During the London Design Festival, running from 13-21 September, the Conran Shop will launch a new furniture collection, conceptualised by designer Francis Sultana. Titled Tamilla, the collection marks a return to the brand’s roots – echoing the refined, quintessentially European aesthetic championed by Sir Terence Conran, who founded the Conran Shop in 1973.
Tamilla will include an armchair, a daybed and a two-seater sofa, each featuring solid oak frames, natural rattan side panels and Belgian linen upholstery, available in three earthy tones, oatmeal, sage and dahlia. Complementing the seating options are marble side tables offered in Bulgari Red or Verde Marl, each resting on matching oak bases.
This is the Conran Shop doing what it does best: accessible, well-designed products grounded in minimalism but enriched with international flair. ‘Terence loved Europe – he brought a bit of France and Italy to London,’ says Sultana. Woven rattan was one such export, which features heavily in Tamilla.
But Sultana’s stamp is unmistakable. Known for his opulent yet restrained interiors, he brings a layer of sophisticated drama to Tamilla. Hints of the designer’s Maltese heritage come through in the use of noble materials and his reverence for craftsmanship.
In Tamilla, the fusion of styles is complementary – perhaps because of Sultana’s long-standing reverence for the Conran Shop. He recalls visiting as a teenager: ‘I was hugely inspired going there. It was a ritual on Saturdays to be on the Fulham Road, which was where all the great design and fashion shops were.’
‘The aesthetic of the Conran shop, to me, reflected the new modern outlook in British decoration. Terence’s curatorial choices, bringing his unique style into British homes via the high street, were truly a brand new lifestyle,’ the designer continues.
Although he describes his own style as more ‘avant-garde’, Sultana says that Tamilla ‘has the Conran aesthetic at its heart, but reinterpreted.'
‘I feel Terence would approve,' he adds.
Tamilla will launch in-store on 10 September 2025.
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