Accent Decor operates three expansive and breathtaking showrooms in Atlanta, Las Vegas and High Point. This season, we tagged along during the Showroom Team’s set-up of our High Point Market showroom just before spring market season. Every year, the award-winning team behind our showrooms are in a consistent cycle of creative work as they concept, test, construct and execute showrooms across the country. This High Point market season, the team of five tackled the 5,500 square foot showroom with expert precision and creative prowess. We caught up with Toni Dammicci, artist and Visual Experience Manager at Accent Decor, who serves as the creative mastermind behind the immersive experiences the brand is known for.

You’re responsible for creating Accent Decor’s showrooms in Atlanta, Las Vegas and High Point. How do you approach the design of High Point’s showroom?
As with all Accent Decor showrooms, we take special consideration for each location, architectural style, square footage allotment and, of course, our audience. With respect to High Point, we lean with an eye towards design using thoughtfully curated lifestyle merchandising and hand-crafted installations to round out the experience. We want customers to easily view and engage with product selections so they can feel and appreciate the high quality, hand-crafted work designed by our Product Development Team and global artisans.

How does the showroom’s size and the typical High Point Market customer impact your design process?
Size plays a significant role within our design process and the inevitable roll-out. We are responsible for three showrooms requiring the reproduction of many displays in mass, multiple times over. With the added challenge of each showroom’s unique architectural differences, each display needs to be re-designed and re-specked to fit each space.  It’s challenging to re-produce hand-created displays times three, but we embrace it! The design and fabrication process takes months, but the result is always something to be proud of.

As designers ourselves, it’s exciting to design our showroom with a lens towards our talented customers and High Point is no different. Tons of interior designers walk through our doors seeking unique pieces to fit their specific projects. Often, they’re craving inspiration via art and design. We make sure our High Point showroom feels different and special with tailored displays and intentional merchandise interpretations geared towards interior design, hospitality, home and gift and, above all, creative small businesses. From hanging installations, to wall color, to the detailed risers and discovery moments, everything is designed to engage the customer while highlighting the product.

Can you summarize the top three things you always keep in mind when designing an Accent Decor showroom?
I can give you all three plus one extra! I always keep points of drama in mind, traffic flow, storytelling and shopability.

High Point Market shows are held in April and October. How far in advance do you begin to plan and build out vignettes?
We begin the design and fabrication process about 6 months in advance from start to finish. From displays to custom fixtures we think through every detail and surface required to create a comprehensive showroom experience. Good design and craft take time.

Your work is so much more than a beautifully merchandised set of shelves and tables – it’s truly art. How does the dedication to art and your craft set the Accent Decor showroom apart from others?
I am an artist and designer myself and I’ve always believed that “art is life and life is art.” Art is a practice. It’s no different than practicing a musical instrument. Sometimes the magic is there and sometimes it’s not. You must work and practice until its right. Our showrooms highlight our voice and perspective as a business. Accent Decor is a champion for the arts by celebrating art and design, the creative process and global craftsmanship.

There’s no other showroom like an Accent Decor showroom. We translate a vision and concept into a physical, artistic experience. We aim to create an immersive piece of art that can be walked through while transporting you into our story.

Inspiration & Creative Motivation

Your team holds a great deal of responsibility with the creation of 3 showrooms each requiring two installations per year. How do you stay inspired and creatively motivated? How do you avoid the pitfalls of lather-rinse-repeat?
One of the great aspects of being an artist is that inspiration can be found literally anywhere. I feel like my head is always on a swivel and I approach life with curiosity. We pull inspiration from the world around us, our travels, books, past projects, sketches – anything can be a form of inspiration to turn into a new idea. My favorite piece of advice is to “make art that you want to see out in the world then go and create it.” This has always helped me stay creatively motivated.

How do you work through creative blocks?
A creative block is nothing more than a creative challenge. They exist and I tend to view them with an eye towards problem solving. Most creative blocks are resolved by changing your view. Zoom out, zoom in. Maybe go back to the “why” behind your design or observe the parts that are and aren’t working. Be critical yet solution oriented.

Hand Crafted & Artful Installations

Our whimsical Eric + Eloise Collection has been well received by High Point shoppers. Can you share more about this installation and its holiday adornments?
For our holiday concept, we hand-crafted a hanging, asymmetrical brass diamond display. Each diamond is unique with its own folds and shapes allowing each facet to catch the light. Every diamond was cut from brass sheet and folded to give a three-dimensional form. Once the diamonds were complete, each were drilled with a hole. They were then strung like beads to create a cascading, luminous installation. The brass material pairs beautifully with our cast aluminum animals like “Eugene the Moose” our largest wall mount weighing 90 pounds. He makes quite the statement when mounted!  

This hanging installation is beautiful! What was the creation process like?
We really love the materiality of brass this season. It’s beautiful and complements the surrounding products by pulling out the iron accents, brass detailing, textural glazes and glossy ceramics paired directly beneath. We created these folded brass shields dipped in a patina bath. The patina process is organic and full of natural color and texture, each brass shield is its own work of art.

The tree emerging from the table is uniquely executed. Tell us everything!
We created these metal and paper trees to bring outdoor vibes inside! Rather than bringing in actual trees we decided to hand build trees of our own to create the canopy effect we craved. These trees were built with a steel core surrounded by a trunk composed of cardboard and paper. Each piece of bark was hand-painted before attaching to the trunk. If you look closely, you can see the paint strokes and pencil tick marks mimicking the texture of real bark. It took many prototypes and hours to get the finished result just right. Fun fact – we also built the custom tables under each tree. We designed a hole in the center allowing the tree to grow through the table with ample room for merchandising the surrounding products.

This hanging installation is an actual showstopper! How was it constructed?
These amorphous, plaster shapes were a fun to make! We pulled textural and shape inspiration from Accent Decor products fuel our design. We cut the shapes from wood and sandwiched them together with dried grass in between. We then coated the entire shape in layers of plaster, building up the texture and dimensional line work. Hanging them was a bit of a challenge. We had to offset the weight with the desire to hang the shapes at different angles while balancing a cohesive composition in air.

What’s a memorable compliment you’ve received regarding Accent Decor’s showroom experience?
Connecting with our customers at each showroom location is always a special experience. I get tons of questions on how things are made and the appreciation for our work is substantial. One comment that has stuck with me over the years was, “I can’t believe you hand made all of this! There’s no other showroom like this!” And I have to agree.

Check about Accent Decor’s showroom locations and open dates during market season in High Point, Atlanta and Las Vegas on accentdecor.com. To shop Accent Decor’s wholesale decor and wholesale home decor including all new and flower, plant and home products, visit accentdecor.com. 

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