On the Road Again…with Joan & Rhonda

People are always interested as to how we go about getting such different and great things for our shops. Now that I blog (and my new best friend is my i-Phone), here’s my opportunity to enlighten and even show you what goes on behind the scenes. Twice a year Rhonda and I venture to High Point, North Carolina…currently, and for many, many years, the furniture capital of the country. Here you find all the major companies in the business of home furnishings. It is a place that comes alive twice a year…October and April…and all the other months of the year, we hear it is a ghost town. But for two weeks in these two months, thousands of people from all over the world, descend here to see what is happening in the world of home furnishings.

There are showrooms, big buildings, one hotel and restaurant chain after another, and the opportunity to see how developmental sprawl has changed the once rural areas on the outskirts of High Point. It could be “Anywhere” USA. Quite frankly, it is overwhelming for us. We have, however, in our own way, edited and found the best of what is out there for Hammertown. We have our antique dealers that we get to early to find some unusual pieces to bring back to the store, and we make every effort to buy from small, independent companies that produce their furniture and products in America.

Entrance to Mitchell Gold +

Bob Williams

As you know, Mitchell Gold/Bob Williams is one of those companies and has been a partner of ours in business for over 12 years. From the beginning, they were a company we believed in…independent, Made in America, and environmentally conscious. They always have been, always will be! (Did you know, their seat cushions are ozone-friendly, non-carcinogenic foam composed of up to 10% soy?) We also buy from a few other select companies that sell furniture, lighting, rugs and other things for the home. With the miles of showrooms and places to see, we narrow our buying down to a few, make our choices, and then happily leave.

Amish Rocking Chair

It has been sad for me over the years to see how hard it is for small American companies and craftsmen…they can’t compete with overseas production and price. The larger companies take the artisan’s designs and copy them overseas…producing them cheaper, giving them better profit margins, and leaving the companies here, that they have worked with for years, behind. Even some of our largest, well-known catalog stores that for years had been considered American institutions, are abandoning American artisans, and producing the bulk of what they make, overseas. It’s kind of difficult now to find an American made rocker, even in the state of Maine! We do the best that we can to find the best of these American companies; companies that produce well-made home furnishings, reflect good design, and are fairly priced. We educate you, our customer, that it is American made, it is BETTER MADE, and you are supporting and buying from a local business, helping the local and American economy grow, and have purchased something that will stand the test of time.

Chinese set of 3 benches

I do not want to mislead, however, and claim not to have imported items at Hammertown. However, the imported items we choose, are from small and independent American companies that produce consciously overseas. Let the big chains and box stores look for the sources that produce huge volumes, produce at rock bottom prices, made with the cheapest materials, employ at the lowest wages, give the biggest profit margins, etc. What you see will be arriving at Hammertown within the next few weeks and months…that’s why you always have to visit, and often, because…new things are arriving daily.

Maybe next year… we’ll drive to High Point!

Joan and Rhonda: the “Thelma & Louise” of home furnishings…except they don’t carry guns or die at the end of the trip.