Business of Home Podcast The first lady of textiles: celebrating 50 years of design with Christine Van Der Hurd
Christine Van Der Hurd is the founder of the iconic textile and rug studio Vanderhurd. After graduating from Winchester School of Art, she moved to New York in 1977 and quickly immersed herself in the city’s creative underground—spending time with Robert Mapplethorpe, Annie Leibovitz, and the Studio 54 crowd.
She began her career designing prints for fashion houses like Yves Saint Laurent and Liberty of London. Her work soon caught the attention of design legends like Angelo Donghia and Jack Lenor Larsen, leading to large-scale commissions for custom rugs and textiles. Over the course of her 50-year career, Christine has collaborated with some of the most distinguished designers in the industry. In 2024, House & Garden honored her with its Lifetime Achievement Award.
On this episode of the podcast she speaks with host Dennis Scully about what it was really like arriving in New York in the late ’70s; how she learned to speak up for her business interests while working alongside her husband; and why designers like Kit Kemp and Rita Konig bring her in—not just to source– but to help shape their most important projects.
This episode is sponsored by Loloi