High Point Market Trip 2022

This year, I had the privilege to bring my small team to High Point Market, and we had an absolute BLAST! Our trip started off as we arrived at the airport to travel to North Carolina. We spent three exhaustingly amazing days exploring Market, visiting showrooms & attending speaking events, and then caught our breath on the plane as we headed back home to Scottsdale. After many jam-packed days of design, inspiration & education, we are so excited to share our experience with you!

WHAT IS MARKET?

‘Market’ is held in High Point, North Carolina, and has been going on for over 110 years. Thousands of manufacturers from around the world set up showrooms for one week each Fall and Spring to display their new furniture collections throughout 180 buildings. There are over 10 million square feet of design to go through (well if it were physically possible to go through it all in only one week.)

In addition to manufacturer showrooms, the design industry pulls in the best of the best to offer seminars, specialized classes, and panel discussions where designers and business owners can learn from each other. Market then adds a nightlife element as well (which is welcomed after the miles you walk each day.) There are private dinners to be invited to, parties to attend, and wine to drink… LOTS of wine!

THE TEAM’S THOUGHTS ABOUT MARKET

Marti [Junior Designer] has been to High Point Market with Alisha Taylor Interiors quite a few times and always enjoys “the buzzy feeling of being around so many designers & design products, and seeing the newest collections that nobody has seen yet!” When asked what her favorite part about this particular Market Trip was, she responded, “I was so glad they still had food everywhere! That sounds funny, but it meant that we have got through the time when we had to have so many restrictions for the pandemic. And I love seeing what each showroom does to get our attention and keep us interested & inspired – and for most of them, it’s adding food and drinks into the mix!”. While exploring at Market, Marti found it helpful going to the different events and listening to “other successful designers discuss how they run their businesses, what they charge, and how they keep their clients happy & projects profitable in the current market.”

Madi [Junior Designer] and Rebecca [Marketing Director] experienced High Point Market for the first time. After encountering the magic of Market, Madi stated, “My favorite part of Market was seeing online pieces of furniture in person, browsing all the fabric samples gave me total heart eyes, and the food (especially the cake pops) definitely won me over as well!” After exploring for three whole days, she was surprised to see that Market was as spread out as it was. She says, “It was amazing how some showrooms had their own storefront. I was so used to the Las Vegas market and was mainly expecting just sky-scraping towers of furniture showrooms. I was also surprised to be in the same room as big-name designers like Bria Hammel, that was totally cool!” Something Madi learned and is excited to implement in our new designs, “is that as designers, we can be more creative with how we apply fabrics to furniture. Instead of making a chair just a solid blue, we can add a contrasting welt to the cushions or back it with complimenting fabric.”

Our Marketing Director, Rebecca, learned a lot at the marketing events held by our industry peers, “and is excited to take what was discussed, and implement them as we focus on elevating our brand & continue to capture our dream clients.” As our only non-designer employee, Rebecca states, “It was an amazing experience to see what Alisha & our junior designers source for our clients in person, and to be able to recognize the level of quality in these luxury pieces.”

ALISHA’S THOUGHTS ABOUT MARKET

I absolutely LOVED the energy at Market! There was certainly a buzz and creative excitement in the air.  In the past, I’ve enjoyed the speakers, classes, and CEU classes offered at Market. As a small business owner, I’m constantly trying to learn and make my business better, so it is a treat to come to a seminar or class, meet other design professionals around the country, and learn together. It’s inspiring!

Market 2022 was special for me because after a couple of years of canceled or scaled back markets ….the buzz and excitement are back! Now as an established interior design business attending Market, we spent time as a team exploring and learning about potential new vendors and did a deep dive into each of our current vendors learning about their new collections and the custom options we get to design into our projects.

Because I’ve attended market so many times in the past, it’s not necessarily about learning something brand new, but a reminder of what is already at our fingertips as designers. Market acted as a recharge of our creative battery, and a reminder of the beauty & artistry that exists in the design world that I feel blessed to be a part of!

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