While I know there are plenty of blogs out there that share their experience with the High Point Furniture Market, veterans or fashion experts are usually the authors. Name brand companies have teams whose sole goal is to paint their company in the light of success based on another "in house" team’s market research.  People who follow the trends and know the furniture industry inside and out, knowing just what to say in order to trigger a sale or interest.

I am not one of those people. I am new to the furniture industry and I tend to tell it how it is because I believe people want the truth… want to see a company as a person, not as a big corporation with CEO’s that could care less about their employees. I graduated from Appalachian State University in Boone, NC with a photography degree in December of 2011. I’d never been to market, in fact, I hardly knew what it was. I had four months to learn everything about the company; who they are, what they stand for, what the mission is and how they have changed since the furniture industry went over seas; all of that goes in to communicating who they are photographically. Four months to develop and perfect my eye and lighting and editing when shooting furniture (my graduating portfolio revolved around portraiture - and the two are hardly related.) Four months to grasp the vast meaning of the High Point Furniture Market – the biggest furniture market in the world.

In all honesty, the marketing team here (which really consists of a marketing director… and me, a photographer, retoucher and social media fan) really began preparation for this years April market five weeks prior to its opening.  We sat down, looked at a calendar and began talking about what needed to be accomplished between then and April 21st. My head began spinning; furniture wasn’t built (the order hadn’t even been finalized,) the new catalog hadn’t been in process for long, take-aways had to be thought about, press packets hadn’t been discussed, ideas for design and color schemes for the showroom hadn’t been approached, and every part of this process had to be photographed, designed or edited in one way or another. Five weeks. Five.

The idea for our newly improved image was upscale, geared towards women. Clean. We’d been headed that direction for a long time, but were having a hard time communicating it. Our look had to match that this time around, communicate that. It’s who we are now, yet all people seemed to think of us for was our Bakers Racks... the foundation to the Charleston Forge expansion all those years ago.

I was continually told that market was glamorous, busy, buzzy and nothing less than exciting. Five weeks and I was having a hard time seeing it. I am surrounded by a factory; men covered in metal dust, loud noises and flying sparks, and a vast space that could serve as a horror film backdrop at night - jagged metal, sparsely lit. The only clean white space is my studio here at the factory, and even that is in need of new paint after the frenzy that is market prep. At that point, I could only guess where we were truly headed, and all I had to work with was lighting. The head spinning continued as I frantically photographed and edited and designed and edited… and edited.

Then the CEO, Art Barber, and I went to High Point, to the Charleston Forge Showroom. I fell in love with the Market Square building. The old brick, the large windows streaming light in, the open spaces… and while no one had even begun to set up for the upcoming Market, there were plenty of showrooms still set up from the October 2011 Market. I felt that I was back in New York City, visiting Martha Stewarts studios. I suddenly saw the vision of what had been discussed back at our factory. I saw our product beautifully lit against an upscale backdrop and on the level of New York. Instead of old school bakers racks, I saw beautiful clean finishes and accent pieces paired with amazingly designed beds and consoles. I came back to Boone with a much clearer and cleaner vision of our goal for this years Market.

We got it done. With only a few weeks left, and with a very limited staff, we finished everything we’d set out to do to portray Charleston Forge in the light that it deservs.

While I did not get to see market in full swing, the Thursday before market opened was enlightening.  The showroom was fully set up, the press packets were delivered and our reps were set to meet with us. I was impressed with what our team had accomplished in such a short period of time, especially when the showrooms of names much bigger and well staffed than ours were still full of boxes that had only earlier that day been delivered… and there wasn’t a person in sight unpacking or directing the flow of what needed to happen in order to be fully prepared for market to open. 

At Charleston Forge, we are best known for our furniture. Our bakers racks, our dining tables, our drink tables, our swivel counter stools and chairs... even our beds which have had the pleasure of gracing the bedrooms of some of the top celebrities. However, what many don't realize is that we cater to a whole range of needs.

The Town of Boone, NC commissioned us a few years back to create street signs that looked classic, and remained sturdy (hey, it's what we're known for,) but also fit the small town feel of this quaint little place that has made it to so many "Best of..." lists (most recently being listed as number 4 on Forbes list of Fastest-Growing Small Towns.) We were more than happy to be a part of this project for this town were we live, work and play. Since that time, we have created signs for other main street areas in other states. 

In addition, we have recently been a part of furnishing brand new upscale hotels, building lighting systems and a huge wine rack  (which covers an entire wall) in a soon to open restaurant in Uptown Charlotte. We are in the process of creating table bases for a major golf course here in the south (stay tuned for that story within the next few weeks,) and although it's not something we do on a daily basis, we did design and create some beautiful banisters for an outdoor stone patio and entertainment area at a clients home. They could have gone with someone else, but they wanted our quality and our style along with our craftsmanship . We are so much more than furniture (although it is something we're great at.)

Downtown Boone, NC