1993
Ross Lovegrove
Working at the intersection of technology, intelligent organic form and materials science, Ross Lovegrove is one of Britain’s most notable designers. He started his career as a designer for Frog Design in West Germany, working for companies such as Sony and Apple. Lovegrove went on to work throughout Europe, returning in England in 1986 to establish his own design practice. Since then, he has collaborated with some of the world’s most outstanding design manufacturers including Airbus, Biomega, Herman Miller and Kartell.
Lovegrove was chosen to be the first selector for the Conran Foundation Collection in 1993, and his choices set the standard to come. Contrary to the prevailing expectation, Lovegrove deliberately avoiding choosing iconic and well-known designs; instead, his careful selection paid homage to under-acknowledged yet sophisticated examples of design, ranging from coat hangers and peppermills to airline cutlery and a can of Gillette shaving gel.
The following items from the collection have been donated to the Design Museum By the Conran Foundation
Cross Check armchair (1992) - Frank Gehry - Knoll International, USA
‘Miami’ garden chair - Grosfillex, France
Hilly (1992) - Achille Castiglioni - Cassina, Italy
Apple Newton MessagePad (1993) - Apple Computer, USA
Clothes Hanger (1992) - Konstantin Grcic - Progetto Oggetto, Cappellini, Italy
Clothes Hanger/Brush (1992) - Konstantin Grcic - Progetto Oggetto, Cappellini, Italy
‘Voila Voila’ (1992) - Philippe Starck - Alessi, Italy
Tap - USA
All-weather tile switch - USA
Food storage carton - Sainsburys, UK
Persona (1990) - Mario Bellini - Lamy, Germany
Salt and pepper pot - Mishka Miller - Keith Munro, UK
Chopsticks
‘Working’ carpet tile - Zaha Hadid - Vorwerk, Germany
Cigarette lighters - Michiko Koshino - Sarome, Japan
MUJI toothbrush - MUJI, Japan
‘Rialto’ plastic spectacles - Nannini, Italy
Bicycle helmet - Specialized, USA
Contour 860 bicycle saddle - Selle Royal, Italy
MUJI aluminium mug / cup - MUJI, Japan
Olpe Acetiera olive oil & vinegar set (1987) - Angelo Mangiarotti - Collevilca, Italy
Peppermill (1991) - Andrea Branzi - Twergi / Alessi, Italy
Cheese grater (1987) - Enzo Mari - Zanini & Zanini, Italy
Sapporo beer can - Sapporo, Japan
FSB 1020 Lever Handle (1953) - Johannes Potente - FSB, Germany
FSB 1023 Lever Handle (1953) - Johannes Potente - FSB, Germany
Retractable hose - Hozelock, UK
Vittel water bottle (1.5 litre) - Limited edition version by Patrick Cook - Vittel, France
Stanley knife - Stanley Tools, UK
Merkur Futur adjustable safety razor - Merkur Futur, Germany
Gillette shaving gel - Gillette, UK
In-flight plastic cutlery set - Joe Colombo - Alitalia, Italy
Baby feeding bottle with silicon teat - Tommee Tippee, UK
Campagnolo Biodynamica water bottle - Campagnolo, Italy
Oakley M-Frame sunglasses (1991) - Jim Jannard - Oakley, USA
Olympus μ[mju:] camera (1991) - Maitani Yoshihisa - Olympus, Japan
Olympus μ[mju:]-1 limited-edition camera (1991) - Maitani Yoshihisa - Olympus, Japan
‘Long Reach’ watering can - Plysu, UK
Organic cutlery (1990) - Ross Lovegrove - Pottery Barn, USA