What Is High Point Market?

This is the month of #HPMKT! And here at Hadley Court, we are so excited to begin sharing with you all about High Point Market, which opens officially on Saturday, April 18th! We want to help you feel like you understand this market, if you’re a first time market goer, and, if you’re not in the industry, we want you to know how to participate virtually, from the comfort of your home or office.

High Point Market is located in High Point, North Carolina, and it is the world’s largest wholesale tradeshow for what’s new and exciting in the world of furniture, accessories and art, that will be making its way into homes and offices, hotels and resorts, all around the world over the coming year.

High Point Market now encompasses over 180 buildings, spanning over 10 million square feet of space and welcomes approximately 75,000 visitors to the city of High Point twice a year. It is the largest economic event in North Carolina, contributing over 539 million dollars in tax revenue to the state of North Carolina each year, according to Duke University’s 2013 study of the economic impact of High Point Market on the state of North Carolina, which you can find, here.

One of the most iconic and architecturally stunning of the 180 buildings making up the High Point Market complex is Showplace Square, shown below and owned by International Market Centers [IMC], the primary owner of the majority of the major buildings at High Point Market.  Read more about IMC a bit bit later in this post.

And, as some of you know, Leslie Hendrix Wood is honored and excited to be joining a distinguished group of her fellow interior design professionals as one of the High Point Market Authority’s official 2015 High Point Market Style Spotters.

Starting this market, and extending through the October market, Leslie and her fellow designer colleagues will begin showing you, on all of their own social channels, as well as via High Point Market Authority’s own social channels, what’s new and what’s exciting at the Spring and Fall 2015 markets,  through the lenses of their own aesthetic perspectives.

Meet and follow Leslie’s fellow #HPMKTSS on Twitter.

Each designer chosen by High Point Market as a StyleSpotter is given 25 Style Spotter cards each market, and during market, they are tasked with spotting and then placing an official #HPMKTSS card on the 25 items they believe most represent what’s new and fresh from the over 2000 exhibitors with showrooms at High Point Market. It’s a big job with a lot of responsibility that all of the Style Spotters take very seriously.

What can you, dear readers, expect to see Leslie Hendrix Wood style spot? What will she be looking for from the exhibitors she visits?  Here’s what she shared with High Point Market Authority’s website’s readers.

One of the values Leslie Hendrix Wood holds most dear is family traditions – as long time readers of this blog know.

And what sets High Point Market apart from all other markets is the relationships that have been built – ever since 19o9 when the first Southern Furniture Market was held in High Point – between all those who have worked now over so many years to turn this market into the hugely successful and influential market it is today for the United States and the international visitors who now come from all over the world to buy.

Look at this picture of the first building ever built for the High Point Market in 1921, the Southern Furniture Exposition building, which is now known as the International Home Furnishings Center, and now owned by the International Market Centers.

Here’s the IHFC Building today.

The covered area you see above is the Transportation Terminal, where you will find all the buses and Go Anywhere vans to take you anywhere you need to go as well as the main information booth.  Quite a change from 1921, isn’t it?

Now, imagine all the wonderful, deep, long-term relationships that have been formed through all these years between the exhibitor manufacturers, the retailers, the suppliers, the designers, the press and the trade associations. That is what makes High Point Market so special. You feel like you are going home, and even for those that are first time visitors and don’t know a soul, there is always a friendliness to be found in High Point that is found nowhere else.

Today, High Point Market encompasses all the buildings you see in the map below and more. The red building is the IHFC building and it in this building that you will find Hadley Court favorite vendors and giveaway partners, Bernhardt Furniture and Gabby Decor, in addition to Worlds Away, Global Views, Emporium Home, Julian Chichester, Bungalow 5 and many, many more. The ground floor of this building is also home to the famed INTERHALL, a juried selection of on trend and exciting manufacturers like outdoor living exhibitor, Seasonal Living.

Who remembers our giveaway for Bernhardt’s gorgeous HAVEN desk last year?

If you love antiques, you will appreciate the Antique and Design Center, located inside the Market Square building, on the bottom left quadrant of the map. There you will find dozens and dozens of well known antique dealers like Nancy Price Antiques, Dovecote Decor, and 20th Century by HFKA by Heather Karlie Viera.

In that same complex comprising Suites of Market Square, Market Square and Market Square Tower [ notice how those 3 separate buildings are connected? Make sure you find out exactly where you’re going – it can be a bit confusing for 1st time goers! }, you will find the Heritage House showrooms, Habersham, Century Furniture {a Hadley Court favorite and another giveaway partner } and Thibaut, another favorite vendor of Leslie’s for their wonderful wallpapers and fabrics.

It is accessed via Tomlinson Street, where there is free parking, if you have a car. If not, a Go Anywhere van can drop you off at the back door to it. Just ask them to take you to the corner of Tomlinson and Jacob’s Place.

One of the most frequent questions I get asked, personally, is, “What is the difference between the High Point Market Authority and the International Market Centers? 

From the International Market Center’s own website, here is the answer:

For even more clarification:

The High Point Market Authority is the home of the official Style Spotter program and is responsible for the press center and all marketing the world over for all the exhibitors and all 180 buildings encompassing the High Point Market complex. For instance, one big building at High Point, housing many of the finest European contemporary vendors, and not owned by IMC, is 220 Elm. If you’ve been to market before, you know this is the building where WITHIT has held many of their Competitive Intelligence events.

As the biggest leaseholder at High Point Market, The International Market Center organization hosts additional and exciting special programs, social media events, like the #DesignonHPMKT Instagram takeover, and brings in speakers for seminars – all focused on providing incredible support to the exhibitors who lease from them.

4  key IMC destinations are below, 2 of which I’ve already mentioned,  if you’re visiting High Point Market for the first time.

 

Working closely together, these two entities – the HPMA and IMC – create the excitement, the programming and the buzz that attract over 75,000 people to High Point twice a year!

And whatever you do, don’t forget to download the My Market app, which makes planning and navigating #HPMKT so much easier!

What 3 official hashtags should you follow to see everything happening – virtually?

#HPMKT
#HPMKTSS 
#DESIGNONHPMKT 

What’s the official Twitter feed for the High Point Market Authority?

http://twitter.com/HPMarketNews

Where can you go to find out everything about High Point Market and download the My Market app?

http://highpointmarket.org

Watch for Thursday’s post next, dear readers, as HC contributor Lynda Quintero – Davids shows you in great detail how to follow along – virtually – on Pinterest – so you can see all that is happening and be as close as possible visually to one of the greatest furniture and design tradeshows in the world > High Point Market. 

We can’t wait, in just 2 weeks now, to start sharing with you, live from High Point Market, how fashion and design have melded together to enhance and deepen the beauty and quality of life available to you for your own homes, offices, hotels and resorts this year, and in years to come!

Leslie Carothers

for

Leslie Hendrix Wood
Founder, Hadley Court

Interior Designer
Leslie Hendrix Wood Interiors
Midland, Texas

Gracious Living. Timeless Design. Family Traditions.