Twenty-five plus years ago I attended my first High Point Market. I was 5 years old, for anyone trying to do the math! A lot has changed and I have changed, but there is one constant that I find when I attend every market:
A great story.
Over the years, I’ve woven many of my Market stories into my clients designs and my story. This year, I got to add a twist to my story hunt. Andmore, formerly International Market Centers, asked me to be one of their Market Pros. What is Andmore? An omnichannel wholesale market maker that fuels opportunities for wholesale buyers and sellers to connect through markets, showrooms, and digital platforms.
The Market Pros are assigned specific locations to hunt out their eight new market favorite finds. I put one more layer into my selections…you guessed it…my Market Finds had to be Made in America! Curious what some of my favorites are and why I chose them?
You’re gonna love this…
Eastern Accents caught my eye early in the hunt with their Wilder Collection! How could it not? I am Gigi to Hayden and Flynn! To date my greatest ride in life has been being a grandmother to these amazing two boys.
Designed and crafted in Chicago, this collection is filled with Smiling Monkeys, Loving Giraffes, and Happy Elephants. It is colorful, rich with texture and pattern, and the perfect ensemble to curl up with the boys and read ‘where the wild things are’. What’s not to love here? Oh, and did I mention the bedding is machine washable? Color this Gigi happy as a clam! The Wilder Collection is an adventure in the making, so well done, Eastern Accents! There may be a new bedroom in Flynn or Hayden’s near future!
Joe has always said that one of the many things he loves about me is that I’m that hometown country gal more comfortable in cutoffs and a t-shirt than dripping in jewels. It tends to be easier on his wallet, too! I love a great pair of boots over diamonds any day of the week, but when it comes to sparkle in lighting, I love more than just a splash of it. No one does sparkle better than Schonbek. They stopped me in my tracks when I found the Serenity Pendant. Look carefully—it is so much more than just crystal. Pearls are subtly dispersed using a Co-bot tool within this fixture, creating an unexpected composition. While you’re looking carefully, are you curious where the light is? Three LED lights pinpoint the pendant from the escutcheon plate making the crystal dance, drawing you to its beauty. Schonbek is an American Success Story 150 years in the making, made in Plattsburg, NY.
Where I grew up in Mayberry, aka Durham, CT, I was surrounded by hundreds of acres of state forest. As a child, I thought the trees could talk to me. Sometimes I didn’t like what they had to say, especially during ice storms when they would creak and moan, threatening to land on the homestead! But my favorite ‘conversations’ were the playful ones in the fall that included soft beds of leaves to jump in, or their bursts of buds in the spring promising warmer days and plentiful dense shade for those hot summer days that were in my near future. Over the years, my love for trees has only grown. Honestly, one of the selling features of the Little House is her beautiful banyan tree in our back yard! Maybe that’s why, when I stumbled upon Paul Montgomery’s Southern River mural at The Mural Source, I was captivated. Here stood before me a scene that wove together my love for the majestic gift of trees; a little from the north and some from the south.
The Southern River showcases banyan trees dripping with Spanish moss, palm trees swaying in the wind along the river, and what I saw in the distance was large sturdy oaks and maybe even a few beech trees. I don’t know for certain if that’s what Paul intended with this scene, but it spoke to me. Imagine my surprise when Paul and his team shared that these exquisite murals are printed in Virginia. Now I just need to figure out where this gem fits into my future.
There is so much more to share with you. Donna and I hunted for three days. Our feet screamed and our backs ached from standing on concrete floors for hours…so be patient as I collect the details on these great finds.
Like I said, you’re gonna love it!
Stay tuned…
LDD Interiors looks to preserve American craftsmanship in our designs as much as possible and support home grown talent.