High Point Highlights: Spring 2015
Last Thursday, the High Point Market wrapped up, bringing a week of design eye candy to a close. We feel like we barely scratched the surface during our time there—which seems reasonable, considering there were thousands of exhibitors scattered throughout the area—but our experience was incredibly inspiring. Not only did we see the most beautiful and unique antiques in our days primarily spent in the Antique & Design Center, but we also loved the opportunity to chat with the exhibitors, organizers, volunteers, and designers passing through. It was such a pleasure to talk to them in person about what they loved about the event, what they were excited about, and what they did after hours when they weren’t surrounded by gorgeous, one-of-a-kind items.
Our High Point excursion began on Thursday, April 16 (which feels like a lifetime ago!). Upon arrival, we were delighted to discover that the table where our guides were displayed was adjacent to the fabulous booth of some familiar faces: Michael and Candace DeLoach of Charlottesville and New York-based DeLoach Design and Decoration and the wonderful Inn at Court Square in Charlottesville. We were mesmerized by a pair of mid-century modern chairs upholstered in a dreamy silver/dove grey fabric, as well as the gorgeous watercolors by Michael’s daughter, Collin (both shown above). Meeting Michael and Candace’s mother, Carleen, was a highlight, and we doubt we would have survived the show without the DeLoach team’s hospitality (Gerard from the New York office kept us well fed with delicious snacks and the occasional sip of wine). Great design, great people, and great conversation—what more could you ask for?
After getting our bearings, we set out to find Nancy Price of TSG Jackson. Her stunning setup included the most amazing framed 17th and 18th-century gilt fragments, gorgeous necklaces (including a hand-carved jade and coral creation that had us swooning), fascinating stained glass templates annotated with the buildings in which they were installed (shown above, right), and too many other lovely pieces to count. We loved chatting with Nancy and her team, and left vowing to make plans to spend more time with them during the next Market.
Winding our way around the Antique & Design Center was a visual feast. Every corner held something amazing—a nest constructed out of branches at Tuesdays On the Boulevard, a reliquary converted into a bar by The Barn on Sweetwood, a too-unbelievable-for-words secretary at TSG Greensboro’s Caroline Faison Antiques (shown above), gilt animals set on reclaimed antique frames at Whitehall Antiques…we wanted it all!
Just beyond the Antique & Design Center, in the not-yet-officially-opened Suites at Market Square, we found the Nomadic Trading Company booth filled with gorgeous rugs, furniture (including the bench shown above, from an outdoor cinema in the Czech Republic), accents, and copies of TSG Raleigh | Durham | Chapel Hill. They also had fantastic industrial-style pendant lamps in a variety of sizes…many of which were claimed by TSG co-founder Christy Ford for her husband’s soon-to-open Lynchburg-based abattoir, Seven Hills Meat Co.
Following a quick coffee break, we visited the talented Tommy Mitchell’s booth. Still in the process of being set up—as the High Point Market didn’t officially open until Saturday—it nevertheless made us stop in our tracks. His work (a detail of one of his metal sculptures is shown above) is simply gorgeous.
Upstairs in the Salon, we stopped by TSG New Orleans artist Alexis Walter’s space. Seeing her paintings in person is always awe-inspiring—the layers, drips, and variations in color are so beautiful. We fell in love with the large-scale work hanging just outside her booth, as well as a smaller work displayed in a stunning frame from the Prado that Walter had gotten at an auction.
After a day of chatting and scouting, we set off for Durham, where we stopped by TSG Raleigh | Durham | Chapel Hill editor Hopie Avery’s beautiful house to say hello (and crashed her garden club meeting in the process!) before finally arriving at our home away from home, the 21c Museum Hotel, just in time for our dinner reservation at newly opened Counting House restaurant. Ending the day with a great meal at the boutique hotel/contemporary art museum was perfect.
The next day was another whirlwind of trying to take everything in and talking to incredible people, including TSG Greensboro editors Tonya Cockman and Danielle Rosson; TSG Chattanooga editors and owners of REVIVAL Rodney Simmons and Billy Woodall; Justin Westbrook of TSG Charleston’s Westbrook Moving, who was busy helping keep track of and move treasures from booths to buyers’ vehicles; Stephanie Jarvis of TSG Jacksonville, who gave us a sneak preview of the talk she delivered on Monday about incorporating antiques into one’s home (and indulged us with an enlightening session of “what’s in my bag,” which gave us a crash course in how an expert does High Point).
Per TSG co-founder Christy Ford’s recommendation, we made our way to the space of Pandora de Balthazar Fine Linens in the Suites at Market Square. An impeccable hostess, de Balthazar offers a transformative experience via her linens, and after offering us lunch she immediately invited us to climb into one of the gorgeous beds in her booth to get a sense of what her hand-loomed, organic linens feel like. One must experience them in person to truly appreciate how deliciously light, airy, and luxurious they are, but believe us (and our TSG co-founders, both of whom sleep on de Balthazar’s pillows): they are divine. We’ve previously stated our belief in the importance in investing in rest, but we’ll say it again: it is worth it. As de Balthazar noted, “The infrastructure of an environmentally friendly, tailored top-of-bed system that induces nurturing sleep will change your life.”
Following our foray into fine linens, we were ready for some rest and eager to head home to Charlottesville. We arrived home exhausted but inspired, and already excited about heading back to High Point in the fall.
