[1] Ilse von Randow was the daughter of Bruno Paul Eduard Henneberg, university professor, and Helene Mathilde Fritze.

[1] Von Randow had been taught to weave by her mother and she turned to these skills to support herself and her children, designing fabrics for local textile companies.

[1][2] Her loom had been dismantled and shipped from China to New Zealand, with which she started to create hand woven wall hangings that made her famous.

[1] In 1992, von Randow returned to New Zealand to take part in the 1950s Show at the Auckland Art Gallery, and decided to remain to be closer to family.

[1] In 2013, von Randow's curtains were the subject of a project at the Auckland Art Gallery by contemporary New Zealand artist Ruth Buchanan.