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From Home Furnishing Business
HPMA Includes Two New Guided Showroom Tours in Popular Line-Up
March 22,
2023 by HFBusiness Staff in Business Strategy, Industry 
The High Point Market Authority (HPMA) grows its guided showroom tour offering for first-time and returning buyers this season, with two new tours—a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)-focused showroom tour and the Design Edge x High Point Showroom Tour—adding to its popular Hot Spot and Insiders Tour series for Spring Market, April 21-24.
Six Hot Spot Tours scheduled over three days, Saturday through Monday, are open to registered High Point Market buyers who RSVP for the space-limited events. On these tours, buyers may choose to focus on exhibitors with products suitable for hospitality design projects, or to identify antiques and vintage furnishings resellers.
Also available, the Science in Design tour will connect health and wellness concerns to furnishings, and celebrated interior designer Cheryl Luckett will guide buyers through her favorite showrooms.
Saturday, April 22
- Gary Inman – Hot Spot Tour: Hospitality Resources
- Toma Clark Haines – Hot Spot Tour: Antiques and Vintage Resources
Sunday, April 23
- Mike Petersen, Linda Kafka – Hot Spot Tour: Science in Design
- Ariene Bethea - Hot Spot Tour: Antiques and Vintage Resources
Monday, April 24
- Cheryl Luckett – Hot Spot Tour: Designer Spotlight
- David Santiago– Hot Spot Tour: Hospitality Resources
The inaugural “Spring 2023 Diversity Advocacy Alliance Tour,” organized by the Diversity Advocacy Alliance (DAA) in partnership with HPMA, will showcase exhibitors committed to diversity and inclusion at High Point Market. Registered buyers will submit an application to be eligible for this limited capacity event.
“The DAA is committed to advancing participants’ development as buyers and business entrepreneurs,” says Patti Carpenter, DAA committee chair. “The tour is an exploration of showrooms which exemplify diversity, equity, and inclusion in their business practices. and cultivate a welcoming environment for everyone.”
Sunday, April 23
Scheduled over two evenings during Spring Market, the Design Edge x High Point Showroom tour is a progressive evening reception developed exclusively for alumni of the regional trade events, organized by Design Edge CEO Lee Hershberg in partnership with HPMA.
Sunday, April 23
Monday, April 24
Attracting new buyers, or buyers who have not attended Market in two years, the all-day Insiders Tour on Opening Day, from 8:30 am to 6 pm, will be supplemented this season with three new half-day tours the day before, on April 21, between the hours of 11:30 am and 6pm.
Details for each Insiders Tour, developed in partnership with Esteem Media, are available on the High Point Market website. Interested participants must complete the Insiders Tour application by April 7, in order to be eligible.
“Our showroom tours offer support and guidance to buyers as they learn the lay of the land,” says Tammy Nagem, HPMA CEO. “The aim of the tours is to expose participants to new resources, and to impart confidence for their future visits to High Point Market.”
In addition to signing up for specific tours, all tour participants must be registered to attend High Point Market.