Event Map

High Point Market’s vastness can be overwhelming, but fear not – we’ve got you covered. Study the event map meticulously, grouping your shopping destinations by location. By doing so, you’ll optimize your time and avoid unnecessary treks across the expansive campus. To further refine your experience, create an itinerary that aligns with your goals. Research exhibitors in advance, ensuring you don’t miss the chance to explore brands you’ve been longing to see, as well as those you’ve yet to discover.

Hidden Gems

Leave room for curiosity and exploration – a key ingredient to unearthing the unexpected. High Point Market is brimming with eye-candy distractions that can lead you to new avenues of design inspiration and vendors who can execute current project visions. Venture beyond the mainstream and discover off-the-beaten-path sources like the Phillips Collection warehouse where you can shop their live edge wood slab inventory, Schwung Home with its delightful French café, and an array of vintage shops that offer unique finds.

 

Endless Education

High Point Market is not just a visual feast; it’s also an educational opportunity waiting to be seized. Prioritize time to rest your feet and attend panels featuring industry experts. The HPMKT website unveils these events and programs two months ahead of the market, allowing you to plan your schedule accordingly. These panels offer a chance to connect with like-minded designers, learn from industry icons, and gain insights to elevate your own business.

 

pandora’s manor

Transportation

Time is precious at High Point Market, and every minute counts. For seamless transportation, consider renting a car to eliminate wait times for shuttles. Maximizing your time ensures you can pack in as much as possible during your visit. Parking options are aplenty, with affordable on-site rates, at $15 on the grounds, or a convenient option adjacent to EJ Victor, $50 which includes parking and a complimentary dinner at Pandora’s Manor for your carpool companions.

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BARBOUR SPANGLE

After years spent building their respective businesses and honing their individual expertise, Christi Barbour and Christi Spangle found themselves envisioning a new kind of studio — one where imagination would be rewarded, personal growth would be prioritized, and the process would be as important as the resulting designs. They founded Barbour Spangle Design on the belief that authentic connection is the cornerstone of creativity.

In what ways do you ensure personal growth is fostered within your design team, and how does this impact creativity and innovation in your projects?

As for personal growth, we have each team member participate in coaching specific to how we communicate, which helps in many ways: with clients, with each other, and in their personal lives. We want everyone to be well-rounded, both at work and at home. For advanced team members, we have them go through additional coaching programs specific to leading other team members. We also support their attendance at trade shows to see the latest products and design trends, host lunch and learns and CEU courses for continuous learning, and cover the costs of professional memberships where they participate in various programs.

Everyone on our team researches conferences and learning opportunities to ensure they have the most current information on the market. It’s built into our designers’ daily schedule to seek out new resources and opportunities to ensure we are at the head of the industry.

All of these efforts impact how our team interacts with clients (both current and future), their knowledge about products and the industry, and the creativity and innovation they put into our projects.

 

Can you share insights on how your design process evolves to accommodate the changing needs of clients as they transition through different life stages?

Communication is the key to success, so we invest heavily in it.

Our team needs to understand who uses the space for our commercial projects: Is it a start-up company with lots of collaboration and a young team? Is it a more formal office environment with a large range of age groups, and if so, how do we cater to those various needs with the right products and space allocations?

For our residential projects, our team needs to understand the family dynamics and their ages. If it’s a young family, spaces need to be designed to be safe for the youngest members and comfortable for everyone, meaning they need to be durable and practical. Suppose it’s for an older/aging family. In that case, there are conversations about aging in place, ergonomics of hardware selections, flooring transitions, adequate lighting, counter surfaces, built-in functionality (such as automated window shades), and more.

We recently designed for a senior living community whose executive team is committed to vetting the selections based on what questions residents will ask, not only for the current generation but also for future generations who will come to inhabit the space.

 

How do you approach designing for different generations, considering their unique design preferences and needs?

As professionals, we need to listen to what the clients want (their unique design preferences) and then interpret that based on our experience and vast product knowledge.

For spaces that include multiple generations cohabitating, we design for ease and accessibility with all in mind. Our design process, by nature, was developed to adapt and reflect the needs of our clients. Our personalized approach allows us to do this by asking the right questions.
For senior living and commercial projects, we see the perspective of all involved, including the facilities team, when designing a spec to ensure that the selections work and function for both the residents as well as the cleaning staff and maintenance requirements.

Specifically speaking, we consider the following things for different generations:

1. Dorms: Focus on high durability, feelings of home, and creating an inspiring environment
2. Young Families: We incorporate performance fabrics, evaluate the products used in the home to support children, etc.
3. Empty Nesters: Downsizing, design for aging in place, primary bedroom on the main level, ADA bathrooms
4. Senior Living: Making the environment adaptable and multi-generational, creating a beautiful aesthetic and incorporating feelings of home

Age-inclusive design is about considering vision, hearing, balance, memory, touch, aesthetic, and more when we design. We can incorporate these needs as we age while enriching lives through design.

 

What are some essential elements or features you consider when creating spaces that appeal to multiple generations?

At home, we suggest highly durable finishes such as washable fabrics, scuff-proof flooring, washable paints/wallcovering, hard counter surfaces, rounded edges, and nothing too precious. This approach results in a livable, comfortable home for all ages, young to old.

At the office, it’s a little different; we have to think about the workflow of generations. For example, Gen Z is much more comfortable with all things digital and moving from desk to desk, whereas many members of Gen X still want an office with storage for items they have collected over the years.

For multi-family and senior living projects, it’s essential to understand the demographics surrounding the community to provide a design and space that reflects the given environment. If the community is on the coast, add some coastal ties relative to the aesthetic, but that doesn’t mean standard beach landscape for artwork; instead, how do you create an environment that is reflective of the beach landscape? It’s about evoking a feeling and experience within the interiors that makes all generations want to stay a bit longer.

 

What are some key considerations you take into account when designing spaces for older adults that are both functional and aesthetically appealing?

Cabinet and door hardware can be a nuanced design element that significantly impacts the end-user. Additionally, counter finishes, flooring transitions, and overall lighting are essential as eyesight declines. Automation in the home can make aging in place much more comfortable, for example, having window sheers automated, so they don’t have to be raised and lowered manually.

For senior living or any residential project, we ensure the furniture’s scale and size are in proportion, since that can significantly impact daily routines. It becomes hard to get around as we age, therefore we want to ensure our furniture selections give the end user independence when living within a community space or in a private residence. When designing for accessibility in a community space, we want to evoke independence and make the environment comfortable. Some key elements to ensuring we do include seating with arms for ease of getting in and out and when seating is too deep, providing a lumbar pillow for support.

 

How do you handle situations where different generations within a family have conflicting design preferences, and how do you find common ground?

There is a delicate balance to this that requires good negotiating skills for the designer. Everyone deserves to have input on the final design, and our design process (which we explain in greater detail on our website) helps us determine how to find common ground that will be reflective of the family members living in their homes.

One tactical example includes incorporating soft surfaces for additional seating, such as ottomans and built-in benches, for visiting family members. We don’t envision the primary population utilizing these options, but when family visits, it allows for overflow seating for kids or adolescents to sit down.

We want to find a common ground for all to enjoy the space! As the designer, we are responsible for providing a solution that brings peace, compromise, and function for all parties involved within the environment.

ANGELA HARRIS

Angela Harris is an American interior designer, product designer, CEO, mother, and industry board member. At her renowned interior architecture firm, Angela has spent over 23 years working directly with the nation’s most prominent builders, developers, and product manufacturers.

Her robust experience in market-driven design coupled with a Masters in Sustainable Design has led her to embark on a new journey inspired by mindful design powered by science and technology. Angela is currently earning her PhD degree in Visual Arts, pursuing research in the field of Aesthetics, Design, and the Built Environment through IDSVA.

Angela and her talented team collaborate on all aspects of master planned communities, model homes, clubhouses, sales centers, commercial, hospitality, multifamily apartment communities, and product development.

How do you balance aesthetics and functionality with the emphasis on promoting mental and physical health in your designs?

It’s been said that the future of science is in the home, and I couldn’t agree more. As a design professional, I have the opportunity to not only provide my clients with beautiful spaces but enhance their well-being on a daily basis. Luckily, on a biological level, we are hard-wired to be more attracted to spaces that mimic the natural world.

 

How do you incorporate the principles of biophilic design into your interior architecture projects to enhance the well-being of occupants?

Being human means taking in your surroundings 24/7, and sometimes these environments are healing, and other times they’re not. Studies have shown that interior design has the ability to ease stress levels and promote well-being through a variety of biophilic design tactics such as exposure to natural light, incorporating patterns and textures that replicate those found in nature, and the use of organic materials like wood, stone, etc.

 

Are there any challenges you’ve encountered when implementing biophilic design, and how do you overcome them?

Human beings use their subconscious mind more than their conscious mind. Knowing this, we are constantly judging our environment without even realizing it. As a designer, it’s important to keep this in mind so I can ensure my client is happy in their space. This can be a challenge, since there are always so many details to take into consideration – from the number of windows allowing sunlight in a room, to the texture of the carpet below your feet.

With your ongoing research in Aesthetics, Design, and the Built Environment, what exciting discoveries or trends could revolutionize the way we approach interior design for well-being?

Promoting a sense of connection with nature is simply essential for psychological well-being. Biophilic design is proven to promote better sleep, enhanced creativity, and even boost immune systems. Another way to look at it is that 90% of our time is spent indoors, so there must be a critical connection between the built environment, design, art, and well-being. At least that is the way I see it at a very fundamental level.

 

With your experience in various project types, from master-planned communities to commercial spaces, could you share how the concept of well-being and biophilic design varies in each context?

The concept of biophilic design can (and should) be applied to any project, whether it be a residential community or a commercial space. Human beings everywhere could benefit from this scientific research, making it a valuable tool for creating healthy and sustainable living spaces. For example, incorporating loads of natural light and fresh greenery into an office space will likely have a positive effect on the mood and cognitive function of its employees.

 

As a mother, how has your personal experience influenced your understanding of well-being in design, especially when it comes to family-oriented spaces?

Through the study of neuroaesthetics and biophilic design, I’ve grown to truly understand the importance of creating a healing space for kids and adults alike – one that provides them with peace of mind on a subconscious level. As a child, I was also able to experience the power of art by living with an aunt who had Schizophrenia. It was clear to me that the art on the hospital walls and the opportunities we had to create art together had a direct influence on her health and wellbeing.

interior design by timothy corrigan

Rebuild to restore structural instability

One of the primary reasons for furniture restoration is structural instability, such as separating joints on unbalanced chairs. Traditional approaches to address this problem involve fully disassembling and rebuilding the piece.  This comprehensive process enables thorough examination and repair of each component before carefully reassembling them to enhance precision and overall strength as needed.

interior design by circagenevieve id

Guarantee of authenticity

Every trustworthy dealer will furnish a certificate of authenticity for the item, which should encompass a photograph, description, and the item’s condition at the time of sale, to the best of their knowledge.

In buying from a reputable dealer, you are assisting the preservation of cultural heritage that normally would not find a place in a museum and supporting the legal trade of ancient art. The trade, museums and academia are inextricably linked in fostering research, preservation and conservation of artifacts. Nowadays, many dealers and trade associations support preservation by fundraising for museums and by contributing to research and scholarship with grants or expertise. Many private collectors choose to publish and lend their collections to museums and institutions, exchanging ideas and expertise with academics and the public alike.

left: laura hodges studio; right: hawk & co

LAURA HODGES

A boutique design firm located in the Baltimore / Washington DC area, Laura Hodges Studio focuses on creating beautiful, tailored spaces while fully expressing every client’s individual style and taste. Principal Laura Hodges is known for an international aesthetic along with a love for unique and dynamic environments. Influenced by a Norwegian grandmother, British mother and Jamaican father, Laura developed an early appreciation for travel and diverse cultures, having traveled extensively to over thirty countries — from Greece and Morocco to Thailand and Peru. Laura Hodges Studio’s signature aesthetic is clean, tailored, and eclectic, incorporating unique vintage and antique finds, curated art and natural elements. 

SUMMER JENSEN

The Hawk & Co moniker pays homage to principal Summer Jensen’s Hawaiian family roots.  The ka‘io, Hawaii’s native hawk whose radiance inspired the ali’i, or chiefs, to adopt it as a royal symbol.  The noble reference is a fitting one.  It matches Jensen’s dedication to her design sensibilities: contrasting light and shadow, exquisitely meticulous attention to detail and a deference to the natural environment. She feels, “Mother nature is the greatest artist”. And with her bird’s eye view and overarching eye for intuition of a client’s understanding and trust, Jensen is in a design stratosphere all her own.

Laura, you have a LEED accreditation for practicing sustainable design and are LEED AP and a GREEN AP. Can you please share with our readers what these accreditations mean for your practice and what requirements each of your projects must meet? 

Being a LEED AP requires a rigorous study of sustainable building practices and an understanding of the process by which a structure becomes LEED certified by the USGBC. The GREEN AP program is more focused on interior furnishings and the accreditation requires knowledge of the effects of the design industry on climate change, how to create furnishings more sustainably and our impact as designers and makers. As a design studio, we keep sustainability at the forefront of our design process. Unless the building owner is seeking LEED certification, we’re not required to fulfill any specific criteria for most of our projects, but we do use the knowledge we’ve gained to create spaces that are responsible to the environment and make the most conscious use of materials, limiting our carbon footprint. 

You quote so elegantly on your website, “Good design is also sustainable design, and we make a commitment to our clients, our community and our environment to be eco-conscious in our design practices.” How do you effortlessly weave in sustainability at the forefront of each step in your design process?

Whether it’s repurposing existing furniture and materials, avoiding VOCs and off-gassing, integrating insulating materials to efficiently heat and cool a space, or sourcing furnishings more responsibly, we do our best to consider how our design will impact our environment. We prefer to source from sustainable manufacturers, so we prioritize those vendors that we know are working in a responsible way to source renewable materials, efficiently produce with little waste, reduce their carbon footprint and maximize their water usage. It’s also important that our vendors create a safe working environment and pay their employees a fair wage so we can let our clients know that their project supports communities and doesn’t come at someone else’s expense. Lastly, we love to source from brands that produce in America with traceable material sources and transparent fabrication methods, so we can reduce environmental transportation costs and support our local communities. 

You are incredibly philanthropic and involved in organizations such as The Children’s Home, the Catonsville Women’s Giving Circle and Second Chance. Can you share a few of your most impactful projects with these organizations and what you are most proud of?

We recently worked with The Children’s Home, a residential home for displaced youth, to create a new café for their residents, forming partnerships with local businesses and tradespeople to bring the project to life. Nicknamed the Treehouse Café, this space was designed to uplift and support the young residents of the Home and give them a space to connect with each other. Additionally, when we recently renovated a law firm, since we were updating all the furnishings, we coordinated with our client to donate all of their office furniture to The Children’s Home for their boardroom and back offices. 

How can sustainable interior design increase a designer’s bottom line? Can you provide an example or two, please?

Sustainable design can increase your bottom line if you integrate the practice into everything you do in an authentic way and offer the added value to your clients. Our clients love the stories we can tell them about where their furniture and decor was made (and often by whom) and that level of connectedness is invaluable, whether it’s to their local community or a faraway artisan collective. 

Biophilic design has long been a part of your practice, even before you knew the name for it. How did you get started in sustainable design, and why is it important to you?

Sustainable design wasn’t always a part of my practice, but as I saw more and more newly built homes demolished due to poor construction or a change in “style”, it became a morality issue for me.  To take without giving back pained me to see it happening all over our industry. As my own need for simplicity in an overly complicated world grew, I came back to my roots. Biophilic design and emphasis on ways to put people back in touch with Nature felt fulfilling. It gave back the meaning I was searching for.

Part of my mission is to demystify sustainable design for the masses. As design professionals, it’s surprising to me how little people talk about the health and wellness of their home and not just the wallpaper or art.

What are your favorite sustainable resources to incorporate into your interior design practice? There is a lot to consider when designing a home while keeping sustainability in mind from the site, to the lumber used to incorporating natural light…when you dive into a project, how do you keep sustainability as the highest priority?

To sustain is the ability to maintain a certain level. Or in layperson’s terms; equal in, equal out. Here is how I see how sustaining applies to home building:

1. Passive architecture – to orient the house to use natural daylight and cross breeze for most of the day.  At this stage, organize the home to be efficient such as clustering services near each other like bathrooms back-to-back, kitchens adjacent to laundry rooms.  Wasted space also counts as not sustainable…encouraging smaller, more efficient builds.  The best way to be sustainable is to reduce consumption.
2. Net-zero / energy production – most people are savvy when it comes to solar energy, but some others like geothermal heat pumps may also be on your radar.
3. Mechanical systems – heating and cooling of the home is the single largest use of energy.  Efficient cross breezes, heat sinks, ceiling fans and hydronic heating can all lessen that load. 
4. Water use – to capture rainwater for daily use as well as to reuse the water from our showers and sinks for landscaping…or get crazy and convert the methane from the black water waste and be able to power appliances.
5. Finishes and furniture – these should be 0 VOC with only water-soluble adhesives.  All timber should be sustainable, FSC certified and hopefully fast growth.  But more importantly, start asking manufacturers questions to let them know that these are important issues to you.  Let’s get the industry to not accept anything less than biodegradable packing materials and palette wrap. 
   1. Think about the cuts of wood you use; plain sliced wood has a yield of up to 90% whereas rift white oak’s yield is between 50-60%. What sizes are you specifying and how much waste does your design create?
   2. There are a ton of products that claim to be green.  Do your research and understand what your objective is.  I choose biodegradability over longevity, which means I reject Petra-chemical products whenever I can.  
   3. Furniture foams are one of the worst culprits of toxic chemicals.  Ask for natural latex and wool batting instead of poly-fill.  I would be suspicious of anything that is off-gassed.
   4. I also give preference to local vendors and/or vendors who support worthy causes or are from underprivileged areas. 
6. Food equity – How can you add equity to this home like integration of food production? From a few tomatoes on a vine to more elaborate food production.  Who doesn’t want to know exactly what they are eating these days?

 

How can sustainable interior design increase a designer’s bottom line? Can you provide an example or two please?

“You don’t need to choose between being purpose driven and being profit-driven, that is the big misconception” – Julie Mathers, CEO of Flora & Fauna.

I start by asking questions to the clients and produce a base strategy of the home. My first question is always, “would you rather have a home that is toxic or non-toxic?” 100% of respondents say the latter. After you set the client’s green priorities, start speaking with your design team and engineers to express your goals of wanting to build a sustainable home.  

There is a plethora of information out there and many people waiting for the opportunity to work on projects with new technology. This technology is often more efficient and cost saving, which in turn impacts the bottom line. I’m pleasantly surprised by how many people have built a net-zero home.  Be ahead of the pack and find small ways at first to think about your impact.  The more conscious you become, the more you will dive into other parts of sustainability.

What is a “good” profit margin?

You’ve done the calculations, now it’s time to check the pulse and see if your profit margin is healthy. Every industry has an average profit margin you should be aware of to determine how your own business is performing. For a design firm, a healthy gross profit margin can be anywhere from 30-40%. (Logistis for Designers) The goal is a good gross profit margin, one that is high enough to keep the business sustainable. The lower the gross profit amount and thereby percentage, the more income is needed to run the business. 

 

Why should YOU care about a healthy profit margin?

Simply put, profit margins are important because it detects how much of every revenue dollar is flowing to the bottom line. A profit margin can quickly determine any pricing problems (undercharging, ahem!) that may exist. If not identified quickly, pricing errors can create cash flow challenges and therefore threaten the ongoing existence of your entity…and that is an impending doom we do not want to face! 

How do YOU make your design firm a high profit margin business?

While many businesses looking to grow focus their efforts on increasing sales, improving profit margins is an out-of-the-box way to drastically increase their profitability. By widening your profit margins, you can make more from every dollar of your gross revenue, without increasing your client roster or services.

Here are a few of my favorite and most impactful ways to increase your profit margins:

1. Restrict the number of initial sessions: prospective clients can take up hours of your time with in-person creative brainstorming sessions before choosing to work with you. Let them know at the beginning of your engagement the price for the first session (or that the only complimentary onset time with you is the first call), and everything moving forward will have an associated fee. Pro-tip! If you have a questionnaire for prospective clients even before a discovery call, state the initial consultation charge there.
2. Hire accountants who understand your business: as the interior designer, it is your job to focus on your craft: sourcing materials, customizing furnishings, attending site visits and implementing final installation…bringing your client’s vision for their spaces to life. Leave the numbers to the experts! An accountant who is well versed in the design field will navigate business concerns that you would not have learned about in design school. They will take on the backend financial burdens of your day-to-day activities: vendor payments, client invoices, credit card reconciliation, and the list goes on. Pro-tip! By request, my accountant sends me a custom monthly report (that I can actually understand) of income, cost of sales, sales tax owed, income tax and savings to put aside.  Being able to read a report clearly will allow your financial literacy of your business to skyrocket.

3. Review your pricing strategies: if you have more tasks than you can handle but aren’t making enough money, you are not charging enough. Get comfortable knowing your worth and match your fees to your value add. If your clients abandon you solely because of pricing, they did not respect your expertise in the first place. Where do you start? The Circaphiles, 5 Ingredients in a Viable Pricing Strategy, of course.  Pro-tip! Once you are working with a profitable venture, you can have more say over what projects you accept and how much you charge.

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interior design by marea clark interiors