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I attended Highpoint market this year for the first time, and I was immensely impressed and blessed to be there. For those of you who don't know and for my friends and clients, High Point market is held twice a year during Spring and Fall. It is the place where innovation, development, creation and design of home furnishings take place. It is a trade show and showhouse for vendors to showcase their products to designers and home professionals. It is a conference, a social event, a networking and educational platform all rolled into one. High Point Market also makes the largest economic impact in the state of North Carolina generating about $6.73 billion each year (Highpointmarket.org)
No wonder it is attended by about 75,000 people each year if not more and because of this, you need to register ahead of time. I mean register your hotel, your transportation back and forth. If possible, plan your departure and arrival around the free shuttles to and from the airport and to and from the hotel to High Point that they provide. Trust me, I can tell you firsthand that I paid almost $100 to take an Uber to my hotel and frankly because I had to take a late flight which meant the shuttle wasn't going to be available at that time, so if you can, plan ahead.
Day 1 started off so well. I got on the shuttle in the morning and met seasoned designers already living this designer life and doing well in their business for years. One of them was Elle and Safari from Decorelle and also Annie from Vitoch Interiors. Then I started off the day shadowing Elle and watched as she shopped for her client, asked questions and also educated me as to what to look for when shopping with vendors. I was super excited to meet someone I had been following online and then to have her be so friendly, open and willing to give was just the icing on the cake. Truly since I started my entrepreneurial journey, I have been blessed to meet some amazing people in the interior design industry who are just so ready to answer any questions I have and show me the ropes. I can't wait as I also begin to help someone else with the knowledge I have and point them in the right direction.
Next up on the first day, was meeting other friends, attending educational seminars such as "How to attract and capture affluent customers for luxury design", attending LuAnn Nigara's birthday surprise with Jaipur Living, "the essential systems and processes every interior designer needs and why" and all the seminars had valuable and helpful information. And afterwards, I visited more showrooms.
Day 2, I made sure I visited more showrooms, but the highlight was really joining one of my mentors and favorite designer Veronica Solomon of Casa Vilora Interiors on her Suite spot tour. She got to show us what inspires her with her bold, eclectic, colorful and whimsical approach to design and some of the vendors she uses as well as some new and inspiring design finds.
Veronica and I
Trends from Market
From Lighting I noticed some neutral and colorful pieces but also very unique eclectic styling and brass tones.
In casegoods and accent and decor, there were a lot of patterns, color and shapes all which add visual interest to a space to reflect one's style and personality. And you know here at Inspired Ore Home Decor, we love adding interesting details and lots of color to our client spaces.
I think it was really clear that color will always be a trend. It was very evident in furnishings such as chairs and sofas and we love, love the comfort that came with these pieces when we tried them out. I mean check out the evidence below haha!
Also note the leg details on these furniture pieces that are just wow, and other accents like tassels, pattern, curves, so much to love.
A lot of lessons learned, a lot of photos taken, a lot of friends and new faces but most importantly, I left Highpoint and I am sure like many others with a transformed mindset for ourselves, our businesses, and our clients.
Hope this helps our clients and future clients know the level to which we take our work seriously and love what we do and help fellow designers especially new designers, know what to expect.
Follow me on Facebook and Instagram as I also share about the wonderful people I met and put their names to their faces.
My name is Ore and I design colorful, modern and eclectic spaces, tailored to your personality and style, helping you stay inspired to love where you live.
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