Reasons to celebrate at High Point Market | Allison Zisko
Heading into High Point Market this week, we are delighted to celebrate several milestone anniversaries in the home furnishings industry, including one of our own.
Congratulations to Skyline Furniture and its CEO Meganne Wecker on the company’s 80th year in business. It is marking the occasion by honoring its heritage in its new products and reimagining familiar motifs.
Theodore Alexander is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year while undergoing a metamorphosis from a strictly traditional furniture company to one that has a broader product assortment, a wider customer base and more accessible price points. President Ed Teplitz, whom I interviewed for our October Portrait (please pick up a copy of the issue in High Point if you’re going), said Theodore Alexander is a “little gem” he wants more people to know.
The Howard Elliott Company is celebrating its silver anniversary. Twenty-five years ago, based on a state of the industry report from Home Accents Today, founder Brian Berk launched a mirror business that soon expanded into a whole-home assortment.
And 2026 marks Home Accents Today’s 40th anniversary. It is an honor and a privilege to be a part of this industry, to deliver daily inspiration and information, and to serve as a voice for its members.
Part of our mission as trade journalists is to pose questions constantly. Ahead of this market, we asked manufacturers, “What’s one skill you’d like your entire team to learn?” I loved the answers, which you can find in our Saturday show daily in High Point. More than one person stressed the importance of intellectual curiosity, which LaVern Hershberger of Abner Henry defined as the ability to constantly ask, “What else is possible?” I think that should be the industry’s defining mantra.
Exchanging ideas among industry peers about what’s possible is part of a successful market, and we’ve lined up several opportunities for you. On Saturday, Oct. 17, I will be moderating a retail roundtable discussion for independent store owners looking for ways to solve day-in, day-out operational issues — like finding the best POS system or managing a large furniture delivery with a limited staff — that take precious time away from actual retailing. Our Elevated Retail columnists, Vicki Rulli and Tom Heaphey of Duo Home in Springfield, Ohio, suggested the idea, and we are happy to partner with them and offer an opportunity for retailers to gather and get to know one another. The roundtable is scheduled for 11 a.m. at Universal Furniture, and all are welcome.
And on Sunday, Oct. 18, from 4-6 p.m. on the top floor of the Suites at Market Square, Home Accents Today is happy to host, with sister pub Designers Today, the Icons & Future Innovators event that will celebrate interior designer Corey Damen Jenkins and our 40 Under 40 honorees. We also have a star-packed panel of industry experts who will debate what’s in, what’s out and what’s next in design. Audience members will participate and vote in this flip-the-paddle discussion, which promises to be lively, maybe a little controversial, and a lot of fun. I hope to see you there!
