Jeweler Nina Runsdorf Conceives a Home and Salon to Showcase Her Creative Passions

When Runsdorf decided to combine her former Madison Avenue atelier with her Park Avenue apartment, she turned to her friend revered designer Tony Ingrao for direction. She knew she wanted to fill the new multifunctional concept with her most treasured possessions but needed some assistance to make it truly sing. Ingrao suggested refreshing her beloved Vladimir Kagan serpentine sofa in celadon mohair velvet by Zimmer + Rohde.

“It’s really things I’ve collected my whole life, and now I can show them all in one space,” says Runsdorf, who tasked the designer with cultivating an interior that’s both modern and classic, keeping the integrity of the architecture while revealing the many facets of her personality. That duality unfolds in a Campana Brothers mirror displayed above a marble mantelpiece with a wildly colored Quentin Curry side table nearby. Ceramics by Pablo Picasso and a scarified vessel from a collaboration she did with Andile Dyalvane for Southern Guild share pride of place with an Ado Chale aluminum-and-lacquered-steel cocktail table. “Being surrounded by all these things I love inspires me,” Runsdorf explains. “In most cases I know the people who made them personally, and there’s a story that comes with each one.”

Looking at the jewelry she creates, it’s clear how these sparks come to fruition in individualized ways. Using a stone-driven approach, she draws out the distinct personality of each gem, conjuring inventive, era-bending pieces that can feel simultaneously uptown and downtown. The connection to her art, however, can be quite literal. “Sometimes I might see stones in a certain color that makes me think of a painting, and I can pull from that palette,” says Runsdorf, who launched a limited edition of her signature Flip rings based on hues taken from her personal collection, which includes artworks by Richard Prince, John Chamberlain, and Adam McEwen.

However, Runsdorf’s plans for the atelier go far beyond showing off her slice diamond earrings, All That Is gold-and-diamond rings, and jaw-dropping high-jewelry Muzo emerald pieces. Pop-ups with fashion brands as well as gallery shows for artists and artisans are in the works to form a rotating calendar of events. But in the end, the aura of the place is the perfect distillation of the jeweler and the collector herself.

A version of this article first appeared in print in our 2024 Late Fall Issue under the headline, “Sparkling Conversation.” Subscribe to the magazine.