. From the mundane to the extraordinary. Everything that in someway moves our senses – scents, sounds, taste and tactililty, visuals, art, music, literature, movies...
Can you talk us through the creation of a fragrance from initial concept to realisation?
We always start with an abstract idea of a concept, an emotion, a theme which we want to give shape to. We gather all our inspiration and ideas in what we call a creative platform. It consists of various things that we feel captures the essence of our concept. Tactile materials, imagery, sketches, fragments of texts, music etc. We then approach our collaborators and start the quest for the olfactive interpretation. When the intuitive process of the fragrance is done we enter the glasswork where we artistically translate the fragrance to glass. Each end every sculpture is unique and no one are the same since they are handmade. For us the individual bottle is connected with each and every persons individual experience of the fragrance. When the sculptures are ready we create the sprayline version where each bottle is connected to the sculpture by the coloured pecure in the bottom.
Who are your fragrances for?
For anyone that seeks unique experiences in fragrance. Who appreciates quality, art and attention to detail. Our fragrances are unisex and made of 100% natural ingredients.
You launched your complete fragrance line in 2012, tell us why you did this and how it differs to your sculpture line?
Onyx Pearl Sculpture
Since the fragrance is the hero in our work and everything derives from that, we wanted it to be more accessible. The fragrance comes in a Haute Couture version and a ready to wear version. For us it is very important that there is a strong connection between the sculpture and the spray version. We have a patented solution where every spraybottle has a colourcoded Pecure in the base which connects it to each sculpture. We have placed all the fragrance notes on the front of the spraybottle, letting the customer come very close to the experience.
Do you have any tips on the best way to apply fragrance and how can you make your scent last longer?
Choose a quality fragrance that will last and evolve during the day. A lot of fragrance is of bad quality and will disappear very fast. Once you try a high quality fragrance it will be impossible to go back. It is a good idea to wear different fragrances for different occasions, since it sets a mood and accompanies your actions. Apply the fragrance on your pulse points and a light mist through your hair. Oil on your skin will more effectively trap the fragrance notes and make them last longer. So by using body oil or moisturizer before adding fragrance could also prolong the experience.
What fragrance(s) do you both wear and why?
We are collectors of fragrance and what we wear varies. But now we are using mostly Onyx Pearl and Arctic Jade.
What does the future hold for Agonist?
We will continue to work artistically with fragrance and explore new ways to express our creations.
Thank you Niclas and Christine, what a pleasure to have you as our guests! If you are inspired to update your scent collection you can buy a number of spray fragrances at The Conran Shop. In addition to Black Amber, The Infidels, Liquid Crystal and Arctic Jade we are soon to stock Onyx Pearl and Vanilla Marble.
As we bid adieu to our winter wardrobe and transition into our spring style, our home demands equal attention. Accordingly, we have prepared an edit of our top spring cleaning essentials to add to your shopping list, just in time to prepare your home for post-lockdown hosting.
Another One Fights the Dust
The most challenging and drudgerous part tends to be the deep clean itself. For getting rid of the dust on your shelves, we suggest Bürstenhaus Redecker's expert Ostrich Feather Duster or Goat Hair Hand Brush. For more demanding surfaces such as flooring, there's the Conran Shop-exclusive Tall Dustpan & Brush from Andrée Jardin, or the Coffret version for hard-to-reach-spots.
A Tool for Every Job
No housekeeping task can begin without a handful of convenient (and attractive) accessories to aid us along the way. Keep yours neatly organised in a utilitarian toolbox by Arik Levy for Vitra or with an elegantly hued choice from Trusco. On the subject of tools, entrust Bath-based Wild & Wolf in ensuring you have the right ones. For heavy scrubbing, the characterful Scrub Daddy should do a fine job, and for an organic touch, we recommend the Spanish-crafted Natural Scouring Pads. Finally, reach new heights with a ladder from Metaphys, available across four step options.
Materialise It
Supposedly, it's what's inside that really counts, and a spring clean is a perfect opportunity to keep your wardrobe contents in top shape. Reduce fibre shredding and minimise micro-waste during every wash with the indispensable Guppyfriend, combat pesky stains with the genius Spot Gone Stick, and grab the practical Sweater Stone to do away with pilling. For a more professional treatment, Steamery flaunts a selection of specialist garment care, from the Pilo Lint Shaver to the Cirrus No. 2 Travel Steamer and Cumulus No. 3 Home Steamer. Additionally, give your footwear some love with a Shoe Care Kit, and gift longevity to your leather with a Leather Care Kit.
The Heart of the Home
Next, give some love to the heart of the home, the kitchen. Re-season cast, spun, and black iron cookware with Netherton Foundry's trusted Flax Oil, remove tricky residue from pots with the tough Copper Pot Scrubber, and dry your utensils in style with the Organic Company's sumptuous Wash Cloths. Lastly, keep everything in its place and neatly displayed with functional storage boxes from the likes of Kinto and Mepal.
Sophisticated Storage
Considering storage for other areas of the home, we suggest lidded and open baskets for accessories from The Conran Shop and The Basket Room, Conran Shop-exclusive sideboards by Gabriel Tan and from Lange Production, perfect for living room decluttering, and much more. Invest in an elegant trolley or bar cart by 20th-century legends, including the Aaltos and Horst Brüning, for when government guidelines finally allow at-home soirées, and offer timeless accents from the Bauhaus and multi-purpose seating around your space to exude an organised flair.
To Shelve or Not to Shelve
For a decluttered look that still flaunts your precious souvenirs, books, albums and other memorable items, shelving options such as Kriptonite's discreet Krossing collection and Anne Linde's pared-back Showcase and Ledge:Able designs are second-to-none. For convenient hooks and spacious slots for life's daily accessories, we recommend the Uten.Silo or the Hang It All, sure to keep your items securely stored while adding character to your décor.
Take It Outside
Lastly, head to the garden for a little sprucing and enjoy the ever-warming days that spring has to offer. Don Risdon & Risdon's Original Apron to look the part of an expert gardener, utilise Scissors, Clippers, and Cultivators from Niwaki, plant some seeds from Piccolo in eye-catching pots from The Conran Shop and ferm LIVING and guarantee comfort throughout with the Canvas Garden Kneeler. Whilst at it, why not make your garden a haven for wildlife with the charming Dew Drop Bird Home?
Discover even more covetable spring cleaning products in our Laundry & Household Utility and Storage & Shelving edits. For a refreshing finish, we suggest a scented candle or diffuser from the Candles & Fragrances edit.
As we celebrate the launch of the Sacco Anatomical Easy Chair in three Conran Shop-exclusive colourways, we explore the history of the remarkable design, the celebrated pioneer for the now-familiar 'bean bag' chair.
An Italian icon, the Sacco Anatomical Easy Chair was conceptualised by trio Piero Gatti, Cesare Paolini and Franco Teodoro in 1968. Exhibiting a strength of ideas and a bold, memorable form, the chair has since become a hallmark of the Italian Modernist movement and is renowned as such to this day.
The trio's brief was to create a 'shapeless chair' that was simultaneously design-led and universal, easily adapted to all bodies and any seating position, and was suitable for indoor and outdoor use, all whilst displaying exceptional craftsmanship under a modernist form.
Thus the Sacco was conceived, in response to these requirements and befitting the Italian Modernist style, uniting high-end design with casual living. The purpose of its 'anatomical' nature is that the shape of the chair is set by the user, remaining adaptable to their needs in a variety of settings; the perfect chair for the ever-changing demands of a modern home.
Embodying its era's aesthetic values, the 1960s design features a gratifying tapered form that is at once effortlessly simple and boundlessly versatile. Available in an array of bold and bright hues, the Sacco is adaptable yet refined. As characterised by the Vitra Design Museum, in an era of "hippie culture, apartment sharing and student demonstrations, the thirty-something designers created a nonpoltrona (non-chair) and thus launched an attack on good bourgeois taste."
Although not the first amorphous chair designed in Italy, the Sacco was the first that could successfully hold its shape thanks to its hardy fabric exterior and intricate stitching. Polystyrene was a relatively new material on the post-war mass-manufacturing market. Thus the design trio utilised its unique properties to fill the chair with highly resistant polystyrene balls, giving shape and structure to the relaxed form. When Aurelio Zanotta received the first pictures of the Sacco's proposed design, he was eager to support its development, and Zanotta has remained the chair's dedicated manufacturer ever since.
Exhibited at prestigious global institutions such as New York's Museum of Modern Art and the Vitra Design Museum in Germany, the Sacco is well worthy of its 'icon' status. More recently bestowed the coveted Compasso d'Oro Lifetime Achievement Award, it is hailed by Campbell Thompson, Head of Furniture and Lighting at The Conran Shop, as "the innovative founding father of anatomical seating."
Discover our exclusive 2021 Sacco colours here.
As we move through the third UK lockdown, most of us are adapting to working from home on a long-term basis. We take a look at our favourite WFH spaces, sent to us by you, to help reinvigorate the work-in-progress home office.
We are all slowly realising that working from home is no longer a temporary state. Many companies are choosing to downsize office space and offer flexible working arrangements, and thus our homes must adapt with the times.
The Conran Shop customers have undertaken the challenge with gusto, curating exceptional home working spaces that rival any modern office space. In pairing our enticing furniture, lighting and lifestyle offering, there are hundreds of options to suit any space, be it a grand private study or cosy kitchen corner. Here is a round-up of some of our favourites.
Anglepoise & Paul Smith Type 75 Table Lamp by Paul Smith for Anglepoise
EA 219 Soft Pad Office Chair by Charles and Ray Eames for Vitra
Cherner Classic Armchair by Norman Cherner
Snoopy Table Lamp by Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni for Flos
Beetle Dining Chair in Velvet With Brass Legs by Gamfratesi for GUBI
Amuleto Trinity Lamp by Alessandro Mendini for Ramun
Anglepoise & Paul Smith Type 75 Table Lamp by Paul Smith for Anglepoise
Brick 24-Hour Clock by Erwin Termaat for LEFF Amsterdam
April Folding Chair by Gae Aulenti for Zanotta
Toolbox by Arik Levy for Vitra
Explore our Working From Home edit to find your perfect home office scheme, and submit your photo using #shapedbyconran for your chance to feature on our channels.
Next up in our 'Icons at The Conran Shop' series is Sir Terence Conran's favourite chair, the all-enveloping Karuselli Lounge Chair, designed by Yrjö Kukkapuro for Artek in 1964.
The Karuselli's award-winning inventor is a central figure of Finnish functionalism who, in his creations, prioritised sense and function above all. Dating back half a century, the story behind his chair's conceptualisation is a fascinating one, with two versions to suit all senses of humour.
Officially, Kukkapuro designed the Karuselli after playing outside with his daughter and watching her make snow angels. An alternative, and less family-friendly account of the Karuselli's beginning, alleges that the maker fell asleep in a seemingly cosy encircling of snow after a heavy drinking session. Captivated by how the snow would perfectly surround the contours of the human body, he was destined to embody this in a piece of furniture.
Years in the making and a result of countless experiments, Kukkapuro was guided by the question, "Does it make any sense to design a chair which is not good to sit on?" He began work on the Karuselli in the 1950s, before perfecting it for a suitable unveiling in the Swinging Sixties. The final product presents an undulating form resulting from a fibreglass shell with supple leather upholstery and generous padding, complete with swivel and rock capabilities, to move with the lucky sitter. To this day, the Karuselli is carefully crafted in Finland where it was created.
Greeted with critical acclaim, the legendary Gio Ponti is known to have spotlighted the chair on a cover of his architecture and design magazine Domus in 1966. Still, most instrumental to the Karuselli's success is perhaps its endorsement from Sir Terence, who was a proud owner of four.
Sir Terence averred that the Karuselli is "the most comfortable chair in the world… I lie back in it with a glass of whisky and a cigar and immediately feel that life is worth living." A Vanity Fair feature on the 'doyen of design' recalled that, when not "making his rounds in London," Sir Terence would be found reclining on his Karuselli "in a sun-drenched study off the kitchen at Barton Court, near the tiny Berkshire village of Kintbury."
The Conran Shop offers the Karuselli in three 'Prestige' leather finishes; a European hide from Sørensen worthy of the chair. This premium leather flaunts a soft, full-grain, with resistance to smudges and stains, as well as water and dirt repellence for easy upkeep. Additionally available is a miniature, specially designed by the Vitra Design Museum for furniture connoisseurs. In 2020, we were also honoured with offering a limited-edition all-black finish, with only 20 in existence.
Take heed of Sir Terence and invest in this timeless icon for your home by exploring our entire Karuselli Lounge Chair and Ottoman selection here.
The recent years have seen a resurgence in the handcrafted ceramics industry, with dozens of new makers and talented designers emerging to offer a fresh and innovative approach to the centuries-old craft. We take a closer look at our collection of artisanal brands, to consider their processes in detail.
With a focus on sustainable processes and small-batch production, the handmade ceramics industry remains a small one, vastly populated by independent makers and small studio potteries. This factor is a large element of the charm, establishing the knowledge that each piece has been crafted by someone, using their hands.
Traditional pottery conventions have sought to highlight this handcrafted nature by leaving evidence of the maker's presence. Sometimes in the form of finger marks created by the glazing process, or the ghost of a thumb mark on a handle. However, modern pottery tends to focus on a more minimal style, allowing clean lines and simplicity of form to convey the art of making.
At The Conran Shop, we curate a considered collection of brands and designers, working closely with them to understand their practice and celebrate their exceptional design. Whilst every brand that we work with is completely unique, they are all united by a shared commitment to the art of the process, and the preservation of craft. We explore some of our favourites below.
Feldspar
Working from a studio in Devon, family-run Feldspar's ethos is to create 'objects for life', with a simple yet elegant aesthetic. Inspired by traditional bone china, the studio's collection is crafted both in-house in Devon and by a family pottery in Stoke-on-Trent, via a 'slip-casting' method. An integral part of their practice, Feldspar's aim is to preserve the production technique, which is listed as a critically endangered craft by the Heritage Crafts Association.
Wonki Ware
The South African ceramic studio Wonki Ware specialises in delicate pieces that retain an organic form. Training employees from disadvantaged backgrounds, the studio has turned a small pottery in George, South Africa into a professional production space, whilst maintaining its commitment to artisanal, handcrafted pieces. Ensuring that every piece soaks up the surrounding atmosphere, the works are crafted from clay dug locally in the Eastern Cape, and left to dry in the sun before firing in the kiln.
Grace McCarthy
Working locally from her London studio, Grace McCarthy specialises in functional tableware, informed by her passion for clay as a raw material and an interest in traditional processes. Combining a modern, minimalist style with ancient gas firing techniques, McCarthy creates a unique and varied range of work that reflects the process from which it comes. McCarthy still forms, glazes and fires every piece herself, upholding a distinctly personal connection between the designer and the user.
memòri
Newly introduced at The Conran Shop, memòri is a Moroccan collective producing decorative earthenware pieces by local artisans. Anchored to the land from which it creates its works, the collective upholds the legacy of the Rif region's pottery traditions, particularly that which may have been lost or forgotten. Often decorated with natural pigments using a goat-hair brush, memòri aims to revive a collective memory of craft in response to a modern world of standardisation and disposable culture.
Richard Brendon
Richard Brendon's Dip Collection is inspired by traditional creamware manufacturing in the UK, and is produced in the historic potteries located in Stoke-on-Trent. Helping to revive the industry, Brendon has established a collection based upon a modern glazing process which delivers a bold and contemporary decorative effect, employing the rich history of the craft in Stoke-on-Trent to inform a new wave of ceramic production in the UK.