Have you attended High Point Market? If you haven’t, you are missing out on a fabulous opportunity to be immersed in the industry and meet amazing people from every corner of the globe, including executives and other high-level industry insiders who never miss the event. In addition to the networking opportunities, The Market also serves as an industry playground jam-packed with parties, networking, the sharing of ideas, seminars, and workshops hosted by industry experts.
High Point Market is a highly anticipated product showcase on the East Coast and the most important furniture trade show in the industry. This event happens bi-annually, bringing over 75,000 people yearly to the small town of High Point, North Carolina. However, there is nothing small about this show. You’ll witness roughly 2000 exhibitors across the 11.5 million square feet of exhibition space, making it the largest furniture trade show in the world.
Our Experience
The High Point Spring Market 2024 was an absolute delight for interior designers and industry professionals. From the moment we arrived at the highly anticipated event on Thursday afternoon, we were greeted with North Carolina’s gorgeous weather and the industry’s palpable energy and excitement.
Thursday’s entrance into the market was nothing short of exciting and surely foreshadowed what we had ahead of us for the rest of the trip. Our team was fortunate to attend an event hosted by the American Home Furnishings Hall of Fame, where Chase McMann, our Business Development Manager, was honored for being a part of the High Point Institute earlier this year. We enjoyed discussing the excitement around 2024 with over a dozen emerging home furnishings leaders at the event. We had the honor of speaking with some truly inspirational people, such as Karen McNeill, CEO of the American Home Furnishings Hall of Fame Foundation, and Daniel Hall, Dean of the Phillips School of Business at High Point University. The highlight of the evening was the lighting of the eternal flame, a custom sculpture donated by the Wanek family and Ashley Furniture.
We utilized our time on Friday to acclimate and reconnect with our clients. Once settled in, we had the pleasure of visiting the pop-up shop of Worthen and meeting their new CEO, Doug Rosenblum. Andrea Schumacher’s book signing was also a highlight of the day, as we got to meet with potential new client partners.
Friday continued to provide opportunities to explore new potential clients and attend even more engaging panel conversations. We visited some fantastic showrooms and manufacturers such as Leather Italia, Steve Silver Furniture, La-Z-Boy, and Norwalk Furniture. The Hooker Furnishings evening event was another highlight. The energy throughout the show continued to grow, with attendance reported to be around 20% higher than the previous year, which was beautiful to see.
Saturday was a whirlwind of activities. We caught up with our fellow Design Leadership Network (DLN) members and attended informative sessions, including Dan Paul and Tom Stringer’s talk on procurement. Kenneth, our Principal, was featured in a panel discussion on Saturday.
My panel discussion at American Leather, moderated by Jane Dagmi from HBXD, was a major success and a standout event.
Kenneth Roberts
Joined by Gail Doby of Pearl Collective, Garrison Hollinger from Studio Garrison, and Christopher Kennedy of Christopher Kennedy Incorporated, we delved into the industry’s status, our journeys, challenges, and successes. Saturday evening was capped off with a lovely gathering at Worthen’s CEO’s home and the annual DLN dinner at the Antique and Design Center, where we enjoyed a delightful meal with over 50 DLN members.
Monday, our last day, was filled with meetings and tours. We visited the breathtaking Caracole Homes showroom, complete with a rooftop deck. The panel discussion hosted at the Sherwin-Williams seminar room, moderated by ASID‘s Matthew Greeter, offered insightful perspectives on employee retention challenges. The Kravet showroom patio party was a delightful affair, where we had the pleasure of running into clients like Corey Damen Jenkins, Denise McGaha, Glenna Stone, and my fellow panelist, Christopher Kennedy.
We ended the day with the Four Hands end-of-market party, one of the largest and most fantastic events we attended. The energy and conversations revolved around the excitement of the show and the success of businesses. Many were already looking forward to the Fall Market and discussing their plans for attending.
Overall, the High Point Market Spring 2024 was a fantastic event, filled with energy, inspiration, and a plethora of new products for designers to source for their clients. High Point is positioning itself as a year-round destination, with additional events planned for later in May and June and a huge showroom sale in August. We’re already eagerly anticipating the Fall Market in late October, where we’ll launch the results of our Interior Design Business Survey initiated during the Spring Market.
For those of you who attended High Point this Spring and are looking forward to round two, or if you are reading this and considering going for the first time, click here to save the date! You’re in for an awesome experience filled with inspiration, networking opportunities, and access to the latest trends and products. We hope to see you in October!
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