ROR was a British

interior design Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. An interior designer is someone who plans, researches, coordi ...

company founded by Robin Cruikshank and Ringo Starr. The pair had met when Robin Ltd., Cruikshank's company, aligned itself with

The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...

Apple Corps Apple Corps Limited (informally known as Apple) is a multi-armed multimedia corporation founded in London in January 1968 by the members of the Beatles to replace their earlier company (Beatles Ltd.) and to form a conglomerate. Its name (pron ...

. Cruikshank designed furniture for Starr's new house, Round Hill on Compton Avenue in the Highgate district of north-west London. The name of the company stands for Ringo or Robin. The company was incorporated in 1968 with its offices on the top floor of the

headquarters at 3

Saville Row Savile Row (pronounced ) is a street in Mayfair, central London. Known principally for its traditional bespoke tailoring for men, the street has had a varied history that has included accommodating the headquarters of the Royal Geographical ...

in the

West End of London The West End of London (commonly referred to as the West End) is a district of Central London, west of the City of London and north of the River Thames, in which many of the city's major tourist attractions, shops, businesses, government build ...

. Starr owned 51% of the company to Cruickshank's 49%. ROR's designs were placed on sale in the department stores of

Harvey Nichols Harvey Nichols is a British luxury department store chain founded in 1831, at its flagship store in Knightsbridge, London. It sells designer fashion collections for men and women, fashion accessories, beauty products, fine wines and luxury f ...

and

Liberty of London Liberty, commonly known as Liberty's, is a luxury department store in London, England. It is located on Great Marlborough Street in the West End of London. The building spans from Carnaby Street on the East to Kingly Street on the West, where ...

. The company closed in the mid 1980s. One piece designed by ROR was the

grille Grill or grille may refer to: Food * Barbecue grill, a device or surface used for cooking food, usually fuelled by gas or charcoal, or the part of a cooker that performs this function * Flattop grill, a cooking device often used in restaurants, ...

of a

Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...

car set into a stainless steel table. Starr had been inspired to create it after passing a car showroom near his house.

Notable projects

*A $10 million contract to design the interior of the Mushrif Palace in Abu Dhabi, UAE. *Seeb Palace, Oman. *The penthouse flat of the pornographer and property developer Paul Raymond at Fitzhardinge House in Marylebone and his subsequent flat in Arlington House in Piccadilly. Paul Willetts, Raymond's biographer, describes ROR's work for the Arlington House apartment as "gilt and silver" with a beige marble floor with mirrors in the lobby, dining room, bathroom and cocktail bar. Mirrors were also placed on the ceiling above Raymond's "vast troilism-friendly" bed. *The top floor flat of

Harry Nilsson Harry Edward Nilsson III (June 15, 1941 – January 15, 1994), sometimes credited as Nilsson, was an American singer-songwriter who reached the peak of his commercial success in the early 1970s. His work is characterized by pioneering vocal ov ...

at 9 Curzon Place in Mayfair. The bathrooms featured two etched glass mirrors, one of an oak tree and the other of a hangman's noose. This disturbed Nilsson who asked for it to be replaced.

References

{{Reflist

External links

A detailed blog on ROR with images
1968 establishments in England Design companies of the United Kingdom Interior design firms Ringo Starr