Inside Market Trips: What Interior Designers Really Look For & Do While There
There's a bit of a misconception that we, as professional interior designers, attend large market events such as High Point in NC to get "up-to-date" on trends. In fact, that couldn't be further from the truth. We love what we do as designers because we love the relationships we have with our clients. And it is FOR our clients that we choose to attend annual events like High Point Market.
Three of the areas that our clients benefit from the most as a result of our regular visits to various markets are, a) building on our vendor relationships, b) experiencing quality and construction details, and c) finding the newest innovations in home furnishings.
Reason #1: Tending Vendor Relationships
Our office has trade accounts with hundreds of companies, manufacturers and suppliers, and each and every one of these companies has its own trade reps and customer service reps. The years that we've spent building trusting relationships with these invaluable people are the key to a successful process.
Knowing who to call when something goes wrong (and things go wrong with regularity) is priceless. Trusting that the information that we rely on to advise our clients is always direct, open and honest is critical. These relationships mean that our phone calls get picked up and returned quickly and our emails are seen and responded to in a timely manner. In other words, help is always only a step away.
Reason #2: Thoroughly Testing Furniture
In today’s market, it is often not common to actually see, touch, feel, and experience (in person) a potential furniture purchase. Being able to confidentially make a decision as important as a home furnishings purchase relies almost exclusively on our knowledge and direct experience with each of these manufacturers and their products.
We can honestly advise on the true comfort and performance of a product because we put a great deal of time and training into each company we represent.
Reason #3: Taking In Field Innovations
In the last 18 months, we've visited the Middleby Showroom in Dallas where we got up close and personal with some of the most impressive lines of appliances in the world (La Cornue, Aga, Brava, and Viking, just to name a few).
We've also traveled to Highpoint, NC for the largest home furnishings trade show in the world with a sprawling 11 million square feet of showrooms to visit. While visiting, not only are we able to shop our lines, but we are also able to discover potential new lines as well as attend a factory tour of one of the many manufacturers that call Highpoint their home.
Last but not least, we always attend the Las Vegas furniture market which has 3 enormous buildings of showrooms featuring the newest technology in textiles, furniture constructions, and art & accents.
While the aesthetic trends are always fun to observe, it is actually discovering the general market shifts that are happening and the connections of our in-person opportunities that are the most important take-aways from our time at markets.
Curious why we do the things that we do year after year? You're in the right place! Send us your questions, and we'd love to answer.
Warmly,
Kelly