Fall Market Faves — with a French & French Twist!
Our attendance and this blog post were sponsored by the High Point Market Authority, Esteem Media and the brands mentioned here. However, as always, all views are entirely our own.
We saw some really great craftsmanship and thoughtful design as excited and grateful participants in the High Point Market’s Design Influencers Tour for Fall 2021. We’ve been looking forward to giving you some of our hot takes and impressions – so let’s get into it!
Mélange at Hooker:
Botanics and Whimsy
It felt like a little piece of home to walk among the tables and artful furniture of Mélange at Hooker. They take you on a journey in color that really activates the imagination. The bold pink and red blooms on the doors of the cabinet in the photo above are so eye-catching and fun! The pattern continuing across the parting of the doors adds a little extra enjoyment to interacting with the art. A mirrored back wall is not only functional but gives you a chance to witness your own joy as the doors part.
This long cabinet echoes the use of allowing a pattern to flow across the doors, but in a more textured, 3D way. We love how the botanical feeling is still present in this silver and black 4-door entertainment unit implying the veins and folds of leaves. The care in the artistry really shines along this leaf pattern which just up-levels an object we find in many homes, easily taken for granted.
One of our absolute favorite pieces at the Hooker showroom was this gold chest, The color is amazing – those ethereal blue cherry blossoms mix and mingle realistic features of the flowers we know with a color far outside the expected whites and pinks. The legs of the chest are hand-cast bronze and we love how they look like branches! This piece really got our creative juices flowing for future design projects.
There are only so many ways we can say this accurately — Norwalk had a dope line at the Market this Fall.
This really striking couch comes from Kim Salema’s line, a product designer and a manufacturer. This line is all about catering to designers with an enormous catalogue of 800 fabrics. The grand, overarching mission is to get great designers to work together — which means life is only going to get more interesting, and more functional — beautifully!
We love including animals in bright colored prints like this really special chair from the new Norwalk line. It’s functional and fun all at the same time.
Another great benefit is that Norwalk offers an 18-week lead time, cutting down the significantly increased lead times of other manufacturers since the pandemic has started. They emphasize that this is made possible by crafting their pieces in America (more on a lot of really impressive American-made pieces in the next blog).
Subtle Statements: Style & Performance with Cisco & Crypton
Cisco and Crypton have collaborated to make beautiful pieces that function within day-to-day family life.
Made in LA and NC, Cisco has set up shop with the restored cotton produced by the Crypton mill in North Carolina. In addition to making functional art for a everyday life, Cisco takes care of its workers while Crypton prides itself on its Greenguard low VOC rating.
Not to mention, check out that side table — for us, that’s a nearly perfect blend of function and art. The bear faces on the ends catch the eye and brought us back to the art we love seeing in our home state of New Mexico.
Cisco furniture covered in Crypton’s recycled cotton fabric
The scalloped back of this wooden bench brings images of Santa Fe’s rolling hills and mountains speckled with adobe buildings to mind.
Nostalgia: Comfort and Sustainable Convenience
Lloyd Flanders
Lloyd Flanders really impresses when it comes to making functional outdoor furniture without all the major problems of keeping pillows and cushions outside.
America’s oldest wicker furniture maker, their pieces are created with woven, spun craft paper. Similar to other brands creating furniture in America, they have a comparatively short lead time of 20 weeks. Their furniture, I can honestly say, would stand up in New Mexico’s harsh climate.
Lloyd Flanders
Personally, I’m just a big fan of this manufacturer. Their work reminds me of my grandparents’ natural wicker and willow furniture. I like the spring system in their design that makes it comfortable to sit on without needing a pillowed cushion for comfort. You can just spray it off to clean it and leave your pillows inside. I also really life the traditional shape and the English cottage vibe.
From colors, animals, flowers and whimsy in this round up, we’ll focus on the rugged and the innovative companies featuring American-made product lines next.
I hope you enjoyed this tour of what felt in line with French & French styles and craftsmanship. I’m looking forward to sharing with you more surprises High Point Market had in store for us!
-Matt French
