High Point Market 2018: Pretty is Back

Do you believe in comeback stories?

I do.

After this year’s market, I have found a sliver of hope that we are on the verge of starting a comeback in a market that has all but disappeared: quality American furniture.

Not many people know that between 2001 and 2012, more than sixty-three thousand U.S. factories closed—furniture and clothing mills, shoe and machine-tool factories. Shareholders, the Great Recession, and WE {the consumer} demanded cheaper goods. The solution to that problem seemed to be to find a cheap labor force in foreign countries.

And despite China’s artificial lowering of its currency and other intricacies that economists couldn’t have predicted, every showroom I walked in had imported furniture and lights. The high-end showrooms had a smattering of American-made upholstery mixed in with their imported case goods.

But there are small rumblings of change.

I sat in two discussion groups with some of the best in the design business. One discussed quality. The other talked about the history of “pretty” and its winding path with the ups and downs of economies. The exciting part was that both highlighted the returning desire of people to create something that lasts, who care about the details, and even the Millennials who are rejecting trends pushed by big box stores and that are opting instead for their own unique style (with an added consciousness of their environmental impact).

If optimism can be equated to color, pattern, and details, the  showrooms were definitely showing they had it.

There were pretty trims and attention to details like the shape of arms and the folds of fabric.

I noticed an increase of luxurious fabrics on sofas such as velvet and mohair, and an added emphasis on performance fabrics that will allow us to really use our furniture. If there was anything good that came out of the Great Recession, I hope it is the fact that we care more about what we are purchasing instead of simply “filling” a home. I felt that the showroom reps were pitching this at Market, and that must mean the consumer is demanding it.

Lighting continues to be a way to make a statement instead of taking a supporting role. And as I predicted many years ago, brass is the hot. I’m seeing more of it than any other metal. As fashion and trends go, it seems to be a backlash to all of the cold grays of the last decade. Warmth is trying to make a comeback, albeit differently than the peachy-beige of twenty years ago.

My favorite finds were the manufacturers that cared as much about the inside of the furniture as the outside.

It’s going to take a lot of years to fix what we broke, but manufacturers will bring higher-quality goods that are made in America back faster if you and I demand it. That is more effective than any action taken by governments.

Will it be more expensive to purchase?

Yes.

But I’ve met the small families that are running these furniture businesses. They are depending on you and me to feed their families. They take great pride in the work that they do. I want to support them.

In a time when everything is at our fingertips with a swipe of a card or a stroke of the keyboard, let’s take a minute and think about the good we could do by delaying instant gratification, investing in quality, training a new generation of skilled craftsman, and being good stewards of our environment.

I think it’s worth the effort.

Will you join me and the growing number of conscience consumers?

P.S. Have you signed up for my newsletter? On Thursday they will be getting bonus Market material. We’ll be discussing the biggest color trends I saw and discuss what they mean. If you haven’t, you can do it now by putting your email into the box above the header!