Hi Fabulistas,The weathers slowly going up while Im making my way down south! Take a wild guess where? One hint: think High. High Point Market that is! Im proud to (finally) be able to announce that Ive been selected as one of TEN design bloggers to be a part of the High Point Market Design Bloggers Spring Tour 2016 and I couldnt be more excited! 
I LOVE High Point Market! It’s no longer the old market geared only to retailers. High Point Market (or #HPMKT) has realized the importance of designers and the big checkbooks we represent. I love seeing the new collections, innovative designs and the way designers are feted and embraced. It opens many doors for us…to do business, have licensed collections and to network to build our connections, relationships and our community. If you love design, and cant make it to HighPoint this year, follow me from April 16-20 with the #designbloggerstour where Ill be live tweeting, instagramming and updating my facebook as I go through each participating showroom and get you the inside scoop on whats happening at HPMKT! QUICK Q+A with Adam Japko, Sponsoring Design Bloggers Tour I had the chance to connect with Adam Japko, founder of Esteem Media a wonderful sponsor of the tour for the insider story on the Blogger’s Tour process and his involvement in the whole experience!
Adam Japko, founder of Esteem Media and friends. What do you look for participants in the Blog Tour at High Point?? ?The sponsors are organized by HPMKT, and Esteem Media recruits, vets, and organizes the bloggers.We look at their digital influence from social influence by platform to blog traffic. We also use Group High analytics to understand the content creators’ overall web rank. It is a very thorough process not just anyone gets in! We also try to spread geographical coverage by picking content creators from various markets and styles. And of course, their content has to be focused on luxury design and furniture. 
Wow! Quite the process Adam. Again, so honored to have been selected! How has HPMKT evolved in the past few years?? I can tell you that the major change that HPMKT has experienced is that it no longer lives just in High Point. From style spotters to bloggers and social media wonks and content creator tours, the event goes global in real time. So, the opportunity for attending or showcasing at High Point for someone looking to sell product, spread a message, or build a brand has been transformed. 
What influence do bloggers have in the social media sphere//design world?? I would answer that one way. A couple hundred bloggers that come to the Design Bloggers Conference have more monthly reach than the national design media brands combined. Imagine the reach of the HighPoint blogosphere and social graph!? Which social media platform is your favorite?? ? Honestly, I wont tell. But, Instagram is the most powerful. Instagram has a 1.5% engagement rate per post. Facebook has a .01% engagement rate. Multiplythat engagement by their user bases and you can see why L2 Research has declared Instagram as the most powerful social network in the world. 
What kind of wine will be served? We all know you love it! ? ?I will be drinking great wine every night at the Proximity Hotel Bar every night. Stop by and tell me you read this and I will gladly turn you on to the best wines you can find. It might be sparkling, it might be old world whites and reds, but it probably won’t be domestic. https://www.facebook.com/RobinBaronDesign/ https://www.instagram.com/_robinbaron/ https://twitter.com/robinbaron SNEAK PEEK: What an amazing week it has been! Before you get back to your fabulous design lives, I wanted to let you know that James Swan, of Million Dollar Decorating the first podcast devoted solely to the “worlds of design, decorating and beautiful living.” sat down with me for an interview you wont want to miss! Stay tuned; the interview will go live this Saturday, March 19 th ! ? http://milliondollardecorating.com/