Highlights from High Point Market

Nov 11, 2022 | community, Cultural, Education

As a small but mighty team, we typically always have at least one person holding down the fort. So, anything that requires all of us to be away from the studio for more than one business day needs to be an investment that will benefit our team, our business, our partners, and our clients. And for the first time in Concetti history, we took the entire team to High Point Fall Market 2022!

Having been to previous High Point Markets, Concetti leadership knew this would be the event to invest in. High Point is where the latest home furnishing styles, trends, and products are introduced. It’s also where home furnishing ideas are born and where industry professionals come together, connect, and develop professionally.

As design strategists, we do our best work when we’re able to ask a lot of questions, listen intently, allow inspiration to come, and explore…and immersing ourselves into the sights, sounds, and other sensations at the largest home furnishings market in the nation let our creative minds go wild! The experience provided us with team bonding and inspiration we couldn’t have gotten anywhere else.

Now that it’s been a couple weeks since we’ve returned, we’ve had a chance to compile our individual and collective takeaways. Check out our High Point Market highlights below!

The One Where Concetti Goes To High Point

Rachel: Neon Signs & Quick Ship Programs

Neon signs are having a major moment! Visually, I think they’re what caught my eye the most (I mean, how could they not?). They’re edgy, fun, and an easy way to add personality into a space. Neon signs are customizable and allow people to bring bright, powerful mantras into their space – completely supporting our belief that everyone deserves to live and work in spaces that fully express their genuine selves!

My other takeaway relates to supply chain issues and labor shortages. We’re all feeling the pinch across the board, but learning about the solutions companies are coming up with to innovate their business and offer quick ship items was inspiring. It just goes to show how resilient we are, which gives me hope for what’s to come.

Emily: Spot Tables

I saw countless designs for spot tables. They may be small, but it’s amazing what they do for a space! They can serve as an added aesthetic while helping achieve functional goals. The variety at High Point put a lot of ideas in my mind of how clients can showcase their style and personalities through these unique tables.

Whitney: Funky Yet Functional

For me, the recurring theme from High Point was that “simple” design certainly doesn’t translate into “boring.” There are so many ways to take something simple and functional, but depending on how it’s used, it can compliment anyone’s unique style. Bold colors in calm spaces were one of the ways I saw this translated.

Gabi: Totally Texture

I saw bouclé fabric EVERYWHERE. I also noticed a lot of cane + textural art pieces and decor. This stuck out to me because I feel like texture can have a big impact on the personality and character of a space. Texture adds an unspoken dimension that can be felt and seen.

Given the 12.2 million square feet of showroom and exhibit space across several buildings, our team came home from High Point exhausted, inspired, and grateful. As far as team bonding goes, we couldn’t have asked for a better experience. We have a renewed understanding of what makes each of us tick, which nurtured our culture and creativity.

Having our entire team there also stirred up feelings of gratitude and reflection. Concetti is what it is today because of our team’s talent, our partners, and our clients. We literally couldn’t have gotten here without these people.

And even though we were only gone for a few days…we couldn’t believe how homesick we were by the end of the trip. It reinforced how much Detroit influences us each and every day. No matter where we go, how much we grow, or how many client relationships bloom outside of Detroit, each project has some form of Detroit inspiration – whether it’s obvious or not.

Now that we’re back in this wonderful city of ours, we’ve hit the ground running and are already weaving our takeaways into our day-to-day.

Ready to work with our inspired team?

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Hi Sam! We’re excited to catch up with you today. Let’s start with: How does a strong brand identity impact your mental health as a small business owner?

Sam: It gives me so much mental peace and saves a ton of time when trying to create new graphics. I love that I have so much more clarity and confidence knowing that my brand is speaking to my values and the feelings I want to convey when new clients are finding me. It’s so easy to see different templates in Canva and choose a different style every time and now I don’t have to worry about that!

We’re so happy we could help provide that clarity and confidence. How do you see your new brand impacting the success of your business and the experience your clients have?

Sam: Besides having more confidence to share my digital assets and grow a bigger online presence, it gives my clients a cohesive experience and taste of what they will feel like working with me even before they book a service or join a program. Plus, a clearer brand identity will be helpful for attracting more aligned collaborations.

Why should small businesses invest in branding?

Sam: Because it is a part of your business! Brand is not something just for big corporations. No matter the size of your business it’s that step beyond what you sell that creates connection with your customers and long-time raving fans.

Rachel, we’d love to start this conversation off with the same question we asked Sam – how does a strong brand identity impact your mental health as a small business owner?

Rachel: Wow! I love this question! We all want to feel seen and heard and the same goes for our business. A strong brand identity captures your brand persona and translates it into verbal and visual expressions. So often as a business owner, we are so caught up in the passion for industry, and speak in jargon that we often can’t see the trees through the forest. It all feels so important to us that we need to work with a brand partner who can reflect back to us what they are hearing. It is a soulful experience. Having gone through a rebrand for Concetti it means everything. And having worked with many small business owners on their brand, it’s a very powerful experience. To sit there and hear and see your brand come to life, the things you’ve been trying to say, the messages you’ve been trying to get across, the feeling you want people to feel, to see it come together in front of your eyes is incredible! Remember your brand is an extension of YOU!

How has investing in a wellness coach impacted your mental health as a business owner?

Rachel: Your business is an extension of yourself because it is your vision and your passion. So anything you are doing for yourself is going to show up in the business. I would say the biggest impact it has had is the ability to regulate my nervous system. It is so easy to slip into fight and flight mode when you are making big decisions daily. Building an awareness around what my body is feeling has empowered me to regulate my nervous system. Feeling the rush of emotions, letting it pass and then making a decision from a grounded place, instead of a reactive one, is a game changer.

How does it impact your team?

Rachel: Having Sam work with the team has been a dream come true. The fact is we spend so much of our lives working, so to have it be a place where we can be our full selves is important to me. Having come from many years of being in the performing arts, teamwork is ingrained in my DNA. I love when a group of people can come together to achieve great things. One of the things that I realized through working with Sam was that I was still treating life like I was preparing for world championships that never came. I am so grateful and proud of my work ethic and realized that it is equally important to pause and reflect on successes as a team and set intentions for the next quarter to create camaraderie and focus. No one wants to feel like there’s an endless to do list that never gets done, you will burn out. Sam works with the team on a quarterly basis where we either have a VIP day or a Concetti retreat. It is something the team looks forward to. And I love hearing how the work we do together is positively impacting their personal lives as well.

How does this culture approach allow your team to better serve your clients and other small businesses in the community?

Rachel: I think we’ve all heard the saying you can’t pour from an empty cup. It all starts with taking care of yourself first, taking care of the team, so we can show up fully for our clients and other professional partners. We talk a lot about having an empathetic journey, everyone’s experiences valid. And it is our responsibility to be self reflective and how we are showing up, doing what we say we’re going to do, and not stop until we’re proud of the work we’re doing. Because when we can all be ourselves, more good goes out into the world. It is a ripple effect that can surely be felt.

Ready to feel more aligned and less overwhelmed in your business? Let’s create a brand that supports your goals and your mental well-being—schedule a call with our team to get started.

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