Have yourself a merry little Christmas…

With Christmas Day only 4 days away none of us have done our shopping but, with carols belting out in some of our studios and christmas party time in full swing, the mood is turning festive!

This year’s rudolph-themed christmas card was designed by the team at Conran Studio – simply pop his Conran-blue shapes out of the front of the card and put him together, slotting him into the handily designed slit at the back. He’s a keeper.

Conran's 2011 Christmas Card

The frosted forms of our beautiful new Conran Bath & Body range look perfectly in keeping with the white handdrawn christmas trees and some of the cool, contemporary white ceramics and glassware from the Conran/M&S collection in our snowy Arctic-themed windows.

Read more about this on our brand new Conran Bath & Body blog…

And let’s not forget the annual “design-a-christmas-decoration” staff competition. He’s a young Terence looking decidely angelic!

And if you’ve still got presents to buy and have run out of inspiration have a look at ‘Christmas by Design’ – the carefully curated Christmas range from the Conran Shop.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Watch out for much more from us in 2012!

Four years on: Our Brighton architects lead the way in housing design

Four they are jolly good fellows! 

This week sees the 4th birthday of the Conran and Partners Brighton studio.  Despite the recession kicking in soon after opening, after four years of trading the studio has doubled in size.  The team has had some very significant London successes, including winning the project to redevelop Green Man Lane in Ealing to create over 700 new homes for A2Dominion/Rydon, to helping L&Q on their plans for the former Walthamstow Stadium. Most recently they won the project to redevelop the listed Lillian Baylis School in Lambeth.

Green Man Lane

A vision of Walthamstow stadium...

Sketch for Lilian Baylis School

In Brighton the team is working on the redevelopment of the Granada Cinema site on Portland Road in Hove for Affinity Sutton, further refurbishment of Embassy Court, the modernist landmark on the seafront (top of page), an amazing house on the beach in Hove, proposals for an apart-hotel on the former ice rink site in Queen Square and the city’s greenest office building on Gloucester Place.

The latest on the Queen's Square development

Lee Davies and Paul Zara lead the 18-strong team and are confident about the future, despite the state of the world.  

“The demand for housing is so great that it must eventually kick-start growth.  We have an excellent track record locally and nationally and are well placed to assist our clients in moving their projects forward…

“

Paul Zara

Lee Davies

It’s been a very interesting four years, and I am very proud of the team we have built, they have strong skills and we are ready to take on any challenge that comes our way!”

Long may they continue..!

Our favourite gifts for Christmas: what a performance!

Last week our store in Fulham Road played host to a surreal piece of performance art inspired by the circuit board/wiring theme of their windows – (inspired in turn by the award-winning Plumen light bulb).

It was created by film maker and costume designer Lucy Butler, with Jo Stobbs playing the mysterious and mischief-making piece of wiring.

Here are some photos of Jo doing the performance art in the Chelsea windows.  

The display itself looks suitably fabulous – with all our favourite Christmas gift ideas dotted in amongst the bright red wiring- the instantly recognisable Plumen lightbulbs rising up like triffids at varying points around the grid.

And ooh – is that some of the brand new Conran Bath & Body range we can spy down there at the bottom…?!

View our Christmas gift guide here:  http://www.conranshop.co.uk/christmas-by-Design/

Read more about Jo’s performance here on the Conran Shop blog.

Look at that amazing Plumen light bulb tree!