考研阅读精选：用双手去创造

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Make things with your hands
Dec 23rd 2011, 15:52 by G.D. | LONDON

  A DESIGNER, restaurateur and retailer, Sir Terence Conran has  significantly influenced the way we live and eat in Britain over the  past five decades. Beginning in 1964, his Habitat chain of stores helped  to introduce simple, well-designed housewares at affordable prices.  Decades later, his restaurants did much to introduce the country to fine  and stylish cuisine.
Sir Terence remains busy: having turned  80 in October, he recently launched a collection of housewares for  Marks & Spencer. A new retrospective of his work is also now on at  London’s Design Museum. That this museum even exists is in part due to  Sir Terence’s work in establishing its forerunner, called the  Boilerhouse, in the basement of the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1982.  The project’s success led to the opening of the Design Museum in 1989 at  its current spot in Shad Thames. Over the past 30 years the Conran  Foundation has supported the museum to the tune of £50m.
Why did you feel strongly about creating a design museum in London?
  I’d always been fascinated by Milan’s Triennale in my early years as a  designer. I saw how stimulating and influential it was for both students  and manufacturers to see the design of the best contemporary products  in the world. I started to dream about how something similar could  happen in the UK—so when I made serious money through the flotation of  Habitat I set up the Conran Foundation with the idea of creating a  permanent home in the UK for the display of modern design.
  Unlike many young designers today you learned how to make many things  with your hands, from brick-laying and pottery to welding. Do you think  that was important for your career as a designer?
  Absolutely—I have always related my work to the manufacturing process  and never designed anything I wouldn’t know how to make myself. As a  small child I remember my favourite present was a bag of wooden off cuts  and a pretty basic tool kit. After much pestering, my mother gave me a  space for a small workshop and allowed me to set up a wood fired pottery  kiln. There is no doubt it is where I first began to develop the  curious mind of a designer. I think it is vital for any designer to roll  their sleeves up and get heavily involved in the making process because  it helps you get a deeper level of understanding about design and how  it relates to the consumer.
Do you think all designers should learn to 'make' things without using a computer?
  While we must embrace computers, we must not become slaves to them—the  best ideas always start with an HB pencil and a sheet of plain paper.