Growing vision

The man who pioneered the radical furniture designs of the 1950s, started the first branch of Habitat in London in the 1960s, opened a total of 44 restaurants world-wide and this year designed the Laurent-Perrier/ Harpers & Queen Garden at the Chelsea Flower Show (May 25-28) claims his positive outlook and success stems from his time at Bryanston boarding school in Blandford.

Sir Terence says: "I remember the teachers being conscientious objectors who gave me an optimistic view of how life could be."

This was the start of his vision and his first steps on the path to phenomenal success.

Today Sir Terence Conran is a name synonymous with design, furniture making, retail, food and books. He has a fortune believed to be worth £85 million and the Conran group now owns 44 restaurants and 12 shops worldwide. (And his son Jasper isn't doing too badly for himself either!)

For the Surrey-born entrepreneur, it all started with a small furniture-making business in London in 1952. The following year, using skills he had acquired at the Central School of Art in London, he opened the first branch of the Soup Kitchen restaurant.

Sir Terence says: "I remember a time when I was in (sculptor) Eduardo Paolozzi's room and him teaching me how to chop an onion and cook pasta."

It may seem a strange combination, but to Sir Terence design and cooking go wonderfully hand in hand.

It wasn't until 1964 however that he hit the headlines when he opened the first branch of Habitat. He felt disillusioned with retailers and their negative response to his forward-thinking ideas and decided to branch out on his own.

The next 20 years were spent developing an international chain of Habitat and Conran stores, which in turn gave him his fortune.

Sir Terence developed a style for practical and affordable design, incorporating his love of classic French designs.

Beatles John Lennon and George Harrison and 60s fashion designer Mary Quant were often seen purchasing their crockery and glassware from Habitat for their exclusive dinner parties.

In 1981 Habitat merged with Mothercare and started the publishing venture Conran Books, producing volumes on interior design, crafts, gardening, cookery and decorative arts.

Habitat and Mothercare later went on to merge with British Home Stores to create Storehouse PLC, of which Sir Terence became the chairman and chief executive.

The success of the Conran empire was snowballing and in 1983 he was awarded a knighthood for his services to British design and retailing. But he wasn't willing to let the grass grow under his feet. He says: "I am never satisfied. I always believe the next business venture will be better than the last." And so he set up the furniture company Benchmark Woodwork Ltd.

In 1990 it looked like the Conran luck was waning when the Habitat/

Mothercare merger broke and Habitat was sold to Ikea. But Sir Terence ploughed on and started a new design consultancy, now known as Conran & Partners, opened up a chain of Conran stores and a long list of restaurants including Guastavino's and Alcazar in Paris.

Business was picking up, but now on his fourth marriage, Sir Terence admits he may be a bit of a handful to live with. His first marriage to architect Brenda Davidson only lasted six months. He then married Shirley Conran who was working as a waitress in one of his restaurants. His third marriage was to Lady Caroline, who later won a reported £10.5 million divorce settlement, and in 2000 he married designer Victoria Davis, 25 years his junior.

So for now he is happy, and thinking about his next project, the Chelsea Flower Show, which begins on Tuesday.

It may seem rather strange for a food and furniture designer to show such interest in gardening, but as Sir Terence explains, his love of gardening is deep rooted: "My early interest came from my parents' garden where we grew vegetables and fruit. As a war child used to rationing and shortages, I became almost obsessed with the pleasure and reward of growing for the pot to supplement our very meagre rations.

"I love the idea of planning, nurturing, cultivating and waiting patiently before your grand plans grow before your very eyes and you never know quite how they will turn out."

This year's garden is meant to be even more spectacular than before. Sir Terence continues: "The garden this year is based on a small restaurant set within an atmospheric, elegant garden. We decided very early on that the garden had to be a place where you could sit and relax - the most important thing for any garden."

And his inspiration, as always, stems from his futuristic visions:

"It is a simple garden, inspired by the modernist movement in its architecture and planting.

"The chef who owns the restaurant and garden is passionate about the provenance and quality of his vegetables. At one end of the garden is a pavilion kitchen with an integral greenhouse for sprouting unusual vegetables. There are two small drinks terraces and a curved path which allows you to amble leisurely through the garden."

For Sir Terence gardening has become his new diversion. He takes enormous pleasure from it and believes that as a designer you can never just leave your imagination behind.

He adds: "Gardening is actually one of the most creative and exciting things a person can do. As a designer you are interested in everything that affects your style of life and a garden is certainly part of it.

"The garden is an essential sanctuary to allow the stress of contemporary life to drain away and help keep us in touch with the seasons and the elements."

For information on the Chelsea Flower Show, call 0870 9063781 or visit www.rhs.org.uk/chelsea