At the end of March this year, I travelled to North Carolina in the US to visit the largest interiors industry trade show in the world. High Point draws more than 75,000 people to visit every 6 months – everyone from serious retail home furnishing buyers to interior designers to architects. It is, year on year, the pinnacle of the interiors world because, as people say, “if you can’t find it at High Point… it probably doesn’t exist!”.
Before the doors had even opened, I was invited to a private preview at High Point and had the privilege of meeting Seth Troyer; Head of Design for style icon Kelly Wearstler. It was so special to speak with Seth about some of the new designs he has been working on with Kelly and I was really pleased to see more beautiful alabaster in sconces; a trend that seems to be growing. There was a buzz in the air that Kelly Wearstler may turn up as she was in the neighbourhood… I hope to meet her next time!
I also had the honour of meeting with Sean Lavin; designer of our Tech Lighting ranges. He kindly introduced me to one of his latest products, a stunning string of lights.
He explained that his inspiration for this light was a “beaded necklace”. After much experimentation to try and create an LED string of lights, on a trip to Vietnam, Sean spotted some votive candle holders. He put them back to back. Voilà! Finally the perfect combo of crystal and soft lighting came to life.
On the Friday, I was able to meet and chat with a number of designers – Thomas O’Brien (designer of lighting for James Bond films) had some incredible anecdotes about flying around in concords during the 80s when he worked on Mr Ralph Lauren’s homes. His iconic pieces are always a firm favourite in our gallery.
Kyle Myers of Chapman and Myers designed our popular Roark chandelier when he worked for Ralph Lauren - he admitted that the creative director at the time hated his design and nearly binned the whole idea…
It was such a pleasure meeting the wonderful Suzanne Kasler, creator of the iconic Morris lantern (as seen in the Ivy restaurants in the UK including our own in Tunbridge Wells). Suzanne’s support of lumière through Instagram has meant the world and I was proud to work on an Edinburgh project with her UK based design team recently.
When I saw Alexa Hampton, she was being introduced to a senior industry person but when she spotted me, to my biggest surprise, she shouted out “lumière!” and gave me the biggest hug - we didn’t stop laughing the whole time. Loved her vibe.
I also got to meet one of our newer designers, Paloma Contreras. It was a pleasure to see her collection at High Point and she took the time to explain that she has taken much inspiration from France for her pieces.
I was very pleased to meet Jacob, head of design Kate Spade home. I told Jacob I love the collection. I also commented that Kate Spade clothing campaigns are so epic that I’d love to see the same creativity injected into a lighting campaign. Any huge fashion house would never launch a fashion campaign depicting dresses on hangers rather than people…I think the same should be true for lighting. Can you imagine a Kate Spade Fashion campaign incorporating their lights?! He said he may have seen our Instagram…
I also had the opportunity to visit other areas of the High Point Market, such as the Antique District. Here I unexpectedly fell in love with some stunning oversized vintage lights - their body is a beautiful handmade filigree wire lace. The lingerie of the lighting world; they remind me of a handmade lace ribbon I bought in a flea market in Paris. I have finally figured out a way to take them home with me… I am calling them the Carolina pendants. I have big plans for them when I get home before they become available to buy.
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Overall, it was an utterly magical experience visiting High Point after so many years of looking and wishing from afar; there is nothing like seeing the pieces in the flesh, meeting their incredible designers, and simply being surrounded by so many other like-minded creatives and visionaries – a true home away from home!
I look forward to bringing some of the magic home to lumière and sharing it with you all in the gallery soon!
Melissa x
