WHAT IS ‘MARKET’?
High Point Market is a furniture design show exclusively for interior designers, architects, and furniture store owners, where all the new styles and products are introduced. Located in High Point, NC, the show draws around 150,000 professionals each year. The city of High Point houses skyscraper buildings and an entire transit system open just two weeks a year for the market. There are over 2,000 showrooms in 180 buildings, with 12 million square feet to explore and gain inspiration from. The first market was in 1909, targeted to the South, and today, designers and architects from over 100 countries attend!
As a company, we eagerly anticipate our yearly visit to the High Point Market, and it’s not just us – so do all the ‘design greats.’ It’s a thrill to stroll through the vendor showrooms and bump into the likes of Joanna Gaines or Barry Dixon, casually admiring the same furniture pieces as we are.
WHAT NEW STYLES WERE SHOWN AT MARKET?
This year at the market, there were some continuous themes that we saw, and rest assured, they will make their way into designs over the next few years.
Texture continues to be incorporated into everything from unique lighting details to fabrics, to added details showcasing a unique texture on wood furniture. Deep rich bold colors were everywhere at the market. Think beautiful red wine burgundy, a punchy rich deep blue, silk olive green, and a spiced nutmeg color.
But what those rich bold colors are partnered with in a design brought the most fun new inspiration and was showcased across the market. A red wine Burgundy partnered with its lighter counterpart, a soft mauve. A deep blue with a light lavender or a chocolate brown partnered with a sage green…. It was the balance of rich and bold with soft and calm. Beautiful!
Be sure to check out our social media for some further insight into what we saw at Market!
WHAT WE ENJOYED THE MOST AS A TEAM?
Our Business & Logistics Director, Emma Mauvais & Junior Designer, Yliana Kolosseus, experienced High Point Market for the first time this year! When asked her favorite part of Market, Yliana responded with, “My favorite part of attending the High Point Market was the opportunity, as a designer, to see and experience firsthand the quality of products we are considering for our clients’ homes. By touching and feeling the materials, examining the craftsmanship and details, and seeing the products in person, I am able to better assess their suitability for specific projects and ensure that they meet our clients’ expectations.
In addition to this, the chance to network with other professionals in the industry, attend educational seminars and events, and gain inspiration from the latest design trends and styles was definitely a highlight.”
As a team, we got the opportunity to tour Thayer Coggin’s manufacturing plant and showroom. Thayer Coggin is one of our vendors, and we’ve used their bespoke pieces in very select projects over the past 10 years. They are the very definition of timeless modern design, and their furniture craftsmen are some of the best in the world. Each piece is bench-made and meticulously fussed over and built with the highest quality of materials. They study and take cues from techniques seen in shipbuilding. They also partnered with NASA for their seat support strap system because nothing else was up to Thayer’s standard. To have our entire team see ‘behind the curtain’ of luxury furniture manufacturing and get to talk with the distinguished craftsmen was truly an honor and a highlight!
WHAT CAN YOU EXPECT TO SEE IN OUR DESIGNS INSPIRED BY MARKET?
The word ‘trend’ was hardly uttered at Market. The focus was on statement, durable, well-crafted pieces, so we plan on continuing to focus on timeless design. As we look to being earth-friendly, we will continue to incorporate furniture pieces into our designs that don’t need to be replaced in a few short years or end up in a landfill. Instead, they are loved, used, and adored for years, and hopefully for generations.
Keeping timeless design as the priority, additionally “our goal is to push creative boundaries with each project, delivering innovative and unique solutions that surpass our clients’ expectations,” expresses Yliana [Junior Designer].
Rich beautiful fabrics will be more of a focus as we move into our furniture designs of 2023 and 2024. Introducing a more diverse color scheme balancing subtle and bold in the same space will be an exciting touch we want to bring into our future designs.
The lighting industry really outdid itself this market and showcased gorgeous uniquely designed fixtures. With production technology increasing and companies hiring designers on staff, even the ‘cost-friendly’ lighting suppliers are introducing many new collections that are nothing short of stunning sculptural art for your home. You will see lots of gorgeous lighting fixtures in our designs from new builds to additions of lighting into our furniture/furnishings projects!
In conclusion, High Point Market remains a prominent event for the design industry, bringing together professionals from all over the world to explore the latest styles and products. This year’s market showcased the continued trend of incorporating texture, deep rich bold colors, and the balance of rich and bold with soft and calm. We’re excited to show off our findings from this year’s Market and implement them in our project’s designs!
