A Market Full of Magic and Mystery

Taking students to the High Point Furniture Market (HPMKT, aka Market) has always been one of my favorite parts of being an interior design educator. In the past, I’ve often compared the experience to a trip to Disney World, a place filled with wonder, excitement, and a touch of magic. The expressions on my students’ faces the first time they attend Market are unforgettable: wide-eyed, smiling, utterly captivated. It’s pure joy, the kind that reminds you why teaching can be so rewarding.

But this year felt different.

The 2025 fall weather had turned gray and rainy, wrapping the streets in a misty veil just as Halloween week began. That gloom brought with it a playful eeriness, as if the season itself had decided to join in on our adventure. At Salem College, we kicked oﬀ the week with a student-led event, a “Ghost Chair” scavenger hunt. It was clever, creative, and full of laughter, designed to introduce the Chair Library to those who hadn’t yet discovered it. Ghosts, chairs, and campus mischief – the perfect prelude to Market Week.

When we finally arrived at the International Home Furnishings Center (IHFC), the excitement returned, but this time it felt… mysterious. Was it the season? The weather? Or maybe the lingering spirit of Halloween that followed us into the gleaming showrooms?

Both, fall market and Halloween signal the start of a new season. A quick search reveals that Halloween began as an ancient festival marking the end of summer and the harvest, and the arrival of winter. In much the same way, Market serves as a prelude to a new season. Companies unveil their latest products and trends—the designers’ own “harvest”—ushering in what’s next in the design world.

As we wandered through the maze-like halls of the IHFC, tote bags in hand, one student remarked how much Market felt like trick-or-treating. And she was right. Everywhere we turned, people from all over the world paraded in stylish attire, moving from showroom to showroom in search of “candy” — only this candy came in the form of tote bags, product samples, glossy catalogs, business cards, and, of course, actual sweets.

We laughed as we filled our bags with these treasures, realizing that Market, much like Halloween, is full of both treats and tricks, surprises around every corner, and the occasional mystery that makes you pause and wonder.

So I couldn’t help but ask myself as we left, rain sIll tapping against our umbrellas: Are the “H” in HPMKT and the “H” in Halloween just a coincidence… or a clue to their shared spirit of magic, mystery, and delight?

About the Author

Rosa Otero

Salem College

Dr. Rosa Otero is the designer and curator of the Salem College SIDE Chair Library, a one-of-a-kind facility that provides access to 20th-century furniture icons. She is the director of the design program at Salem College in Winston–Salem, and a professor of design where she teaches courses in architecture, interiors, and the history of design. Before working at Salem, she was the program coordinator of interior design at Forsyth Technical Community College and was also the program coordinator of architecture at Essex County College in Newark, New Jersey. In addition, Dr. Otero worked at Hillier, an architectural firm in Princeton and Newark. She holds a Master of Science and a Ph.D., both in architecture from the University of Pennsylvania; a Masters in Architecture from Virginia Tech; and a Bachelors in Environmental Design from the University of Puerto Rico. Dr. Otero currently serves on the Winston-Salem/Forsyth Arts Council and Kaleideum board of directors and is a member of the International Furnishings and Design Association (IFDA). She is an inductee of the National Collegiate Hispanic Honor Society, Sigma Delta Pi. Dr Otero is originally from Puerto Rico and resides in Winston-Salem, NC with her husband and two children.