Every April and October, designers, decorators, bloggers, and décor mavens of all stripes congregate in North Carolina for the High Point Market. While there are many markets throughout the year dedicated to various aspects of interior design and architecture, no other North American event brings together the whole gamut to the same extent as High Point. To see what's happening now and what trends are right around the bend, to score stuff that's going to make clients pop, to attend great parties and deep educational presentations, one has to go to High Point.

That's why we knew we had to be there, and we opened our Hudson Valley Lighting Group space in M90 this past April to a warm welcome.

This October, we had our first Fall Market. It was an exciting one for us, not only because it was only our second HP market to date and the Fall Market brings a particular buzzing energy, but because we had two collections to debut: Mark D. Sikes for Hudson Valley Lighting and Martyn Lawrence Bullard for Corbett Lighting.

Throwing two launch parties for the super-talented designers, we had a ball. Traditional Home sponsored the cocktail party for Mark, while Elle Décor sponsored the one for Martyn. The charming designers walked us through their wares, talking about the inspiration and thinking behind their pieces, as well as pointing out key details in their collections that they loved. 

Everything for these two collections and launches was distinct. Mark's signature blue-and-white combination was in effect for his beautiful CLASSICS, with descriptive phrases illuminating aspects of the collection inscribed on the light blue walls. Meanwhile, Martyn's brass-heavy collection exuded dark drama, its fulsome glamour in full glory against black walls. Even the food was different, to suit the strong style of each designer. Classic American comfort food like mac-and-cheese was served with sweet tea for the Mark D. Sikes party, while exotic world cuisine was served with bottles of bubbly at Martyn's shindig, true to the cosmopolitan nature of his collection. Of course, it wouldn't be a cocktail party without cocktails, and guests all had something refreshing and tasty in their hands as they walked around and talked to Mark and Martyn.

Mark, decked out in navy blue, emphasized the key points about his collection, discussing the approachable elegance of the forms, the graceful lines and natural materials, the timeless beauty and fresh finishes, the simple silhouettes and distinctive details, and the ways in which the sphere shape unifies much of the collection. His remarks underlined the usability of the fixtures and how eminently suited they are to a variety of settings. He and David discussed the intensity of their collaboration: how the whole thing came about and how hard everyone worked, the granular level of focus which resulted in the details that make this collection so exquisite.

All in cool casual black, Martyn Lawrence Bullard's usual passion, delight, and verve were on full display in a spirited conversation with a host from Elle Décor and David Littman. About his new collection with Corbett Lighting, he had this to say: "As a designer, the most important thing is to embrace the entire design world. So there's a lot of inspiration from my travels. You see a little bit of India here, a little bit of Morocco, a little bit of France. There's some Southern California vibe. A little mid-century, a little industrial. It really has the flavor of all the things that I love, that are up here in my head." 

Photo of Martyn Lawrence Bullard with his Magic Garden by Wendy Riley Photography

Photo of Martyn Lawrence Bullard with his Magic Garden by Wendy Riley Photography

And Corey Damen Jenkins, our inaugural collaborator, dropped by!

As the pictures show, it was a grand time and the collections were met with rapture. For those familiar with Mark's work and Hudson Valley Lighting's brand hallmarks, CLASSICS marked a natural and stunning fusion of the two. For those who'd checked out the cover story of the September House Beautiful, about their Kitchen of the Year, it was a welcome surprise to see the custom light fixtures in Martyn's new circa-1920s home in the Hollywood Hills (lived in by Dennis Hopper in the '60s with a madcap entourage of pop artists and songwriters often staying for extended visits) were no one-offs, but Melrose, part of his collection with Corbett Lighting. Drinks flowed, selfies abounded, and good feeling was in the air. 

Photo by Victoria Pearson from House Beautiful September 2018 
Melrose pendants by Martyn Lawrence Bullard for Corbett Lighting

While Corbett Lighting and Hudson Valley Lighting took in a lot of attention due to the gorgeous collections resulting from collaboration with two well-known and well-respected designers, Troy Lighting and Mitzi by HVL continued to dazzle, with vignettes created by Troy designer Ben Marshall setting the vibe.

Stay tuned for an upcoming post on the inspiration behind some of Martyn's new pieces with Corbett and keep an eye out on newstands for an exclusive in Traditional Home about Mark's CLASSICS collection with Hudson Valley Lighting. If you were one of the many beautiful, smiling faces we saw at High Point this month, thank you so much for coming by and your ongoing enthusiasm and support for what we do.