Friday, April 13, 2012

Heading To High Point Market!

PERFECTLY PALADINO
By Allison Paladino


Two of my favorite weeks of the year, professionally speaking anyway, land in the months of April and October. Clients, friends and family (and just about anybody who knows me including the postman) have come to know them as “Market.” This is the time when each Spring and Fall, an entire industry converges on a small city in North Carolina called High Point.

If you’re an industry insider, you may know that some 85,000 people from around the world--manufacturers, retailers, designers like myself, suppliers of every stripe, as well as hundreds of members of the press, from design bloggers (hello!) to shelter magazine and newspaper editors--will be coming together next week in what’s known as the world’s home for home furnishings (aka High Point) for Spring Market 2012. With 180 showroom buildings, that span nearly 10 million square feet and the entire downtown of the city, trust me when I tell you it’s a trade show unlike any other on earth.

Market Week (think Fashion Week with chairs instead of super models) is officially set for April 21 to 25th, but preparations have been underway for months. Right now, my friends in the area tell me the normally quite city streets are a beehive of activity with trucks unloading product and showroom personnel painting, pushing, packing, unpacking, and well, you get the idea. And while I may be hundreds of miles away down here in the Sunshine State, I’ve been hard at work getting ready for the big show too.

For one thing, I designed some of the furniture that will be hitting the runway next week (and yes, I think my designs for E.J. Victor definitely qualify as super models!), and I’m incredibly excited to see my vision go from the first sketches in my notebook to prototypes to the showroom floor. No matter that I’ve been imagining every angle, fabric and finish (sand!) in my head for months. Seeing it come together at last, and how everyone who visits the showroom reacts to the new designs, takes my breath away every time. Right now, I’m like a playwright who nervously paces the theater lobby on Opening Night, waiting to hear the audience laugh at all the right moments in the performance.

But it’s not just anticipation that’s keeping me pacing the floor the past few nights. I’ve been busy preparing for a keynote presentation that I’ll be delivering next week in High Point as well. Last December, I got a call from the people who handle the educational seminars at the International Home Furnishings Center (the grand-daddy of all the Market’s showroom buildings) to speak about the business of interior design. My assignment? Talk to other designers, media, students and other Market attendees about what’s important now, from the creative process to building a personal brand as a designer. It’s a great honor to be asked to speak and I’ve taken getting ready for this special event very, very seriously! If you’ll be in High Point, and would like to attend (cheer me on please!), email lchastain@imcenters.com for reservations. I speak Monday, April 23 from noon to 1 in the 11th floor ballroom of the IHFC Green Wing and afterward will take attendees on a personal tour of the E.J. Victor showroom.

And if you’re not attending High Point Market, just stay tuned! I’ll be posting reports (with plenty of pictures) here from the center of all the action to keep everyone I know, in the know! 


Posing in the E.J. Victor showroom last Market.