The co-founders of high-end furniture source South + English are expanding their presence in High Point this market, adding a display of their original artwork and Art Tank by South + English furniture at a showroom in the atrium at 313 Space at 313 S. Centennial St.
Palmer Linwood Smith (painting under the name Linwood) and David Ebbetts (painting as DJE) have long shown their paintings in South + English’s flagship, purple-fronted showroom at 210 E. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.
At the past couple of High Point markets, they began testing their new Art Tank concept, which blends Smith and Ebbetts’ art with South + English case goods as the two paint on cabinet fronts, table tops and drawer faces, turning the furniture into functional works of art.
The new Art Tank by South + English showroom at 313 Space allows Smith and Ebbetts to highlight their paintings and Art Tank furniture in a way they can’t in the company’s deeply layered flagship showroom and may help introduce the brand to buyers unfamiliar with South + English, Smith said during a showroom interview before market opened.
“313 is the new Interhall. There’s so much energy and it’s such a beautiful space,” Smith said. 313 Space is anchored by Collected by Schwung, as well as Collected by Schwung x Private Estate and Schwung Lighting. The building includes dozens of vendors of antiques, furniture, outdoor, art, rugs, lighting, accessories and more, among them Alfredo Paredes, Asia Minor Modern, Beacon Custom Lighting, Dedon, Gloster and Loll Designs. (313 Space, on Stop 2B on the Green Shuttle Line opened Wednesday, Oct. 22, in advance of the official High Point Market opening on Saturday, Oct. 25.)
In its 500-square-foot showroom at 313 Space, Art Tank by South + English is displaying several cabinets, a desk, a dining table and 30-40 paintings. Smith’s paintings generally range in price from $2,600 to $10,990; Ebbetts’ range from $1,100 to $10,500.
Interior designers and others can commission both paintings and Art Tank furniture from either Smith or Ebbetts. The commissions include two “tweaks” of the art along the way, Smith explained. Turnaround times for paintings are generally four to six weeks. Smith noted that commissioning an Art Tank piece doesn’t add significantly to delivery time for the furniture because the factories send him and Ebbetts the drawer fronts, table tops or cabinets doors to paint before construction of the piece begins. Delivery times for South + English furniture are generally running 6-10 weeks right now.
At its main South + English showroom, the company is introducing new and updated chairs, benches, desks and beds, including a wood version of its popular upholstered brass Dauphine bench available in a wide variety of fabrics and a double pedestal version of its Frampton dining table, available in several finishes.
Smith hopes to benefit from the fact South + English is focusing on American-made products sourced from factories in Ohio and North Carolina. Never a big importer, the company accepted its final overseas container — of the wicker version of its popular Tilda bed — last fall, he said.
“That container ship was shot at by the Houthis,” Smith said, adding that he and Ebbetts have grown tired in recent years of unexpected surcharges on containers. “… People aren’t coming to us for Asian product anyway. They are coming to us for the beds, dining tables, cabinets — the big-ticket items in every room — that we manufacture here in the U.S.”
But Smith worries, as do principals of many home furnishings sources, that buyers’ concerns about tariffs and the broader economy could dampen this fall’s furniture market. Given that, South + English isn’t raising prices right now.
“I have zero expectations for this market,” Smith said, “but hope it will be really good for us.”
