Quick answer
Heather Lundervold is the founder and lead instructor of Christmas Design Institute, a school that trains people to design holiday décor professionally. She has spent more than 26 years in luxury design, her firm decorates for more than 100 clients each season, and she founded both a professional association (PAHD) and a twice-yearly industry conference (HolliCon) for holiday designers.
Most people think of Christmas decorating as a weekend chore. Heather Lundervold treats it as a profession, one with standards, certifications, a trade association and a career path.
She has the résumé to back that up. Over more than 26 years in luxury design, her firm, Elves to the Rescue, has decorated private estates, resorts, hotels and retail spaces, along with homes for professional athletes and celebrities. National brands including FOX Broadcasting Company, PayPal, Wigwam Resort, Discount Tire and Marriott have hired it. Today she spends much of her time teaching others to do the same work.
Key takeaways
- Lundervold ran a floral business for more than a decade and sold the seven-figure company to focus on luxury holiday design and education.
- She founded Christmas Design Institute after seeing almost no structured training in the holiday design industry.
- Her firm, Elves to the Rescue, serves more than 100 clients each season, including national brands such as FOX, PayPal and Marriott.
- She founded PAHD (the Professional Association of Holiday Designers) and HolliCon, the International Conference of Holiday Design, which meets in St. Louis in February and Pittsburgh in April.
- Her work has appeared in USA Today, ELLE Decor, Phoenix Home & Garden and Taste of Home.
How did Heather Lundervold get into holiday design?
Lundervold was an entrepreneur from the start. She bought a floral business and ran it successfully for more than a decade. Then she sold the company, by then a seven-figure business, to focus entirely on luxury holiday design and professional education.
Her floral training still shows. She is certified by the American Institute of Floral Designers and holds a marketing degree from Arizona State University. That combination of craft and commerce runs through everything she builds now.
Why did she start Christmas Design Institute?
As her design firm grew, Lundervold kept running into the same gap: there was almost no structured training for people who wanted to do this work professionally. Talented decorators were learning by trial and error, and few were taught how to price, sell or run a seasonal business.
Christmas Design Institute was her answer. The school pairs creative technique with business strategy, and students tend to come for one of three reasons:
- To decorate their own homes like a professional.
- To launch a profitable holiday design business.
- To add seasonal services to an existing interior design or décor business.
The curriculum is built around frameworks and systems that prepare designers for professional certification, employment and profitable design careers.
What are PAHD and HolliCon?
Lundervold also wanted the field itself to be taken seriously. She founded PAHD, the Professional Association of Holiday Designers, which she serves as president, to unite designers through education, community, industry partnerships, employment opportunities and professional credibility.
She also created the International Conference of Holiday Design, known as HolliCon, which meets twice a year: in St. Louis, Missouri in February and in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in April. For a craft that often happens alone in clients’ homes, the conference gives designers a place to learn from each other.
What can business owners learn from her approach?
Lundervold’s career is a case study in turning a seasonal craft into a year-round business. A few principles stand out:
- Treat the craft as a profession. Certification, a trade association and a conference all signal to clients that holiday design is skilled work worth paying for.
- Pair creativity with business training. Her students learn pricing and operations alongside design, which is what makes the work sustainable.
- Teach what you practice. Her firm still designs for more than 100 clients a season, so what she teaches comes from current, real projects.
She also brings that message to campuses and to the design trade. She travels to colleges to talk with students about careers in holiday design, and she offers interior designers a continuing-education course called High Profit Strategies. She has served as ASID Professional Development Chair and Gala Co-Chair.
Frequently asked questions
Who is Heather Lundervold?
Heather Lundervold is the founder and lead instructor of Christmas Design Institute, owner of Elves to the Rescue professional holiday design, and president of PAHD, the Professional Association of Holiday Designers.
What is Christmas Design Institute?
Christmas Design Institute is a school for holiday design. It trains people to decorate their own homes like professionals, launch holiday design businesses, or add seasonal services to existing design businesses, and it prepares designers for professional certification.
What is HolliCon?
HolliCon, the International Conference of Holiday Design, is a twice-yearly conference for holiday designers founded by Heather Lundervold. It meets in St. Louis, Missouri in February and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in April.
Where has Heather Lundervold’s work been featured?
Her work and expertise have appeared in USA Today, ELLE Decor, Phoenix Home & Garden, Taste of Home and Arizona Foothills Magazine, and on Arizona TV channels 3, 5 and 12.
Learn more
To explore holiday design classes and certification, visit Christmas Design Institute at christmasdesigninstitute.com.
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