The Fall edition of High Point Market will be held next week (October 16-20) , but the new Schonbek showroom will not be open yet. On November 1, Schonbek will officially acquire a prominent 6,000-sq.-ft. showroom in the Market Square portion of the Suites at Market Square/Market Square building. Market Square is also home to other decorative lighting manufacturers such as Hudson Valley Lighting Group and newcomers to High Point Market this year Varaluz and Hinkley.
Schonbek is now a wholly owned subsidiary of WAC, which acquired the company from Swarovski in July, as reported by enLIGHTenment magazine here. The permanent showroom feature a collection of vintage and antique reproductions of legacy Bohemian Schonbek designs, Schonbek Signature classic designs from Arnold Schonbek and Andrew Schonbek, and the all-new Schonbek Beyond line of innovative LED luxury crystal luminaires.
In the months since WAC purchased Schonbek, it has been building upon the latter’s long-time manufacturing facility in Plattsburgh, N.Y., hiring and re-hiring local artisans, many of whom have developed their craft at Schonbek over the last 30 to 40 years.
Dirk Wald, co-CEO of WAC, states, “We are excited to announce the opening of our premier High Point showroom, kicking-off an exciting new product debut that we have been planning for months. We are in a creative renaissance at Schonbek that will once again position it as the leading brand for luxury design.”
“Working with Dirk was a joy, as I witnessed first-hand his creative energy, passion for the product, impeccable design sense, and understanding and advocacy of customers,” says Andrew Schonbek, whose family founded the eponymous company. “I predict that these unique talents will once again position Schonbek as a leading, cutting-edge brand. There’s nobody I know of who’s better positioned than Dirk and WAC to carry forward the legacy that four generations of Schonbeks labored to build since 1870.”
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