High Point x Design Hosts Interior Design Students for Immersive Experience

November 9, 2022  by HFBusiness Staff in Business Strategy, Designer Weekly, Industry   

The visit was designed with SCAD to bring interior design students to the creative and innovative design ecosystem that exists in High Point. The event was led by HPxD’s managing director, Jane Dagmi, and supported by High Point Market Authority (HPMA), Visit High Point, HPxD members, and others.

Attracting university-level students to High Point in between Markets is an HPxD initiative. “High Point is an amazing learning lab, and when we at HPxD speak about an open and activated High Point year-round, the education piece is vitally important to our vision,” says HPxD managing director Jane Dagmi.

Professor Kia Weatherspoon, who teaches interior design at SCAD’s Atlanta campus and is also the principal of Determined by Design and advocate for designequity™, reached out to Dagmi this summer and expressed an interest in bringing her Interior Materials class to town.

“High Point has always been the intersection of interior design, manufacturing, artisans, creatives and makers!” Witherspoon says. “For me it was important that my students experience the diversity of creative practices and understand how it translates into production and manufacturing. And there’s only one place that can happen - High Point!” 

Stops on HPxD’s SCAD tour included Gallery on Main, Verellen and Baker manufacturing facilities, Davis, Sherrill Furniture, Stabb Design, Herzog Veneer furniture showrooms, plus Kravet and Culp textiles showrooms as well as furniture design studios and design firms.

Splashworks, who was also on the tour, showcased their company’s designs and manufacturing of acoustic panels and art in High Point. Splashworks owner Tom Van Dessel, and president of HPxD shares, “We are excited to host this tour and to welcome and meet each of the design students. Engaging our community and connecting students with our members is vital to HPxD’s mission, and to the future of our industry.”

One of the tour highlights was created in partnership with HPxD and Cohab.Space, where they announced a special activity in the form of a visual merchandising competition where SCAD students were tasked with designing Cohab’s street-facing windows on English Road.

Judging for the competition was made up of HPxD members and industry pros and announced at a group dinner later that same night at Ziggy’s Music Venue. 

The Johnny Davis Digital team of professional photographers and videographers were on hand to cover the 3 day’s tour and to film this event's engaging and creative contest.