I love keeping an eye out for new and interesting finds when at Highpoint market. Sometimes you come across products you would never dream of finding. I also like to catch emerging trends, just to see if my designer spidey senses are still on point. 🙂

First, I’m going to share some of the more unique finds.

The Nathan Anthony showroom, known for its contemporary upholstery, always has something new and different. This time Tina Nicole, the owner, collaborated with artist, Sahara Novotna, to create these one of a kind chairs.

The Nathan Anthony showroom featured a furniture and NFT collab with artist, Sahara Novotna. Highpoint Market 2022 | carlaaston.com

Resin rounds were adhered to the back of one of the chairs with gold leaf embedded within the rounds. Anything can be used in the resin, something of sentimental value, etc. Highpoint Market 2022 | carlaaston.com

The artist, Sahara Novotna, uses resin to create these bears with objects of any kind embedded within. She can put objects of your choice inside, so they can be made to anyone’s own specifications. One of the bears above has cut up $100 dollar bills inside.

In the chair pic above, she created these rounds that were attached to the back. Inside the rounds were gold leaf and an NFT coin.

Sahara creates other types of art pieces, like the butterflies hanging from the ceiling.

Find the NFT they created on Open Sea, ready to buy for your space in the metaverse. 🙂

My next unusual find is this handmade woven rattan from Mario Lopez, Torres Furniture. It was whimsical and fun and so well crafted.

Rattan furnishings by Mario Lopez, Torres Furniture, was a real treat to see! Highpoint Market, 2022 | carlaaston.com

This rattan lizard sculpture is quite detailed with metal toenails! Check out the bench below it with the animal head on the end. Highpoint Market, 2022 | carlaaston.com

Some of these can be opened up for storage, and they had a giraffe that opened to reveal a space for a bar!

This plant wall in Market Suites also stopped me in my tracks, from Pandemic Design Studio. (And no, the company wasn’t started during the pandemic, it had already been in business 🙂

You can do as few or as many of these as you like and arrange them in any pattern. Love the moss and airplants for low maintenance.

Create a dynamic statement wall with these ceramic vases. Highpoint Market 2022 | carlaaston.com

Perfect for airplants or moss, as shown here, these wall mounted vases can be arranged in any pattern to create interesting wall decor. Highpoint Market 2022 | carlaaston.com

There were also these “Stack” vases. The maker said he used these on long tables to decorate for his wedding. Very cool, no?

These perforated look ceramic wall vases make for an interesting look. Highpoint Market 2022 | carlaaston.com

This company, Fenwick Bartel, was showing last market, but I didn’t get to their booth then. I made a point of checking them out this time.

They have so many fun colorful patterns here that can be used in a variety of ways, on fabrics, walls and much more.

Customization is a key trend these days!

The most unique feature about this product is that it can be used on the floor and it is self-adhesive! (I’m not sure that would stand up to much wear and tear, but it could be a temporary solution.)

Wallpaper AND floorpaper! What will they think of next? Highpoint Market 2022 | carlaaston.com

Bold colors and big patterns showed at this brand’s showroom. Highpoint Market 2022 | carlaaston.com

On to three emerging trends!

I love to see brands offer customization, especially customization made easy!

Casegoods, tables, and other wood furniture pieces are often offered in various finishes. As a designer, we really need to have the finish in hand to put it with our other samples to see if it works. That entails keeping a stack of the brand’s wood finishes or ordering the one we think we want and then waiting for it to come.

That really extends the time it takes to pull a scheme together.

So, when manufacturers like Wildwood offer customization in color using the entire Benjamin Moore color deck, I’m thrilled! Not only does that offer endless options, but I can pull out my paint deck and get to it right away.

Wildwood lets you do different colors on various parts of the furniture pieces, like in this photo, with the backs of the bookshelves in an accent color. Highpoint Market 2022 | carlaaston.com

Custom color your wood furniture at Wildwood Home in any Benjamin Moore paint color. Even the insides of drawers can be customized in a different color than the exterior. Highpoint Market 2022 | carlaaston.com

Woodbridge Furniture introduced this same concept at market last fall for their wood furniture. I hope it is a trend that spreads.

I saw some of this here and there, and I’m thinking it might be on the rise as an emerging trend. You’ve seen this tiger motif on Instagram on pillows and stair carpets, right? I think we will see more of this style to come.

The tiger motif seems to be popular these days, like in this wallpaper. Highpoint Market 2022 | carlaaston.com

That tiger on the upholstery makes for a bold look in this colorful space. Highpoint Market 2022 | carlaaston.com

More tigers on these chairs from Sam Moore. Highpoint Market 2022 | carlaaston.com

This Ming style table was a new intro in the Woodbridge showroom. Highpoint Market 2022 | carlaaston.com

I saw more down cushion seating this market than I’ve seen before. Not much, but definitely a few big down cushion sofas and sectionals. I think that is in response to the popularity of Restoration Hardware’s Cloud sofa, which has a similar look.

There has been a lot of conversation about that sofa on the internet, and unless you like fluffing your seat cushions every day or like a slouchy look, I wouldn’t recommend them. They can look like a mess by the end of the day.

Take a look at these, they were in showrooms for display and already needed fluffing.

I know some people like this look, but often, in reality, it is just a disappointment.

Down cushion upholstery needs a lot of fluffing to maintain a neat and tidy look. Highpoint Market 2022 | carlaaston.com

Down cushion upholstery needs a lot of fluffing to maintain a neat and tidy look. Highpoint Market 2022 | carlaaston.com

Down cushion upholstery needs a lot of fluffing to maintain a neat and tidy look. Highpoint Market 2022 | carlaaston.com