17 Nov 5 High Point Market Highlights – Fall 2023

It’s been ages since I’ve blogged, a year in fact. Three months of traveling through Italy gave me a much-needed respite and incredible inspiration. But I’ve missed you, and there’s so much to share. Last month, I attended High Point Market in North Carolina for the very first time. I came away incredibly energized and inspired. I’m excited to share 5 highlights with you.

To say High Point Market was overwhelming is an understatement. I knew it was going to be BIG, but I had no idea how massive it truly was. It’s an entire city – I definitely got my 10,000 steps in every day!

To say it was incredibly inspiring is also an understatement. From beautiful product launches to insightful educational panels, there was anything and everything to see and do at the largest home furnishings market in the USA. And party after party which was so much fun!

And southern hospitality? I never met the kindest people. I even had one designer ditch her friends (temporarily) to personally escort me to a showroom to the exact location to meet up with my dear friend Linda Holt, the queen of Smart Phone Photography.

I truly understand now why it’s important if you’re in the design industry to attend High Point. It is THE number one tradeshow to network and connect with everyone in the industry.

I was there to meet up with my licensing agent, Yudi Kaufman of YKD Associates, to see products, walk the showrooms, network, and learn about licensed product launches.

It was the people that made the market for me. I must have met a minimum of 10 of my online friends in person for the very first time. That was a fantastic feeling!! Here are several below.

Aside from gorgeous products, connecting with friends, and making new ones, the people are the #1 reason High Point Market will go down as one of the highlights of 2023, second, of course, to our 3 months in Italy.

5 High Point Market Highlights

Here are 5 highlights to inspire you to shop for new home furnishings, and if you’re an interior designer or decorator, hop on a plane and attend the next High Point Market in the spring, April 13 – 17, 2024.

1. Spectacular showrooms

 

2. Color, texture, pattern + curves

Yes, the trends of blue and green were everywhere, but I also saw a lot of beautiful neutrals, black and white, gold, copper, brown, and pops of neon colors.

Howard Elliott’s showroom had some fabulous pops of neon color as well as blues, greens, and even purple.  Below I’m with VP Colleen Daly and my agent Yudi Kaufman. 

I love blue and brown together and saw quite a bit of variation of that color combo. The biggest treat, was the gorgeous new fabric line (below) by Dallas-based interior designer Denise McGaha for Vervain at the Fabricut showroom. Absolutely stunning!! 

The Nathan Anthony showroom was spectacular, filled with their fabulous curvy luxury furniture. And the green Art Deco wallpaper was so striking. 

 

3. Educational presentations and books

I was on my way to explore the Antique & Design Center, when friend Gary Inman walked by and said he was on his way to tea with India Hicks. Did you say tea? I love teatime!! And I had heard India was a fabulous presenter. But he said the tickets were sold out to the event. Well, that did not stop me!

Yudi had said earlier, “Treat yourself here in the Antique & Design Center and buy a piece of jewelry.” Well, instead, I stood in line to treat myself to purchasing a ticket to “An Afternoon Tea with India Hicks”, that is, if someone didn’t show up.

I was in luck!! And boy, was it just the treat I needed. India Hicks is fascinating and entertaining. Check out her new book, An Entertaining Story. And the tea service and delicacies were gorgeous with china from Replacements Ltd.

 

Photography of above photo by the lovely woman who sat next to me at tea; apologies for forgetting her name.

I had just enough time to pop in and give friend, celebrity interior designer Kelli Ellis a hug, who I hadn’t seen in ages, before Kelli, along with Mary Beth Zaehringer, presented at Odette for interior designers to learn how to enhance their brand by speaking on a panel.

Great to see and hear NYC-based interior and product designer Corey Damen Jenkins talk about the business of interior designer with moderator, Trend Ambassador, Patti Carpenter. Plus see all of Corey’s beautiful furnishings he designed for Hancock & Moore. Follow me on Instagram where I’ll share images of Corey’s collection. 

Global Trend Ambassador Patti Carpenter shared her trends from Maison et Objet., which were many different colors, shapes, and patterns. Very exciting presentation!

Yudi Kaufman, CEO of YKD Associates, and Courtney Porter, Editor in Chief of Design News Now, presentation at Feizy Rugs on “Design Business Blueprint”. Photography by Katie Hickenbottom.

It was an absolute thrill to see friend Dann Foley, an experienced interior designer and licensed product designer I know from Dallas Market, who launched his lifestyle brand for Stylecraft, along with his new book, It’s All in the Mix.

4. Product Launches

It was super exciting to not only be at High Point Market for the very first time, but to also see friends launch their products. I was finally able to meet in person, award-winning designer, and long-time friend Tina Nicole, owner, with her husband Khai, of luxury furniture brand, Nathan Anthony. As some of you remember during the One Room Challenge, I partnered with NA and have a gorgeous CHABLIS chair in our Living Room Salon. It’s wild to think I’ve been friends online with Tina for years now, and we only just met in person. It was such a wonderful feeling to meet the entire family and be there for her son’s, Nathan’s, first chair design launch, the BEAR CUB.

 

Really enjoyed meeting and seeing the striking art by acclaimed interior designers Nicole White and Justin Q. Williams at Leftbank art. Nicole’s wallpaper below is to die for!!!

 

Here I am with Lisa Kahn during the debut of her tranquil Sanctuary Collection for Chelsea House. Be sure to follow her blog to get your weekly dose of “sanctuary”.

Denise McGaha’s debut of her fabric and wallpaper collection for Vervain Fabrics at Fabricut was truly magnificent!! Loved all the rich bold blues and brick reds! I can’t get enough of the Grouse pattern!!

 

Celebrated interior and product designer, and author, Shayla Copas launched her magnificent lifestyle collection for Ambella Home. I’ve known Shayla Copas for a while now, also from years attending Dallas Market so it was very exciting to see her. Her new furniture collection for Ambella Home is gorgeous and has such beautiful textured details.

Loved the soft powdery blues, creams, and golds in the lifestyle collection by Austin Allen James for Stylecraft!

Dann Foley’s lifestyle collection for StyleCraft was a spectacular hit, along with his new book, It’s All In The Mix.

5. SHOPPE OBJECT

One area of High Point Market I was super excited to see, thanks to Patti Carpenter, was SHOPPE OBJECT. It felt like home to me, to be immersed in the “maker” community, because, as y’all know, I am a “maker” myself. It was about to close for the day, but I had a lovely chat with the founder of the textile brand Tulusa, Sue Henry, and discovered incredible talent and beautiful products.

“Mirroring the vibe and verve of Shoppe Object New York, the High Point edition showcased artisan-quality and design-led home décor products in gallerylike displays.” Read more about SHOPPE in this Home News Now article.

Here’s some SHOPPE inspiration for you!  There were over 100 artists, but I only caught a few. 

 

 

 

While I have tons more photos I’d love to share with you, I need to wrap this up to keep my blog posts shorter in the future. Ha! I’m not sure I’ve done that here. I’m a tad rusty at blogging, but I’m diving in, so I hope you’ll follow my occasional ramblings. I’ll be sharing more art, design, and Italy travel photos on the blog to keep you inspired and hopefully wanting more, so stay tuned.

Thank you

I want to thank Yudi Kaufman for his encouragement to attend High Point, and both Yudi and friend Linda Holt for showing me the ropes. And a big thank you to product designers I greatly admire for taking the time to personally share their licensing tips with me, Dann Foley, Libby Langdon, Denise Mcgaha, Corey Damen Jenkins, Shayla Copas, Lisa Kahn, Christopher Grubb, and Austin Allen James.

Please follow me on Instagram, where I’ll be sharing more photos throughout the rest of 2023.

XO PG

Note: All photography is my own except where noted.