Ethnicraft builds on 30 years of solid wood heritage to reach High Point buyers
cHIGH POINT — Belgian solid wood supplier Ethnicraft’s expansion into designer and contract business is giving the furniture brand more ways to reach customers, company leaders told Furniture Today in High Point last week, while its solid wood heritage and retail relationships remain central to its approach.
Marking its 30th anniversary this year, the company used fall market to present that combination through furniture emphasizing natural materials, hand finishing and continuity between indoor and outdoor spaces.
“Most of our clientele is retailers from all over the world,” said Axelle Moncarey, PR and growth manager. “We only sell B2B … but our customers can buy containers or shop piece-by-piece,” giving the company an important opening with the design trade as well, she explained.
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That foundation has broadened as the company has identified opportunities in residential design and commercial projects. Retailers remain important to the business, Moncarey said, even as the boundaries between those channels become less distinct.
“When we started 30 years ago, most of our clients were retailers,” she said. “We felt, I think already 15 years ago, there was a gap, that Ethnicraft is perfect also for interior designers and big projects like hospitality, hotels and restaurants.”
The company’s experience with those customers has also revealed changes within its existing retail base.
“We see a shift more and more toward contract interiors,” Moncarey said. “Retailers are still a super important part of our business, but we also see retailers themselves starting to do projects.”
In High Point, Ethnicraft supports those relationships through two showroom settings. Its International Home Furnishings Center space puts the brand in front of passing buyers, while its larger off-site showroom provides room for established customers to explore the assortment and gather for meals and events.
“For us, the value of IHFC is still important,” Moncarey said.
Existing accounts make the trip to the off-site location, where the company hosts breakfast and dinner during Market, she said. The IHFC presence, which the company intends to maintain, helps introduce Ethnicraft to buyers who may not yet know the brand.
“The people we don’t know yet — we need to get them to see us, and that’s how we try to do it,” she said.
Across those presentations, wood provides a consistent link to the company’s history. Alongside the brand’s anniversary, Ethnicraft is marking 10 years of its Bok design, illustrating how established products continue to play a role in the assortment.
Reclaimed teak adds another dimension to that material story. Moncarey pointed to bedroom furniture incorporating wood recovered from both furniture and buildings in Indonesia, where the company has production.
“We recycle old parts of our furniture, but also wood from buildings in Indonesia,” she said. “We do a lot of handcrafting, and the finishing of our products is mostly done by hand.”
The emphasis extends to finishes that preserve visible grain, including on darker wood pieces. “We try to make sure you still see the wood grain,” Moncarey said.
Ethnicraft also carries its design approach between interior and exterior settings, giving retailers and designers options for coordinating spaces throughout a property.
“We really try to blend our indoor and outdoor collections so that everything people see indoors can be carried through to outdoors, and vice versa,” she said.
