High Point Market Design Influencer Tour – Day 1 Recap

This month has been filled with so much design inspiration! I’m currently wrapping up a trip to Design Chicago and excited to recap the first day of last week’s Design Influencer Tour at High Point Market.

You may remember back in August I announced I was selected to be part of a group of 10 design bloggers to go on a private tour of High Point Market, America’s largest furniture trade show. We had two jam packed days of inspiration for the home. We previewed new products on the market, saw the latest decorating and design trends and met the faces behind the brands.

There were 15 showrooms on our tour that were featured. It was so wonderful to hear the stories behind the companies, which included family owned businesses, big and small, and many with hand crafted, American made pieces. I learned so much about the process that goes into the design and construction of furniture too.

From the rugs at Jaipur Living woven by artisans working out of their own homes, to how Norwalk gives a portion of every purchase made back to their employees. It’s not every day that you get this behind the scenes experience so I’m especially excited to share it with you today.

I also shared highlights on instagram stories and was so happy to see some of you following along (thank you!!!). A few asked for more details on the market and how you could go too. So here is a little more on the market…

What is High Point Market?

High Point Market is a trade only furniture market that happens twice a year in the Spring and the Fall. It is huge. There is over 12 million square feet of show space, 180 buildings, over 2,000 exhibitors and *in normal days* there are approximately 75,000+ attendees. My favorite way to describe the market is that it is similar “fashion week for the home”.

If you are in the interior design industry, you are probably very familiar with High Point Market already. Registration is very easy on their website and there are many guides for first timers (I may out one together myself in a post since I have learned so much more from my last couple visits!). To go on the Design Influencers Tour, you have to be invited or apply.

Here is a recap of favorites from day 1 of the Design Influencer Tour of High Point Market FALL 2021 ~

Hooker Furniture

The first stop on our tour was at Hooker Furniture. There is so much to love in their showroom and something for every style, which shows how versatile this company can be. We talked about trends this market – which included lots of texture, gold tones, grays with brown undertones & more whimsical pieces being shown than ever. Bench style sofas have been popular and many old styles are coming back too, like skirted seating and the “grandmillennial” style items.

They had a few brands that were also represented at Hooker Furniture, including Sam Moore and Bradington-Young.

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Upscale tufted leather sofas that recline

Norwalk – Crypton Home Fabric

Norwalk was the next showroom that we went to. They carry many pieces that use my absoulte favorite fabric, Crypton Home Fabric. You can literally spill red wine on Crypton fabric and it will bead up + clean up easily. It is the BEST fabric when it comes to performance. Especially if you have little kids, or like to drink coffee on a white sofa without worry 🙂

If you’ve been following along for awhile, you may remember I wrote a blog post all about my love for Crypton years ago. And years later, the fabric has held up incredibly well even with the kids crafts, spills etc.

One thing I loved learning about Norwalk as a company is that they sold their company to the employees. Which means for every sofa that is sold, it goes back to the employees. PS. you can purchase their sofas directly through a local designer. They are also the manufacturer for some of the sofas sold at Crate & Barrel and One Kings Lane.

PS. I saw these sphere pillows everywhere at High Point Market. I think we are going to be seeing them more and more. They add a different level of texture and are more playful than the usual throw pillows. I know my kids are going to love this trend 😉

Cisco Home

Visiting Cisco Home was a highlight. I had never been to their showroom and from now on will make a point to stop in. I loved the entire vibe. The showroom is in an old mill and their products are manufactured in either Los Angeles, CA or High Point, NC.

ALSO, many of their pieces also use Crypton Fabric which as you know, is my favorite. They recently launched a cotton which is made from recycled garments.

AREA by Edwards Fields

We visited AREA by Edward Fields, which is a luxury carpet maker. Many of the rugs they have come in various colorways which makes them versatile for different projects. Fun fact, many of the rugs in the White House are from Edward Fields. Here is one of my favorites~

Lloyd Flanders

Lloyd Flanders is an outdoor furniture manufacturer that creates quality pieces that are meant to last for generations. I loved how they are incorporating new, fun colors to their collection (like this teal chair in the pic below!)

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Jaipur Living

I also loved our tour of Jaipur Living at learning the background on the company. Everything is made by arrtisans in Jaipur, India. Spread across 600 villages in 5 states of India, they have empowered over 40,000 weavers that are able to work from home. Many who are raising children in their villages. It was eye opening to learn that some of the hand knitted rugs can take over a year to make! I really appreciated the beauty and details of each piece I saw while exploring their showroom at High Point Market.

Jaipur Living offers a wide variety of gorgeous indoor/outdoor rugs as well. I fell in love with a creamy white rug that has a natural look and can be used outdoors. It’s beautiful in person; my picture does not do it justice. I did save video highlights on instagram stories if you want a closer look (saved under “HPMKT 2021”).

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Thank you so much to the sponsors, the team at High Point Market and Esteem Media for including me on this tour. It was a wonderful experience and I can’t wait to visit again. Stay tuned for day 2 blog post recap, coming soon!