High Point, April 2010
This was a good market. Let’s start with the fact that the sun was shining. (Moving from building to building in High Point when it’s raining dampens the shoes and spirits!) Overall the showrooms were busy and there was good energy – a feeling that the worst of the recession is behind us prevailed.
We attend this market for many reasons: to spend time with Hammary, our furniture licensee for The National Trust for Historic Preservation, to stay on top of any trends in the industry and to focus on particular categories of interest, including area rugs.
Hammary is launching a new collection, La Valenica, for the Design in America – The National Trust brand. Like all previous collections, the designs take inspiration from one of The National Trust sites or places. La Valencia evokes the old world charm of the famous hotel located in La Jolla. The collection embodies the elegant Spanish style of the hotel and features substantial forms and warm wood tones. Wrought iron details, bold carvings and intricate inlay patterns provide a handmade feel that adds character and a feeling of luxury. La Valencia was showcased in the new Hammary showroom. Hammary and Anerican Drew, divisions of La-Z-Boy, are now sharing showroom space. This is good news for Hammary since the opportunity for distribution has now been expanded.
The area rug showrooms that I visited were very active and there was a lot of licensed product to be seen. Jaipur, a company that focuses heavily on design, had live models posing on rugs lining the Showplace walkway. It certainly captured everyone’s attention but I’m not sure if they were focusing on the models or the rugs!
In all, I spoke with a lot of people. What will develop remains to be seen but the good news is that, in general, everyone was open to hearing more.
