There are two things you can count on every April in North Carolina: The beautiful blooming azaleas, and the International Home Furnishings Market in High Point.  Known simply as “Market” in the industry, the show at High Point is the largest furniture industry trade show in the world,  with 180 different buildings totaling over 10 million square feet.

 

This is where retail furniture buyers go every spring and every fall, to check out what’s new from their favorite manufacturers, and to scout out exciting new additions for their showroom floors.  It’s a time every buyer looks forward to and dreads at the same time. There’s always the possibility of finding a great new resource, but that comes at the expense of long days, sore feet, and overwhelmed minds.  It’s exciting, it’s mind boggling and it’s exhausting.  Like a giant mall with nothing to see but home furnishings, buyers from around the world try to squeeze more than 24 hours from each day; to see one more upholstery resource, one more accessories vendor, one more bedroom manufacturer.

Vendors unveil new introductions during the High Point shows, and collections sink or swim based on their reception by the buyers. The Market offers home furnishings in all styles and price points, so there is something to suit every taste and every budget.  Need a stuffed giraffe for that safari inspired display? Check.

How about a giant birdcage chair for your aviary? Check.

Maybe the biggest sectional ever? Check.

Or a custom dog bed to match your sofa? Yup. Got it.

And, just like in a mall, you will see every kind of shopper. There are high heeled, custom clothed interior designers.  There are rumpled, tennis shoe wearing owners of the mom and pop stores that are still so prevalent in the furniture industry.  There are young hipsters striding intently with their iPads and blue tooth ear pieces. There are older gentlemen who have been in the business longer than the hipsters have been alive, shuffling just as intently.  But for all their differences, they all have one thing in common:  They come to High Point twice a year to shop the biggest collection of home furnishings in the world.