I recently met up with the lovely ladies at Vanderhurd to see their latest besopke designs in fabrics, carpets, and accessories and was blown away.  Those who know my design aesthetic know I love color and Vanderhurd’s products do not disappoint in that category.  I have always been a huge fan of their products ( see my previous post on the Crosby Street Hotel in Soho) and was not let down by the latest additions. They offer endless options for carpets: hand woven flat weave wool, linen, hemp, hand-knotted cut pile and loop linen, silk, hand knotted cut pile Nepalese wool/ silk blend, felted wool, Tibetan silk, New Zealand wool….the list goes on and on); fabrics: block printed, hand stitched, hand printed, vintage; and accessories: cloisonné trays and lamps boasting chevron-esque geometric patterns reminiscent of a Missoni print..  A few of my dream carpets, fabrics, and accessories are below.

Above: The pruple, black, and ivory silk dhurrie (Rhonda Amethyst) is a fun choice for a room when paired with neutrals. I love the soft taupe and peach hexagonal silk dhurrie and would pair it with a neutral rough grasscloth on the walls for a livable but beautiful room.

Above: A silk grey and grey stripe dhurrrie with metallic threads woven through.  This would be an amazing runner in a stairwell.  The metallic threads catch the light and the grey is so soothing.

Above: Silk zig zag dhurrie in the most fabulous sorbet colors.  I am picturing this with high gloss lavender walls and white furniture.

Above: The green, black, and aqua carpet on top is a nice thick rug (Cordoba Emerald) made of hand knotted cut pile wool.  The black and white carpet below is made of 100% hemp and is surprisingly soft.  Vanderhurd has also come out with a line of sisal carpets that are truly beautiful.

Above: These linen carpets were a favorite.  I would love to use one instead of sisal.  The colors are so vibrant and the woven linen is beautiful.  The pattern you see above is a hand woven cut pile and a hand woven sumac- creating a tripe like pattern.

Above: Vanderhurd’s hand embroidered textiles are the ultimate in bespoke fabric. Employing intricate French knot, “Satin” and “Kanta” stitches, the collection is available on natural coloured linen or cotton cloth, or on any of the patterned fabrics, and has been designed to compliment their collection of hand printed textiles. In addition to the collection, they can embroider any design in any colour cotton thread on any cloth. The standard width of their base cloths is 44 inches, but requests for custom widths can be accommodated.

Above: more hand embroidered fabrics.

Above: Vanderhurd’s hand printed fabric designs are entirely modern in form and colour, although they derive from antique Indian block print motifs. This marriage of ancient techniques with contemporary design—informed by a great knowledge of the history of textiles, manifests their design philosophy. The textiles are hand block printed or hand screen printed on a selection of natural base cloths—linen, cambric or chanderi—and the colour palette reflects our quintessential juxtaposition of soft and vibrant shades.

Above: a few more examples of their hand embroidered fabrics

Above: Vanderhurd routinely designs custom pillows, bedspreads and headboards, and offers in house upholstery services.

Above: Antique African Indigos.  These Indigos are woven by the Koulongo and Abron weavers from the Bondoukou region of the Cote d’Ivoire and by the Nigerian Yoruba people.  These cloths were woven on small looms as narrow strips, which were then sewn into “Wrappers” worn as skirts by both men and women.  Vanderhurd New York’s Creative Director, Emilie Jean, an avid collector and dealer of tribal and antique textiles has introduced them to Vanderhurd’s repertoire.  Also, their presence in Vanderhurd’s showroom makes perfect sense, given Vanderhurd’s commitment to handmade, unique textiles, and to sustaining the culture and tradition of exceptional indigenous craftsmanship.

Above: The pale purple and pink silk and the gold silk with chartreuse border are two of Rocio Moreno’s silk fabrics.  Rocio Moreno, a well-known interior designer in Spain, has long been a traveler to India where she developed her collection of exquisite hand-woven silk brocade textiles.  The weavers she works with there are unique in that they continue to employ the complex technique of weaving silk brocades by hand, in the same way as they were produced in the 15^th and 16^th centuries in Venice as well as the Imperial Moghul court in India, where all the court rituals and its economic structure were built up around the symbolism, cost and almost mystical stature of the silk.  Today the weavers Moreno works with continue to produce silks for temples and palaces across the East, for the Dali Lama and the Royal Family of Nepal.  Moreno was fascinated by the workmanship, quality and texture of the brocades.  Up until the weavers produced her designs, they had only ever produced very traditional textiles.  Moreno’s designs are totally modern in form and colour, although they are derived from Ottoman motifs.  The result of this marriage of ancient techniques with contemporary design informed by a great knowledge of the history of textiles is Rocio Moreno’s collection, and as such, very much in the spirit of Vanderhurd.

Above: Their beautiful cloisonne trays and lamps.

To see many more examples of their beautiful work visit their website: http://www.vanderhurd.com/

xo,

S

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