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Christine Van Der Hurd is a grande dame in the world of rugs. For over half a century, she has designed kantha stitch flatweaves, rugs, dhurries, bedspreads, textiles and cushions. Biba, Liberty, Louis Vuitton and many others have turned to his designs.
The Portobello Road studio of his eponymous company, VanderhurdIt is a bright but orderly produce bazaar, and is open by appointment. Housed in a 19th-century stable and former garage, the space was once his family’s home, which his parents converted in the late 1960s, when Portobello was in its bohemian heyday. Hung with her own textiles and sketches, as well as her collection of photographs, the pale walls are punctuated by bursts of aubergine and orange paint, created with interior designer Rachel Chudley.
The current showroom is located in the old hall. Instead of her parents’ Bargello tapestries and 18th-century European furniture, the interior is filled with shelves packed with thousands of her colorful rug and fabric samples. Her creations range from psychedelic florals to graphic zig-zags and clean-lined checkerboard styles (from £140 for fabrics, from £388 per m2 for rugs). The designs often begin with a pencil sketch before being rendered in gouache on paper and then translated to computer by one of his small six-person team.
Clients, including Interior Designers Rita Konig and Adam Bray, turn to Van Der Hurd for their unparalleled knowledge of textiles and the vast scope of the studio’s customization capabilities – each piece is created to order. Working with Indian embroiderers and weavers, the rugs are hand-knotted and woven to the client’s needs, and Van Der Hurd can design any item – whether curtains, cushions or an upholstered headboard – including fabric to order. There’s also a small collection of wallpapers available (from £420 for 10m) along with ready-made embroidered cushions in everything from stylized, geometric florals to understated constructivist designs (from £200).
“I grew up surrounded by Persian rugs, textiles and tapestries,” says Van Der Hurd, whose father, an antiques dealer and decorative arts specialist, ran two nearby galleries frequented by Margot Fonteyn and Princess Margaret. She started her own collection of fabrics, from Burmese silks to Rajasthani Valkyrie embroidery, as a child. “Textiles add a lot of warmth and color to a room,” she says. “But more than that, they have the power to bring back memories and comfort.” Once immersed in its tactile and textured world, it is difficult to leave it. Customers come for a cushion and stay all afternoon.
This month, Van Der Hurd has joined London designer Jermaine Gallacher to create Torch, a collection of seven hand-knotted rugs (from £4,130) and three runners, as well as stools (from £950) and cushions (from £360). It is based on his 1991 collection Elements and Beyond, which was inspired by 16th-century astrological engravings and intertwined inscriptions from Baudelaire’s symbolist poetry. The new handwoven collaboration scales back the original palette but enhances the patterns.
What advice do you offer to someone starting with a blank canvas? “Starting with a rug is really important,” says Van Der Hurd, pulling out a striking array of hemp and silk moiré flatweaves. “More than a painting on the floor, it is an heirloom that can inspire an entire room.”
Vanderhurd, 17 Portobello Road, London W11; vanderhurd.com
The Torch collection by Christine Van Der Hurd and Jermaine Gallacher will be available from November 4