Being able to go to this past High Point Market as a part of the Design Bloggers Tour with Esteem Media was my first business trip since having Thing 1 more than 10 years ago. I felt like a combination of a kid in a candy store and a goody-two-shoes playing hooky from school — a little guilty at enjoying myself so much!
Of course I was on the lookout for trends and practical information to use both in client work and to pass on to all of you lovely readers, but some things I was attracted to just because they pleased me. I love a good backstory, I love color, I love funky (even though I tend to reign it in a bit 😉 ), and as a busy work-at-home mom and wife, I love being pampered.
So today’s post is about my personal favorite finds from High Point, not about big trends or even necessarily useful decorating information. Some vendors that I just happened to find, some I’ve known about for some time but looked at with new eyes or noticed new products.
And there are some fun, and giftable items interspersed here are there!
Brown Furniture
I’ve written many times about my love for brown furniture, but so many younger designers — particularly those under 35 — aren’t using it these days. I think many don’t have an affinity for true American and English antiques or their vintage reproduction counterparts. And as far as buying new furniture is concerned, it costs more to buy furniture made of American and other hardwoods that look beautiful in their natural color or with a multi-process stain application than the faux distressed or grayed out look that has been popular the last 20 years or so.
Enter Blue Print Collection. Blue Print’s flagship store in Dallas was founded by 5 interior designers and offers a curated selection of furniture, home accessories, lighting, and stunning original art. They just launched a furniture collection at the 2019 Fall Market, and it is stunning!
Color & Pattern, Fun & Funkiness
Newton Paisley was far and away my absolute favorite new find. Conservation biologist Susy Paisley has designed and hand-drawn beautiful and unique fabrics and wallpapers, each telling a quirky story of some neglected and endangered species and in colors of a totally English sensibility. Even better, each sale contributes towards the preservation of critical wild habitat. For every meter of fabric sold, 100 square meters of wild habitat is preserved through her collaboration with World Land Trust.
I’m DYING to use some of these in a project.
Artist Windy O’Connor, Instagram and lifestyle maven, had new scarves and trays featuring her fearless “Chicas” and other fabric and art designs.
LOVE this beautiful scarf.
In addition to her original paintings of her famous ladies, Windy also sells well-priced prints.
Hubbardton Forge is a 45 year old company that handcrafts high quality lighting in Vermont. I’ve known about it for ages and respected its product, but I also always had an image in my mind of modern craftsman style lighting and not much more. Man, was I surprised by the innovation I saw! And you can often choose your finish and type of glass.
These stunning pendants also come in a super useful semi-flush mount.
SmithHönig is a wanderlust -inspired home décor brand founded by interior designer Kellie Smith and artist Melanie Hönig. Their motto is “put a tassle on it!” The collection includes unique vintage and ethnic fabrics, wallpapers, pillows, and tons of fun and giftable items like bags, linens, and … tons of tassles!
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Love this shibori fabric.
These make the most fun Christmas ornaments!
Bohemian mobile. Comes in several colors.
Favorite Finds to Pamper the Frazzled Woman
OK, I admit it. Only a couple of the below items are actually from home decor vendors, but the others I discovered while I was at High Point. So they count as High Point finds, right?
Jaipur Living is a rug and accents company that was founded by Nand Kishore Chaudhary. (Much to his family’s consternation! They wanted him to be a lawyer.) He started his business on the principle of dignity, employing “untouchables” and subverting centuries-old practices that had shunned the poor, women and artists. Jaipur removes the middleman by employing a network of 40,000 artisans in more than 700 villages in India. They’re provided a livable and reliable wage — paid every month rather than when a rug is completed — along with opportunities for personal growth and development.
Jaipur’s rugs are a fabulous resource, with inexpensive options (a couple of favorites I’ve used in client projects here and here) in flatweaves and indoor/outdoor rugs up through designer hand-knotted options that have won awards around the world. But they also carry some really cozy artisanal knit throw blankets.
I grabbed this one and snuggled into it at the end of my second day.
I wish I had a place for this upholstered day bed swing by Imagine Home. Give me a book, a glass of wine, and a summer breeze.
I bet I’d get through half a chapter and then fall asleep. Comes in 15 fabrics.
With all the walking that happens at High Point — 10-15,000 steps per day for most people — I was told that comfortable shoes were an absolute imperative. I heard about these shoes from a seasoned Market attendee through one of my designer Facebook groups.
I chose these loungers.
They are machine washable! And the soft wool insoles were so breathable. Not a blister in sight, after 3 days of walking, and I didn’t even wear socks. I lived in them ever since.
At the Cisco Bros. after-party on Sunday, a rep for First Aid Beauty was giving out samples. She said she was 67, and she had the most beautiful, natural looking skin, though she attested to a very simple skin regimen.
I like simple!
I turned 41 this year, and though I never had really bad skin as a teenager, my skin has changed considerably over the last few years. It can be very dry, and yet I will get hormonal outbreaks that can last for weeks, even months, especially in the winter.
For the last 5 weeks, I’ve been using this moisturizing leave-on exfoliator, this oil, and this hyaluronic moisturizing primer before makeup. I was worried I would break out, but honestly my skin has been feeling wonderful! Winter has always been a difficult time of year for me to wear makeup — everything just sits on the dry skin, even after exfoliating. I’ve tried some very expensive products before, and these seem to be doing a better job for about 1/3 the price.
Finally, Rowe Furniture had brunch on Saturday morning, and there were the best Bloody Marys!
The HH and I always made our own Bloody Mary mix from scratch. We’d tried various mixes, but they were never very good. I thought Rowe’s must have been homemade, but to my surprise, it was this mix!
The packaging is pretty corny, but I was so impressed that I actually ordered a bottle for ourselves. We indulged Thanksgiving morning over brunch. I have to say, with all the other dishes to be cooked, making Bloody Marys is not something we would have done that day had it not been for the Zing Zang 🙂
That’s it! We’re supposed to get our tree this morning and we have snow predicted for Sunday. We’ll be in front of the fire sipping Bloody Marys.
See you next Saturday!
-Amy
2 thoughts on “My Favorite Fun, Funky, and GIFTABLE Finds from High Point Market”
Awesome post, thanks Amy!
Thanks so much, Chris! I have a hard time choosing favorites. 🙂
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