Daily News
From Home Furnishing Business
North Carolina Museum of History Features Furniture Industry Beginning Sept. 16
August 30,
2023 by HFBusiness Staff in Business Strategy, Industry 
An exhibit on the furniture industry and its role in North Carolina's history will open next month at the North Carolina Museum of History in Raleigh, and it will prominently feature a designer with ties to a High Point company.
The museum will unveil "Furniture: Crafting a North Carolina Legacy" on Sept. 16. It will explore, honor and illustrate the ways the furniture industry is woven into North Carolina's story, the museum said in a press release.
Crafting furniture in the state evolved from small, backyard shops to modern factories, propelling North Carolina to become an international leader in home furnishings, said Michael Ausbon, curator of decorative arts.
"Although furniture plays a major role in our lives, it's an integral part of how we gather, connect and express ourselves, most of us spend very little time thinking about our furniture," he said. "This exhibit tells the very human story of furniture manufacturing in North Carolina."
Furniture on display will include some from Thai designer Nuttapong Charoenkitivarakorn, who designed the iconic "seat belt chair" out of scraps in 2005 for the Phillips Collection in High Point, a version of which was featured in the movie "The Hunger Games."
Visitors will be able to follow the evolution of style from colonial to modern, see how the design of the pieces changed, and explore the artistry of its creation through details and symbols. There also will be interactive exhibits involving the furniture manufacturing process, showing the difference between handmade and machine-made processes, and allowing visitors to try their hand at "loading furniture" and "punching out" at the end of the exhibit.
For more information or to plan your trip, visit ncmuseumofhistory.org.