High Point Market: Out of the mouth of babes

At last weeks High Point furniture market, I had the pleasure of meeting with 10 college students who hope to soon be a part of the home furnishings industry.

Trust me, these are kids to keep your eye on. Each one has the distinction of being a recipient of the Celia Moh schlorship, a prestigious award founded by the incredibly talented and generous founder of Universal Furnitiure, Larry Moh.

The kids are attending a variety of schools including Kendall, ECU, Appalachian State and High Point Universtiy.

I got to chat with them in our offices after they had spent time at market. My first question to them was obvious: What caught your eye at market?

High on their list was green, aka sustainable products.  In fact, one of the students, soon to be an interior designer, was unpleasantly surprised to learn from one upholstery exhibitor that most of the fabrics being used by the company were not green. Even worse, she told me, was when she learned that this company’s practice was to throw away old and discarded fabric.

A heads up to that company: When she is out in the field, she told me she won’t be specifying your frames anytime soon!

The kids were also impressed by efforts to combine form, fashion and function. They were particularly excited about some of the multi-function product they saw during market.

I also asked them what the home furnishings industry could be doing better.  They said we need to pay more attention to the consumer. In particular, they said we need to spend more time on the front end of design asking the consumer what kind of furniture she wants and how she will use it.

The also want us to focus on making good design that incorporates comfort, an affordable proposition.  “Make good design democratic,” was how one of the students expressed it.

Lastly, these kids are anxious to come into the business and help make it better.

Let’s be smart enough to facilitate that transition!