I don’t usually write about retailers, preferring to focus on new and independent designers, but I was recently invited to see the new Habitat collection and I was really impressed. Habitat had lost its way over the last few years, which saddened me, because I think Habitat is a really important part of British design. It was founded in 1964 by Terence Conran initially to market his own range of furniture. Modestly attributing his success to the fact Habitat started stocking cheap pasta storage jars just as dried pasta was taking off in the UK, Terence Conran in fact revolutionised British design.
Credited with introducing the duvet to the UK, Habitat sold woks, bean bags, chicken bricks and Japanese paper lanterns to a public eager for change after the gloom of post-war Britain. Mary Quant designed the staff uniforms, and Vidal Sassoon did their hair. Its catalogues pioneered the idea of showing products grouped together in room sets, with happy young couples enjoying them.
Much copied and perhaps a victim of its own success; a series of mergers, acquisitions and restructures followed, until in 2011 what was left of Habitat was bought by the Home Retail Group, which also owns Argos. Consumers appealed to Terrance Conran to save his baby, as we suddenly woke up to what the British high street had lost.
But quietly, Habitat has gone away and reinvented itself. It has hired talented creative directors and given them the time and space to reconnect with what made Habitat special in the first place. They in turn have worked with designer makers all over the world – one range is entirely made in an old lady’s garden in Thailand. The Spring Summer 2013 collection celebrates that craftsmanship and individuality. “The hand of the maker is in evidence throughout,” says Polly Dickens, creative director. “Craftsmanship is central to the range – whether it’s an embroidered cushion cover, a hand-woven basket or a turned wood table.”
The colour palette is gorgeous too – a base of neutrals with shots of primary colours; and my very favourite colour combination, grey and yellow. Textures are layered, complex and interesting. Product ranges are designed to be mixed and matched, letting the customer to inject their own creativity into putting together their look, rather than buying it ‘off the shelf.’
“Layering techniques adds to their appeal; sometimes the effect is very subtle and it’s only when you pick up a cushion that you realise that the design has been both printed and stitched,” says Polly. “Underpinning this collection is not only the maker’s hand and eye, and the pleasure derived from knowing there’s a real person behind the piece.”
Further reading for the especially geeky:
- out and about :: design in cornwall
- out and about :: stockholm furniture fair
- out and about :: greenhouse at stockholm furniture fair
- out and about :: maison et objet
I am so happy that Habitat has found itself again. This new range looks much more like the kind of products I want to see from a store like Habitat. Long may it continue!