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Roto partners with American Home Furnishings Hall of Fame

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Roto American Home Furnishings Hall of Fame

Roto, a leading planning & design-build firm, has been chosen by the American Home Furnishings Hall of Fame to create exhibits in its new permanent home.

Roto is pleased to announce that it is working with the American Home Furnishings Hall of Fame in order to create and oversee exhibits for the museum’s new home. The American Home of Furnishings Hall of Fame is moving to a permanent building at 311 S. Hamilton Street in High Point, North Carolina, where it will open to the public in April 2021.

The design-build firm has been selected to bring a fresh new look to the space, with modern exhibition design and capabilities.

Authentic and compelling displays

“Roto combines the latest in immersive theatre, interactivity, embedded technology and social participation with a commitment to preservation and scholarship,” says David Gebhart, chairman of the Hall of Fame Foundation board of directors, and CEO of Global Views. “Our exhibits will be authentic and compelling to both industry insiders and the general public.”

Roto American Home Furnishings Hall of Fame

A creative team explored around 30 different US and Canadian exhibit firms with extensive museum expertise, before selecting Roto. This team included Gebhart, alongside Caroline Hipple, Norwalk; Larry Rogers, consultant; Mark Phillips, Phillips Collection; Mike Herschel, Furniture Marketing Group; Kyle Hughes, Hall of Fame; and Karen McNeill, Hall of Fame.

This team was searching for a firm able to offer a comprehensive service, including planning, design, fabrication and installation. After coming up with a shortlist, the creative team conducted interviews and site visits before making a final decision.

First choice

“Roto was our first choice.  From the initial contact through the interview process we found them to be professional, creative, good listeners and enthusiastic about home furnishings,” says Hipple, first vice president of the Hall of Fame Foundation board of directors and president of Norwalk Furniture.  “The personal site visit confirmed a great synergy with our vision to create a community and connection, an experience that changes people and ultimately inspires them to focus on creating a beautiful home.”

Roto American Home Furnishings Hall of Fame

The company will come up with the creative concept for the new space, as well as overseeing the design of museum-quality gallery spaces. Roto will provide flexible opportunities and will also be involved in programming content for the two-sided Dynamic Story Wall. This is a digital matrix of interlaced LED screens, which will be visible from both sides, both internally and externally.

“Museum audiences are seeking relevancy and authenticity above everything else,” says Joseph Wisne, president and CEO of Roto. “That’s why this incredibly rich world of home furnishings and design can deliver such an exciting and engaging public experience. We can’t wait to get started.”

The American Home Furnishings Hall of Fame hired its first curator and historian in 2018. Its mission is to preserve the history of the home furnishings industry and to tell its story. It will preserve the organisation’s current memorabilia, as well as creating new home furnishings exhibits and displaying travelling exhibits from across the globe. This new space means that the Foundation can expand its collection and preserve materials for future generations.

Earlier this year, Roto also announced that it had been chosen to create a future science centre in Northern Virginia, alongside HGA.

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charlotte coates

Charlotte Coates

Charlotte Coates is blooloop's editor. She is from Brighton, UK and previously worked as a librarian. She has a strong interest in arts, culture and information and graduated from the University of Sussex with a degree in English Literature. Charlotte can usually be found either with her head in a book or planning her next travel adventure.

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