Popular spring shows hit the East Coast

Spring brings two of the largest U.S. furniture exhibitions on the 2017 calendar. The Spring High Point Market runs April 22-26 in High Point. N.C., followed by the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (May 21-24) at the Javits Center in New York.

High Point is a mammoth trade show for the furnishings industry, covering 11.5 million sq. ft. in 180 buildings. It will feature approximately 2,000 exhibitor booths and showrooms, and over 75,000 attendees.

The ICFF is much smaller in scale, but still boasts 800 exhibitors of contemporary furniture, seating, carpet and flooring, lighting, outdoor furniture, wall coverings, accessories, textiles, and kitchen and bath products for residential and commercial interiors.

This year, the ICFF will feature 14 post-secondary institutions in the schools program, which recognizes emerging design talent.

Each participating school submitted a student design project with the goal of creating a new piece or collection to achieve a specific goal. Some schools set out to challenge the status quo of design, while others looked to demonstrate the ability of design to increase wellbeing, according to the ICFF.

One school will be selected as the Best Design School by the ICFF Editors’ Award team.

Golden State exhibitions

Two California galleries wrapped up furniture exhibitions in February. The Wilding Museum in Solvang featured “Natural Materials: Fallen Trees, Local Artisans,” while the Escondido Municipal Gallery presented the eighth annual “Wood, A Furniture Show.”

The Wilding exhibit, hosted by the Santa Ynez Valley Woodworking Guild, included work made with locally sourced materials. There were bowls, urns, furniture and a repurposed 1853 rosewood piano that Ken Frye turned into a cabinet displaying bowls from a tree that once stood in Solvang. The show also featured a tribute to wood artist Bud Tullis.

The Escondido show, presented by the Escondido Arts Partnership and the San Diego Fine Woodworking Association, featured contemporary, traditional and studio furniture by Southern California makers. Brian Murphy, a designer and builder of Arts & Crafts furniture for the last 25 years, was the curator.

Contacts

Escondido Municipal Gallery, 262 East Grand Ave., Escondido, CA 92025. Tel: 760-480-4101. www.escondidoarts.org

High Point Market Authority, 164 S. Main St., Suite 700, High Point, NC 27260. Tel: 800-874-6492. www.highpointmarket.org

International Contemporary Furniture Fair. Tel: 800-465-5514. www.icff.com

Wilding Museum, 1511-B Mission Dr., Solvang, CA 93463. Tel: 805-688-1082. www.wildingmuseum.org

This article originally appeared in the April 2017 issue.