High Point Visitor Center to highlight local designs, seasonal exhibits during October market

HIGH POINT — In support of the High Point Market and North Carolina’s furniture industry, the High Point Visitor Center has launched numerous initiatives, including relocating in 2024 to the Splashworks building at 515 W. English Road — all in order to connect to the home furnishings and design industries.

Apart from gaining a larger and more modern space, the center says it now offers rentable meeting rooms, networking and breakout areas, and event spaces for marketgoers. The building also houses design-focused tenants and displays locally sourced pieces and exhibits.

Melody Burnett, president at the High Point Visitor Center, said the organization would like to become a strategic point for the world’s largest home furnishing trade show.

“We want to be an extension of the High Point Market Authority‘s efforts. They do a banner job in catering to market guests, but we want to be that extension of guest services for the marketgoer,” Burnett said. “We’re happy to have those accommodations for the market goer no matter what they may need.

“We have a really cool timeline about our High Point history, and of course when you think about our legacy branding, it really stands strong with the High Point Market,” she added.

For the upcoming fall High Point Market, global paint and coatings company Sherwin Williams will use the temporary exhibit space at the center to highlight seasonal color trends. The center will also display design pieces, including the iconic, award-winning seatbelt chair by designer Nuttapong Charoenkitivarakorn for the Phillips Collection.

“Everything you see within the visitor center is locally sourced,” Burnett continued. “You will see the custom pieces from Stab Design, a High Point by Design curated brand member. The signature piece that folks really resonate with is the Phillips Collection Seatbelt chair. Everyone really recognizes that chair from the Hunger Games. Mark and Jason Philips were so great in letting us use that signature piece as the Visit High Point logo.”

The center also serves as a connecting point, linking visitors to nearby hotels, dining options, restaurants, coffee bars and shuttle stops, while remaining a year-round resource for the industry, professionals and consumer visitors.

“We have done a really good job of catering to the consumer side, but we also have some really good tools as well that connects to the B2B side,” Burnett said.

Founded in 1983 by the High Point Chamber of Commerce and later incorporated as a non-profit, the High Point Visitor Center is operated by Visit High Point, the official destination marketing organization. It serves as a central hub for tourists and local visitors, offering information on local attractions. accommodations, restaurants and the High Point Market.