The Most Fun Time of the Year!
(For Interior Designers)
It’s been two long years since I attended High Point Furniture Market. It’s hard to imagine but High Point is a town that opens twice a year for the Furniture Market, and it is also not a small town. Picture many tall and small buildings with floors of furniture, carpets, lighting, accessories… all to the trade.
I’m lucky enough to have a husband that loves it, so it becomes a mini vacation for him. Meanwhile, I’m lost in the visual overload that is furniture, lighting, carpets, and accessories. So much to see, never enough time to see it all.
The excitement is palpable when you arrive by bus from your hotel which runs shuttles back and forth. Cars were difficult to come by this year. The trick is to begin early 9:00 AM and stay as late as your feet will allow, for us that was about 7:00 PM. The best way to see everything is on foot. We were clocking almost 5.5 walking miles a day. There is also education for designers with seminars at showrooms and ideas on best business practices and trends in our industry.
For me, it’s also an opportunity to meet my Reps that I have been dealing with only by phone for the last 2 years as well as establish new relationships with companies I’d like to do business with. If you didn’t know about the delays in the furniture supply chain and haven’t experienced this occurrence, you are very lucky. Meeting a Rep at market for me has been helpful in getting a more detailed answer for my clients on the delays. So much of my work is about relationships – not only with my clients but with the people I’m ordering goods from. Taking the time to go meet someone from a company is important. You get better service.
There is also fun.
The parties at the end of the day beginning around 5 are great for meeting colleagues and sharing ideas and experiences. Plus you get to sit down on very comfortable furniture while enjoying food and drinks.
Please remember there is no substitute for actually sitting on furniture. 8-way hand-tied furniture with a hardwood frame will always be more comfortable and last longer than something that is not constructed in this fashion. All bodies are different and have their unique profile of what is comfortable. It’s personal. So take the time to sit on furniture before you buy it.
The newest thing I found at market were some of the fabrics. I will be posting some of them that I brought home with me. Let’s just say lots of cozy “sheepy” and flannel soft options. I’m not sure how great the “sheepy” look will wear in a household but it was fun to see something new. The fabrics have always been my favorite thing about this work.
I can’t wait to share my new finds with you. This is where I get my inspiration to create unique interiors for my clients. which is why you work with an interior designer.
All the best,
Courtenay
PS – Follow me on Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn for all my Spring Market finds.