Daily News
From Home Furnishing Business
Hall of Fame Receives $500K Investment for New Building
March 17,
2021 by Laurie Northington in Business Strategy, Industry 
The American Home Furnishings Hall of Fame has received a generous $500,000 investment in the Building Fund from Bill and Carolyn Hinks of Furniture Mart USA in Sioux Falls, S.D. The gift will designate the central gathering space as the Bill and Carolyn Hinks Celebration Hall. The new permanent Hall of Fame home is located at 311 S. Hamilton St. in High Point, just one block from the IHFC in the heart of the High Point Market.
“When I first learned about the plans for a home for our industry, I thought it was amazing and that this project will give young people a focus and a sense of the legacies of our industry and the people who have made it great,” Hinks says. “It’s going to be an inspiring showplace where we can meet during markets, and as a result, amazing things will happen. That’s what we want to do – to get people new to our industry involved and for all of us to be able to get to know one another and to have a place to share ideas.”
“We chose this naming opportunity because we love that our industry is like a big family,” Hinks added. “The Celebration Hall will be the heart of our new home as a training ground and a center of leadership, events and activities. We are so pleased to be involved and I can’t wait to get a shovel into the ground and to see this building under construction.”
The 17,500 sq. ft. building will be transformed into a spectacular 23,500 sq. ft. building with a two-story, Grand Story Wall, a digital matrix of videos and photography that faces the street to draw people inside. It will feature a Tribute Wall, theatre, interactive Discovery Exhibits, the Tell Us Your Story video booth, a Library, History Center, the Leaders Board Room, and a coffee and cocktail bar. The exhibits are organized around four themes: the Industry, the People, the Process and the Products. Designed for flexibility, with special functions in mind, a full-service hospitality kitchen will provide comprehensive food service.
The project is in the final planning stages, with completion expected in 2022. The building is designed by Freeman Kennett Architects in High Point. The exhibits are being designed by Roto, an international exhibits firm based in Columbus, Ohio.