Trade Talks Tuesday: Roger Bennett on Six Decades of British Design, Retail and Staying Creative

Few people can look back on a career that spans more than six decades of British design and retail — from the creative energy of the 1960s to today's increasingly digital industry.

Roger Bennett can. His career has taken him from furniture design and teaching to major commercial interiors and retail, with work including the iconic GoGo chair and furniture for G-Plan. Along the way, he has experienced first-hand an extraordinary transformation in the way products are designed, sourced, sold and discovered.

Now 94, Roger is still working, painting and running In Time Gifts, while reflecting on his career in his autobiography, Chair Man. For this edition of Trade Talks Tuesday, we spoke with Roger about where his passion for design began, the industry he entered in the 1960s, the importance of physical retail, the impact of technology and what keeps him creating today.

About Roger Bennett & In Time Gifts

Roger Bennett is a British furniture designer and retailer whose career has spanned more than six decades. After studying furniture design at Wycombe Art School, he worked across furniture and commercial interiors, including roles with Goodearls Furniture, Hands of Wycombe, Evans International and G-Plan.

His designs include the internationally successful GoGo chair and the Quadrille bedroom furniture range. Roger later moved into retail and has spent decades running In Time Gifts, alongside serving for 23 years as a sub-postmaster.

At 94, he continues to work and create, including painting in acrylics, and has recently published his autobiography, Chair Man.

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You've had an extraordinary career spanning furniture design, retail and more than six decades of change in British design. Looking back, where did your passion for creating and designing things first begin?

I was always interested in drawing from an early age. I would spend my time drawing the Tube, London buses and builders, and I loved building theatre sets out of cardboard.

Fortunately, I won a scholarship to Wycombe Art School and later Senior Art, where I studied furniture design. I won a Royal Society of Arts Bursary, which allowed me to travel to Italy.

I didn't come from a privileged background, so I subsequently became a part-time lecturer in furniture at Wycombe to help support myself while developing my career.

Looking back, that interest in drawing, building and creating things was there from the very beginning.

You were designing furniture during one of the most exciting periods in British design, including the 1960s. How different was the industry then, and what do you think today's designers could learn from that era?

My first job was with Goodearls Furniture under the famous designer Eddie Clinch, who became my mentor and took me under his wing. He was responsible for much of the furniture design for the Festival of Britain.

I then joined Hands of Wycombe as a contract designer, which was fascinating because I travelled all over the country designing council chambers, synagogues, hotels and pubs, including projects for Mecca Dancing and Talk of the Town.

I also worked with an American interior designer on the rooftop restaurant at the Hilton on Park Lane when it was first built, and subsequently on the Hilton in Tehran.

I feel that much of that personal touch has been lost because of the computer age.

Designers today have extraordinary technology available to them, including AI, but I do wonder whether that can sometimes encourage more disposable design rather than the kind of personal involvement we had then.

The GoGo chair became one of your best-known designs and captured the spirit of 1960s pop culture. When you created it, did you have any idea that people would still be talking about it decades later?

I was working at Evans International when I was inspired to create the GoGo chair.

It became an international success and was exhibited in Paris, Amsterdam, Lyon and elsewhere. As you say, it really captured the spirit of the 1960s.

I certainly couldn't have known then that people would still be interested in it all these years later.

After that, I went on to design for G-Plan, where I created the successful Quadrille range of bedroom furniture together with the Form wall cabinets.

It's quite extraordinary to see designs from that period still being discussed today.

After such a long career, what do you think makes a design truly timeless? Is it originality, functionality, craftsmanship — or something harder to define?

I think it is very difficult to define, particularly in today's world when so much of our interaction now happens through computers and phones.

Looking back at designs that have lasted, though, I think there has to be something about them that connects with people beyond the period in which they were originally created.

Sometimes you simply can't predict which designs will have that longevity.

You've experienced the industry from both sides — as a designer creating products and as a retailer selling them. Has being a designer changed the way you judge a product when deciding whether it's right for your customers?

Being a designer hasn't really helped me when it comes to selecting gifts or cards for customers!

I do enjoy buying fashion jewelry and unusual gifts, though, and perhaps that's one of the reasons we've been established for so long.

What matters is giving people the opportunity to hold and touch products, which they simply can't do when ordering online.

It's also incredibly important to employ the right staff. Some of our 15 ladies are grannies, and that experience and personal interaction with customers really matters.

I have limited mobility now, so I run the shop some of the time using cameras and my phone, but I remain very involved in the business.

You've seen everything from traditional sales representatives and physical trade fairs to today's online sourcing platforms. What do you think we've gained from digital sourcing, and what do you think should never be lost from the traditional way of doing business?

Computers have made life so much easier.

Ordering, banking, wages, VAT and so many other parts of running a business are much simpler because of the technology we have today.

At the same time, I still think the personal element matters. Technology should make running a business easier, but there is still value in people being able to experience products and interact with one another.

You're still creating and working today and have recently published Chair Man, reflecting on your life and career. What has kept you curious and motivated to continue creating after all these years?

As I say in my book, I go to bed thinking I'm 35 and then wake up to realize I'm 94!

I was born in London during the Depression. We came from a very poor background and would move from rooms to rooms by horse and cart, so my life today is very different from where it began.

While my health permits, I think it's important to continually stay focused.

The business still takes up much of my time, but I also paint in acrylics. My latest painting is called Take Me to the Moon.

I've also had a very full personal life. My wife died of cancer around 30 years ago, and I've now lived with my partner for 27 years. Before we lived together, we decided to travel around the world to see whether we could actually live together!

We spent three months at sea and crossed the equator six times — and after 27 years, we're still together.

My autobiography, Chair Man, reflects on those different parts of my life and career, with the final chapter looking at old age — hopefully with some humor.

I think the important thing is simply to keep going, keep creating and remain focused for as long as you can.

Key Takeaways

• Creativity often starts early. Roger's career grew from a childhood fascination with drawing, building and making things.

• Mentorship can shape an entire career. Working under Eddie Clinch gave Roger experience rooted in an important period of British furniture design.

• Timelessness can't always be engineered. The continued interest in the GoGo chair shows how some designs outlive the cultural moment that created them.

• Physical retail still offers something digital cannot. Being able to hold, touch and experience a product remains valuable to customers.

• Technology is essential to modern retail. Digital tools have transformed everything from ordering and banking to wages and VAT.

• Efficiency shouldn't mean losing the personal touch. Roger embraces technology while recognizing the human interaction that has traditionally underpinned design and retail.

• Curiosity has no age limit. At 94, Roger continues to work, paint and create.

Roger Bennett's career offers a rare perspective on just how dramatically the worlds of design and retail have changed — and how much has remained constant.

Technology has transformed the mechanics of creating and running a business, but Roger's story also highlights the enduring value of creativity, personal interaction and physical experience. More than six decades after beginning his career, perhaps the most compelling lesson is the simplest: keep creating and stay curious.

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