IHFC Announces Vespa Scooter Winner

Furniture World Magazine

To celebrate the opening of the significantly expanded and totally renovated InterHall, the International Home Furnishings Center held a drawing for a brand new, cherry-red Vespa scooter during the fall High Point Market, and the winner was Jane Blickenstaff of Lynchburg, Va. Blickenstaff owns a design firm, Blickenstaff & Associates, and was at Market scoping out the latest fashion and design trends. She and a group of friends registered for the drawing, which was held at the Best of Contemporary Italian Design Showcase in InterHall. Joking that she never wins anything, Blickenstaff later dropped her registration card into a box at one of the 15 Italian showrooms highlighted in the Showcase, as the rules stipulated. "I almost couldn't find my card," said Blickenstaff, who added that she and her family were "so excited" to hear that they had won. The only problem, she said, is that her daughter - a student at the University of Georgia - and husband are already fighting over who will actually take possession of the scooter. "I'm really afraid we're going to have to buy another one," Blickenstaff joked. Several thousand Market attendees registered to win the Scooter, according to Tom Lindh, president of IHFC, who also said he was pleased with this year's attendance. Blickenstaff, who has been coming to the High Point Market since 1980, said her favorite part is meeting people from all over the world. Opening in 1921, IHFC was the original showroom building in High Point and after 85 years of expansion remains the centerpiece of the world’s largest home-furnishings trade show that attracts more than 90,000 participants twice a year to 2,600 showrooms covering 11.5 million square feet. IHFC alone is home to 650 of the leading home-furnishings manufacturers, including 13 of the top 20 companies, and covers 3.5 million square feet.