This month, the interior design community will make its way to High Point Market in North Carolina to preview industry manufacturers’ forthcoming debuts in furniture, lighting, decor, and more and to scope out upcoming interiors trends. Here, AD PRO maps out the furniture industry’s largest trade show in North America and explains everything you need to know about this fall’s edition.
What, When, and Where It Is
High Point Market is a semiannual furniture design show, held in April and October, open exclusively to the trade. Located in downtown High Point, North Carolina, the show draws more than 75,000 interior designers, architects, and home furnishings buyers each season. Official show dates for the spring edition are October 14 through 18.
How to Buy a Ticket
Ticket lines at the fair will take away valuable product-viewing time, so we recommend registering for the fair ahead of time online. Passes can also be picked up on-site at any major market building, including the International Buyers Center, Market Square, and IHFC. For those looking to outsource the hassle, High Point Market Authority‘s Market Concierge provides assistance for booking travel, shuttle transportation, hotels—and even offers a local’s suggestion on where to eat after a long day at the market.
How to Get to High Point Market
High Point Market spans more than 11 million square feet of showrooms in downtown High Point, North Carolina's downtown district (though there are several can’t-miss showrooms in the great city limits, too). Interstates 85 and 40 provide direct access for commuters, while airports in neighboring cities Greensboro (GSO), Raleigh-Durham (RDU), and Charlotte (CLT) offer free shuttles to Market multiple times a day. Luggage and coat checks are available at Showplace and the IHFC Commerce Wing.
What to Know About the Fair
Millions of square feet of show space calls for a well-planned schedule—and, of course, comfortable shoes. The fair’s 2,000-plus exhibitors span emerging makers to legacy furniture houses and the Antique & Design Center, a designer favorite for one-of-a-kind finds. For fair first-timers, Market’s official tours can be a great resource. Reserve a spot on the networking-focused Insider’s Tour or the various Style Spotters routes, which survey the trends in artisanal works, upholstery, lighting, and more.
The city’s downtown shuttles conveniently transport attendees from building to building free of charge during market, but private shuttles or car services can be ordered in advance for those looking to be ultra-efficient.
Where to Eat at High Point Market
Come lunchtime, the city’s best-kept secret is Parson’s Table, a bake sale–style fundraiser featuring homemade sandwiches, salads, and desserts located in the First United Methodist Church a short walk north of downtown. (Those in a rush can also experience a pop-up version downtown at The Point.) Market main streets like Commerce Avenue and South Elm Street also host a bevy of take-to-go food trucks. And select showrooms, such as Universal, offer dining options for visitors.
Design Collaborations Not to Miss
Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) x Natuzzi Italia
Wrapped in rotund cushions and ample in size, Natuzzi Italia’s Colle sofa epitomizes leisure, encouraging guests to get comfortable and linger. Yet even with its comfort-driven mentality, the Bjarke Ingels Group-designed piece is undeniably chic—and available in a wide assortment of leathers and upholstery fabrics. (130 W. Commerce Ave., Floor 1)
The Met x Eichholtz
Furniture maker Eichholtz will present a sweeping 90-piece collection in collaboration with one of the most esteemed arts institutions in the country, the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Featuring furniture, lighting, and decorative accessories that draw inspiration from the Met’s unmatched collection, the works—much like the museum’s galleries—speak to a range of stylistic preferences, from traditional and gilded to modern and minimal. (129 S. Hamilton St.)
Gee’s Bend Edition by the Philadelphia Museum of Art x Cloth & Company
In a stitching together of talent, Cloth & Company is partnering with the Philadelphia Museum of Art for an upcoming collaboration that spotlights the quilting community of Gee's Bend, Alabama. A tradition that arose out of necessity in the 19th century, when enslaved women started piecing together scraps of fabric and clothing, the abstract quilt-making was a radical evolution of the craft that still exists today. (The annual Gee’s Bend Airing of the Quilts Festival was held just this past weekend.) The collaborative new line will feature a series of upholstered furniture featuring the digitally reproduced work of six quilts from the museum’s collection. (220 Elm, Level 2, 212)
Paola Navone x Baker Furniture
For her debut collection with Baker, Italian architect and designer Paola Navone draws from the Mediterranean landscape to craft a collection using Murano glass and Carrara C marble, among other other poised materials. References to the Trevi Fountain, Mt. Etna, Ponte dei Sospiri bridge, and more are spotted within the line of upholstery, lighting, and tables. The richly textured cast Murano glass light fixtures are sure to enchant in person. (319 N. Hamilton St.)
Denise McGaha x Vervain
Denise McGaha has been promoting livable luxury for more than two decades, never shying away from color or pattern. The Dallas-based interior designer takes it up a notch with the Denise McGaha Collection for Vervain, an elevated mix of textiles and wall coverings featuring saturated jewel tones, embroidered accents, and nature-derived prints imbued with richness. (Market Square, Floor 2, 217)
Caitlin Wilson x Cooper Classics
Caitlin Wilson, interior designer and author of Return to Pretty: Giving New Life to Traditional Style, is bringing her pastel-hued, timelessly feminine sensibilities to Cooper Classics, where she’ll introduce seven new mirror designs this season. Expect playful scallop trims, as well as more ornate, Regency-style adornments. (IHFC, Design Center, Floor 5, D519)
Cheryl Luckett x Revolution Fabrics
For years, Dwell by Cheryl founder Cheryl Luckett has called upon Revolution Fabrics for her performance fabric needs in client projects and designer show houses. Eventually, the tables turned and it was Revolution Fabrics calling on her, with a request to partner on a line of upholstery fabrics. This market, the duo unveils the assortment of animal prints, classic patterns, and base cloths in a slew of genial colorways. (312 S. Hamilton St., Floor 3, Suite 303)
The Great Outdoors
As the requests for spaces suitable for indoor-outdoor living continue to increase, so too does the furniture market’s outdoor selection. This season, AD100 firm Carrier and Company marks its first foray into outdoor with 25 new pieces for the studio’s line with Century. Designed to be an extension of the interior, the array draws from trending interior styles including Danish midcentury and 1970s maximalism, with a materials palette consisting of rattan frames and bold, powder-coated finishes. (200 Steele, Floor 2, 213)
Also making its entrée into the outdoor furniture space, Hickory Chair will introduce four outdoor furniture collections by artist and designer Susan Hable. The collaboration calls upon traditional outdoor materials like metal and teak, as well as an Ecolene synthetic weave cane, which uses a method in which artisans start with one corner of the powder-coated aluminum frame and weave the cane like a basket until the end is tied off. (200 N. Hamilton St., Floor 3, 300)
Material Matters
Of all the reasons to attend market, getting an up-close and in-person view of the materials luring furniture makers is among the supreme. Take Universal Furniture, which has been toying with glittering Pyrite in the creation of two new pieces: a credenza with the metallic mineral covering its door fronts, and a cylindrical side table covered in the fool’s gold (101 S. Hamilton St.). Century-old maker York Wallcoverings unveils a follow-up to its widely popular Signature Textures Resource Library collection with the 100 Hues in Sisal series, featuring deeply saturated colors derived from nature. (IHFC, IH303)
Four Hands will unveil new additions to its Eucapel leather upholstery collection, a vegetable-tanned leather processed using fallen eucalyptus leaves (Showplace, Floor 4, 4101). And at Ethnicraft, a fresh stone-like finish dubbed Microcement hits market in the form of tables and case goods in the debuting Elements collection. (IHFC, IH410)
Shoppe Object Heads to High Point
Home and gift show Shoppe Object has garnered applause for its culmination of top-notch small-batch makers. Now, for the first time ever, the semi-annual retail showcase is traveling beyond its New York footprint—and bringing more than 100 of its featured craftspeople with it. Set to take over the third floor at Historic Market Square, the show-in-a-show will present block-printing specialists Soil to Studio, Bauhaus-inspired Hangai Mountain Textiles, urbane ceramicists Dumais Made, and minimalist handwoven textile maker Sien + Co.
For those wanting to up their curb appeal, peep Mud Australia’s pastel-hued porcelain numbers (available in 20 colors), striking exterior adornments that will give your home a boost of style, as well as Tantuvi’s outdoor rugs, a jolt of color and fun underfoot. (Market Square, Floor 3, 330, 348)
Where to Meet AD Editors
Join AD PRO and Casa Italia for a panel discussion on Luxury for All, an exploration of visionary and exquisite design headlined by AD100 designer Brigette Romanek. Hosted by AD PRO editors Lila Allen and Mel Studach, the talk will be followed by a spirited Italian Apertivo. Event begins at 3 p.m.—RSVP to reserve your spot. The first 10 attendees will receive a complimentary portfolio review. (130 West Commerce Ave.)
