High Point Fall Market Preview

October 17th through 22nd marks Fall Market days in High Point, North Carolina.  I'm not going, but have received numerous invitations to view new products that will be unveiled at Market.  From these invitations and press releases, I've detected a trend. 

Metals have been prominent for several seasons now (see my post Heavy Metal from 2012).  What I'm noticing is a new way that they are being integrated into furnishings.  I'm seeing an edgier, almost futuristic display of metals in some of the Fall Market introductions. 

Two pieces that illustrate this trend are the Zhin Cabinet from Currey and Company (below left) and the Butterfly Floor Lamp from the Phillipps Collection (below right).

   

The metal decoration on the cabinet, although geometrical and symmetrical, is abstract, referencing none of the motifs or geometries we typically see in furniture hardware.  Similarly, while the stand of the floor lamp mimics butterfly wings, the lack of a solid base is unconventional.  It's as if the lamp is tentatively balanced.

This Bernhardt credenza, debuting at Market in a similar console, strikes an almost brutalistic tone.  Made of a nickel silver alloy clad exterior, its form is massive and heavy feeling.

      

Patterns found in nature are re-interpreted in some new introductions.  Abstractions of tortoise shell and hexagrams surface here in the Langkawi Outdoor Table by Jonathan Charles and this credenza from Studio A.

            

When metals are combined with woods, the effect is almost raw.  Woods appear in a natural state or in an organic, dimensional form.  And the accompanying metal details seem similarly rough hewn.

             

Both the bases above -- of the Taracea coffee table and the Villiers Armoire by Alfonso Marina -- are sculpted yet rugged.  And both are paired with wood left in either its natural state or carved into a dimensional geometric form. 

These designs signal an interesting development: a turn away from resurrecting forms and patterns from the past (like mid-century modern or neoclassical) and a movement toward the creation of something new and novel.  I like it and am excited to see more!

Comments

[Stephanie Lowder]

On behalf of everyone at B E R N H A R D T, thanks so much, Laurie, for honoring our Winston Credenza. It's hand-clad piece by piece, fold by fold, in German silver — an alloy as you mentioned.

We think German silver is an amazing metal. It has many of the properties of brass and bronze, has been used in architectural structures and decorative elements for ages. Our designers and creatives are enjoying exploring the many creative applications for this and other metals in home fashions.

We enjoyed this post very much. All the best, and much continuing success!