Bernard Oord had a sizable and unique output as a professional textile designer, and was active as such from the mid-thirties till the late sixties in the previous century. During those years he produced a great many unique series of collections in a wide range of different textile products for a worldwide clientele.

These products ranged from delicate lace of intricate design to the richly patterned damask and brocade fabrics. As a designer he most enjoyed solving the technical problems inherent in designing for the more complex demands of the Jacquard loom. Bernard Oord was born on October 13, 1907 in Noord-Eschmarke, a small hamlet located in the most eastern parts of the province of Overijssel in The Netherlands.

He came from a large, protestant family that he shared with twelve siblings, two of which died shortly after birth, and of which he was the fifth son. His parents were Wolter Oord an offspring of Frisian ancestry, and a keeper of a modest shop, and Johanna Brefeld born in Germany of German parents. He married Enochina Kloos, and she bore him four children.