Sophie conran

Family

Sophie Conran is the only daughter of designer and restaurateur Sir Terence Conran and food writer Caroline Conran. She is the sister of fashion designer Jasper Conran, restaurateur Tom, artist Edmund and product designer Sebastian. Sophie has two children, Felix and Coco.

Career

After leaving school at 17, Sophie worked as an apprentice for couture milliner Stephen Jones before joining the fashion team at the studio of her brother Jasper. Following this thorough immersion in the fashion world, Sophie interior-designed apartments and show flats in the Butler’s Wharf development and overhauled the Design Museum Shop’s collections where she also acted as a buyer. At the same time, she worked as a buyer for The Conran Shop and eventually launched her own store ‘Wong Singh Jones’ (W11). Nicknamed ‘corner shop to the world’, it showcased a tantalising selection of cultural icons.

At 20, Sophie bought her Bayswater flat, then a cluster of unpromising bed-sits. She reunited the rooms, renovated and decorated throughout. Shown to friends and family, private interior design commissions followed. Her base to this day, Sophie recently bought a small adjoining flat, renovated it and incorporated it into her beautiful home.

In the early 90’s, Sophie lived in Australia her where projects included design direction and new product development for the home-wares range of Country Road. Whilst there, she fell in love with a rammed-earth shack tucked away in the rugged terrain of the state of Victoria. The shack was but a shell, replete with outside loo. Sophie’s delicate hand turned it into a cosy weekend retreat.

On returning to the UK, Sophie worked for her father accessorising his restaurants whilst renovating a dilapidated farm in Devon, rearing pigs and growing vegetables. With a large garden Sophie’s horticultural skills, honed in Australia and at the Chelsea Physic Garden, were put to good use. After a few years Jasper tempted her back to work as a Colour Director and then as a Product Manager in an variety of areas. Ties remain close with Sophie stepping in to help on Jasper’s magnificent Sackville Street townhouse store before the 2005 opening.

Sophie Conran Pies, a capsule collection of handmade top quality, gourmet pies launched in 2004 -winners of 4 Fine Food Awards in 2005 - were not her first foray into the food world. Back in her twenties Sophie first created a supper club and then collaborated with brother, Tom. Together they set up a catering company, throwing glamorous and unusual parties, an experience that helps in her role as patron for Breakthrough for Breast Cancer’s Breakthrough Banquet initiative, now in its second year.

Sophie’s debut cookbook - Pies - was published in November 2006 by Harper Collins (£12.99). She has written food & entertaining stories for many UK titles and for the last two years has been a contributing editor to Junior magazine with a double Food Notes page. Sophie is currently working on two new cookbooks, the first of which - Soups & Stews - will be published by Collins on the 6th of October 2008.

In March 2006, Sophie’s 60 piece kitchen and tableware range for Portmeirion launched nationwide in the UK. Its phenomenal success - including an Elle Deco Style Award for Best in Kitchens 2006 - prompting orders from around the globe (currently sold in 55 countries). The range has expanded to 120 pieces and Sophie is always working on further stories to add to it. Due to the massive demand in America a beautiful new range, launches exclusively in the USA in April 2008.

In recent months, Sophie has completed a couple of new design projects. Her re-designed Drummonds of Chelsea showroom launched in May 2008 and a series of wall-coverings, created for Arthouse, have just started to be sold exclusively in B&Q stores nationwide.

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