Although the domestic furniture market has some uncertainty, Edith Brady can't imagine a time when the industry will vanish.
Although High Point, N.C., is no longer the major manufacturing center it once was, corporate headquarters are still here and lots of niche markets tied to the industry are still thriving.
"It's changing and evolving," she said.
Brady is the director of the High Point Museum, which includes a Furniture Heritage Project.
The first furniture manufacturer in High Point began production in 1889, Brady said, and the first furniture market opened in 1909 with little more than some warehouse space and lined-up furniture pieces. The market now boasts a 10 million-square-foot showroom.
A furniture heritage exhibit opened in 2009, coinciding with the 150th anniversary of High Point. About 15,000 people a year come to the museum.
Like many a factory worker, visitors start the exhibit by punching in — there's a reproduction time clock that can be stamped with a souvenir card.
The exhibit also includes old photographs of factory workers, and that has proven to be a big draw, said Corinne Midgett, the museum's registrar.
"A lot of people have personal ties to the exhibit," she said.
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