As we announced in March, we were honored to have been selected again as one of 10 bloggers in High Point Market’s Design Bloggers Tour for Spring 2019. Our attendance and this blog post were sponsored by High Point Market and the brands mentioned here. However, as always, all views are entirely our own.
We’re back! We are finally getting into the groove of things again after attending High Point Market earlier this month, and we’re ready to report on all the fantastic things we saw on our three-day tour.
We absolutely love High Point Market, and we’re honored that we were selected again to be part of the Design Bloggers Tour. It’s always such a fun few days, and we love that we get to come back and tell you all about the great things we saw.
To give you a bit of perspective, over three days at Market we walked through 28 miles of showroom. That’s about the distance from Santa Fe to Los Cerrillos or Madrid! As you can imagine, that’s a LOT of furniture.
Santa Fe doesn’t have a whole lot of showrooms, so High Point Market gives us a chance to be able to sit down and feel the upholstery on furniture, open drawers on case goods, and really get a sense of the quality of what’s out there. It’s essential for us to be able to stand by our product recommendations for our clients, so Matt and I are constantly taking notes as we walk around.
We really try to understand what a brand focuses on because each one has its own different perspective. Not all furniture is the same, just like not every client has the same needs. Seeing this furniture in person helps us make recommendations to clients who are on a budget, or who are particular about how comfortable or how firm their furniture will be.
We love the experience – and the very best part is being able to come back and report to you! This is just the first in our series of post-Market blogs, so keep your eyes peeled for the next couple.
Without further ado…
High Point Spring Market 2019: Our Favorites, Round One
Universal Furniture
Universal Furniture was our very first stop on the tour this year. If you’re familiar with this brand at all, you already know just how big their line is. They have a huge building, at least four stories if not more!
Perspective-wise, this is a really fun brand. Universal has a habit of prioritizing family across their collections, and a lot of their furniture is really kid-friendly. I always recommend this brand for a younger market. Universal offers some super chic designs at an excellent price point, plus their furniture always has good quality.
This year, what I really liked about the line was the Nina Magon collection. Her designs are clean and pretty, with a great perspective. These pieces are really unique and give the brand a distinct voice. Business of Home wrote a great article about Nina Magon’s line earlier this year, and I recommend checking out the collection.
E.J. Victor
E.J. Victor is a very high-end, luxury brand with a very high commitment to artistry and furniture of the highest quality. Their main selling point is their hand-crafted furniture from a wide range of premium designers.
This brand tends to kind of set the standard in the market with their very artful, unique pieces. I’m a huge fan of their high-end collaborations with interior designers, and they always seem to bring on designers who have a unique perspective.
Their High Point showroom is always super inspiring to visit.
SONDER Living
I love being introduced to new lines at High Point Market, and this was one of them! SONDER Living is an England-based company with a more modern perspective than some of the other brands I’ve seen recently.
Their line is really clean and beautiful, including modern pieces from coffee tables and sofas to artwork and lighting. Almost each piece of their furniture is almost entirely hand-made, and they have great respect for both artistry and craftsmanship.
I can’t wait to use some of their stuff in my more modern projects going forward. It had my head spinning with ideas!
Four Hands
Four Hands has been a staple for our business for a couple of years now. We absolutely love their stuff, and we use them pretty regularly in our projects.
Their High Point theme this year was ‘natural beauty,’ and they debuted more than 900 new pieces that all reflect a sense of modern naturals. There was light woods, polished stone, and earthy colors.
This brand sells mostly case goods: tables, chests of drawers, and things like that. But, Four Hands also recently launched their outdoor furniture collection (you can see some of it in their 2018 lookbook), which we’re really impressed with. It was nice to see some of their new pieces in person.
Crypton Home Fabric
Last but certainly not least (for this round-up, anyway) we have Crypton Home Fabric – a brand we shouted about a lot after our Design Bloggers Tour last year.
This is another huge brand with an aesthetic that’s a little bit more traditional or transitional. Their furniture is always of high quality, but what’s really special about them is their performance fabrics.
This is a relatively new product on the furniture scene. Their stain-protector fabric has totally changed the game. It may not be 100% bulletproof, but it’s pretty darn close. As you’ll see in one of my videos, they were able to remove highlighter out of the upholstery completely! It’s no wonder parents love this brand.
Crypton sponsored quite a few great brands this year, including Lee Industries, Hickory Chair, and Vanguard.
Will we see you there next time?
If you’re an interior designer who has never been to High Point Market, I strongly encourage you to go!
Interior designers generally have their toolbox of brands that they go back to over and over again – their workhorses – but, there are all sorts of new brands popping up. Even brands that have been around for literally a hundred years are always launching new lines. And if you want to have them on your radar, High Point is the place to be!
I think familiarising yourself with the perspectives of each of these companies is really important because it’s ever-changing. That’s why we go back every year! High Point Market happens twice a year (Spring and Fall), and even the difference between these two seasons is sometimes drastic.
Staying at the forefront of what’s going on in our industry truly makes your job easier, and helps you build more confident relationships with your clients. If you have any questions about High Point, drop them in the comments below, and we’d be happy to answer them! Maybe we’ll see you there in the fall?
