Furniture is to High Point, N.C., what vehicles are to Detroit.
It’s the southern city’s bread and butter, and the reason the small town is even on the map.
Not that the majority of furniture is made in North Carolina anymore – far from it. But every spring and fall, High Point is host to the International Home Furnishings Market.
Although attendance was down slightly – the newer and flashier Las Vegas Furniture Market is gathering steam – more than 80,000 manufacturers, retailers and buyers showed up the first week of April to see and, hopefully, purchase new furniture and accessories. The market closed April 7.
According to the American Home Furnishings Association, 110 countries were represented, which is impressive. Some of the new furnishings will be in stores as soon as late summer, other pieces will arrive in the fall.
Here’s what some retailers liked and bought at the market.
Sharon Gjertsen, the buyer for Art Van Furniture in Michigan, said: “Manufacturers are still showing upholstered items with wood trim with the wood repeated in matching tables, which makes it nice for the consumer to coordinate. Fabrics and leather-trim treatments are dramatic but not opulent.
“We bought more Huntington House furniture, which offers consumers custom options without spending extra money on an item.
“We bought the Cindy Crawford Home Collection, which comes from several manufacturers. We bought more motion or reclining seating (chairs, sofas), and, of course, we bought more buttery, soft leather pieces by Natuzzi and Futura.”
Gorman’s president Tom Lias said: “We bought both of the new Trump Home collections from Lexington – Central Park and Westchester. Central Park is the very upscale, very uptown contemporary group with mahogany fronts and chrome accents and pulls in living, bedroom and dining room furniture.
“We liked its black leather sofa with chrome-nailhead trim and the very sophisticated glass-top tables which look like a moderately priced Ralph Lauren city look.
“We bought the black leather bed, too, slightly masculine but not overbearing. The Westchester traditional group is in walnut.
Its roots are in Connecticut, but it has a slightly Italian feel with some carving.
“We also bought the very traditional Bernhardt Smithsonian collection. We liked Stanley’s modern Hudson Street collection, which has a 1950s/Hollywood look to it, and Ello’s white glass bedroom group, very clean and European.
“Excelsior’s Lux mahogany-and-glass dining room group is nice, too. We bought select pieces from Century, Baker and Henredon.” Hepplewhites owner Mary Lujan said: “I saw three distinct trends: A lightening up of the color palette to clear, bright, spa-like hues mixed with browns; stylized traditional furniture that’s simplified for a ‘today’ look; and large, round dining room tables.” Jackie Schwartz, owner of Home Accessory Warehouse, said: “I saw a strong Old World influence with lots of carving, detail and burnished finishes for a timeless look. People are watching their pennies, buying less trendy items, and my purchases reflect that cautiousness.
“I did buy exciting accent furniture, chairs especially, with lots of style and comfort from Key City Furniture and Fairfield Chair. I bought original hand-painted oils – not by famous artists but still beautiful and certainly not as costly – of impressionistic Mediterranean landscapes in thick, carved molding frames.
“I bought entertainment centers from Hooker Furniture, which does a great job of keeping up with technology.” Mark Morganroth, owner and designer at Sherwood Studios, said: “Our biggest purchase was the entire 80-piece Nicole Miller collection from Excelsior. The contemporary living, dining and bedroom pieces are made in Italy – it was a big hit at market.
“We bought a custom area rug line from Carpet Creations that lets a customer design, without any guesswork, his own rug online.
We also bought the Norwegian Ekornes Stressless line of recliners and sectionals for a new gallery in the store. And we’ve never had outdoor furniture before, but the Brown Jordan line was so attractive that we bought it, too.”
