The Conran Shop has been a standby resource for home furnishings, inspiration and household gifts since Terence Conran opened the New York City location in 1999. Nestled next to the Queensboro Bridge on the corner of First Avenue and 59th Street, the (mostly) underground store is a massive 22,500 square feet of furniture, home accessories, tabletop and kitchen wares, books, bedding, lighting and more...
The furniture selection blends Conran's own designs (Content by Conran) with modern classics from large distributors like Kartell, Vitra, Herman Miller, and Magis. More eclectic designs from Moooi, Moroso and much smaller designers are thrown in, too. A portion of the designs are exclusive to the Conran Shop and in some cases, The Conran Shop is the only distributor in the United States. This is what makes this store so special — there is always something new and unique.
Prices at Conran range as greatly as the kinds of things they sell. From the very expensive ($10,000+ for a Moroso sofa) to inexpensive kitchen gadgets and office supplies. The store hosts periodic sales of 10 - 20% off furniture purchases and annual sales of floor models and discontinued items are a great way to pick up great stuff at a discount.
The Conran Shop is also home to a showroom for The Shade Store.
Personally, I've purchased shelving, towels, office supplies and lots of tabletop and kitchen wares here. The Conran Shop is a great store for finding gifts. What do you like about The Conran Shop?
(Images: Aaron Able)
THE CONRAN SHOP
• Color Inspiration from The Conran Shop
• Look! Cork Bathroom Footstool at the Conran Shop
| Website: | www.conranusa.com |
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© 2009 Apartment Therapy
yes, dreamy merch abounds... but for non-NY'ers their website is quite limited and never seems to have the items that are featured in places like AT or formerly Domino. I've even tried calling about pieces and the experience was Kafka-esque at best. What about HABITAT! Now that's a UK company that I would LOVE to see set up shop Stateside. Great design, solid quality and much more user friendly.
view zufrieden's profile
Conran's was a brilliant concept 15 years ago, but in the years since, there are many, many retailers that have come along that do it better for the same price or less. They simply haven't kept up with a rapidly shifting market. A decade or two ago, cutting edge contemporary furniture was hard to find, slow to evolve, and cost a fortune. Now you have easily accessible companies like CB2 and West Elm doing major line revisions two or three times a year to keep things fresh at a price no one could have imagined in 1999. You have boutique manufacturers like Blu-Dot and Mash Studios selling directly to the public or widely available at independent stores. You have companies like Jesse Italia and Camerich importing quality, lower cost versions of high end Italian design. You have contemporary fashion names like Calvin Klein moving into the department store furniture section of Macy's. Even the high priced european big boys like B&B Italia and Ligne Roset have stepped up their game with faster and bigger line revisions (to keep the "knock off" trade on their toes) and a more aggressive outreach to the buying public.
Yet, at Conran's, its really as if not a day has gone by. Their prices, editing, and presentation have all been exceedingly slow to evolve. And that's too bad, because there was a day when they set the bar.
view RichardinLA's profile