Hafele Interviews Asheville Interior Designer

I was recently interviewed and featured in the Hafele Co. Closet Spotlight Newsletter published for August 2010. The newsletter goes out to closet companies and other cabinet vendors around the world who use Hafele products. The purpose of the interview was to allow peers to get a perspective of how things in other areas. Below is my interview:


1. Which areas of the home (closet, home office, home entertainment, garage) are your customers most looking to improve?

Amanda: "I think clients are looking to save space in almost every area of their homes. Multi-purpose rooms that are functional and beautiful are still in demand. We achieve this with our Murphy bed and panel beds creating rooms that act as offices or craft areas when the guests aren’t there."

2. Do you find that you are closing more projects in certain areas of the home? If so why?

Amanda: "The master closet continues to be the most important aspect for my clients. An organized master closet can free up space in the master suite as well as save time and frustration during the morning routine."

3. What have you found to be the best method of reaching customers today?

Amanda: "Nothing will every replace a referral from a happy client, however, constant and consistent local advertising is important for our business. Consumers today are more tech savvy, so I think the current and future method of reaching clients will be via social media outlets. I try reaching people via several different platforms (blog, YouTube, Twitter) so that I am present in their world when they do need my services."

4. What new trends do you see regarding your business?

Amanda: "The trend in housing is to build more efficient, smaller homes that have more amenities packed into them. This is a natural fit for the custom closet industry as homeowners want to maximize space and multi-purpose rooms."

5. What is the most unique customer experience that you have had?

Amanda: "A couple came to my showroom for a closet proposal presentation, the wife wasn’t feeling very well so she laid down and fell asleep on one of the Murphy beds in the showroom. Meanwhile the husband and I continued to review the plans, made changes, and completed a sale for the closets. The day of the installation I went to check on the job and the wife was embarrassed that she didn’t recognize me as she had slept thru the entire sales process; fortunately she was thrilled with her “surprise” closet."

Amanda Ballew, Interior Designer

More Space Place Asheville
1025 Brevard Road Suite 7 Asheville, NC 28806
828-665-9665
Email: aballew@morespaceplaceasheville.com
Follow me on http://twitter.com/avlcustomcloset

Asheville Chamber Event was Success

On Tuesday August 17th, the Asheville Area Chamber hosted a Business Before Hours at More Space Place Asheville sponsored by BB&T and catered by Colorful Palate. Many of the participants were first time visitors to our showroom and got to experience Murphy Beds and Custom Closets up close for the first time. The food was delicious and the networking was fun. 




Holly Decker, Vice President of Certified Business Services at BB&T Asheville gave a personal testimony of her experience with More Space Place Asheville and how we provided a custom built wall unit and desk for her home. Thank you Holly!




Thank you to Gary with GSocialMedia for taking these clips.

If you would like a personal tour or consulation please contact Amanda at 828-665-9665.

My experience at Asheville Pizza Wars 2010

On Saturday August 14th, I participated in the Asheville Pizza Wars held at the Garage at Biltmore and presented by AskAsheville thru GSocialMedia. I bring to you some perspective of what happened behind the scenes and in the "fishbowl" we called the Judges room during the pizza wars.

My responsibilities the night of the pizza wars was to oversee the judging competition during the event, an organizational persons job for sure. Mary and I accepted and "private labeled" the pizzas to be judged as the entries were brought in. We kept the pizza company name identification secret from the judges so that they did not know who's pizza they were judging. The criteria for the judges to consider for each pizza entry judged was "appearance" and "taste" with a scaled system and separate categories for Cheese and Speciality (up to 5 toppings). The pressure was on as hundreds of people peered thru the window as they passed by curious to see and the pizza company representatives waiting anxiously for results.

The judges room was the coveted place to be for many reasons; at first the air-conditioning and then the 26 awesome pies spread out on 3 tables and no beer line. This was a beautiful site and a tummy rumbling aromatic experience as they dug in. Each of the judges took their responsibility very seriously, contemplating each pizza and savoring their responsibilities. All the judges were "full-filled" by the time they tasted a judges sample of the 13 pies from their category along with their beer or water for beverages.

 The panel of judges selected for this event were awesome. I would like to thank them for their time and "sacrifice".  They arrived when requested ready to help with any last minute set-up, eager to judge and devour the 26 pizzas, and support the non-profit Families Pursuing Justice. Not everyone in the room knew each other at the beginning - however, everyone has a common thread in addition to the love of pizza and beer - that is Twitter. Each of the judges have a twitter handle - you can follow them if you want to connect with them just click on the names below:

Kevin  Dani  Jose  Anne Fitten  Austin  Vonciel  Christopher  Adam  Sonia  Timmy  Jamie  Justin

As the evening progressed and the pies were sampled and judged the group talked, mingled and enjoyed each others company. This was an extremely pleasant and desirable group of Tweeps (short for twitter peoples) who worked very well to achieve the goal of awarding the prizes to the winning pizza companies. I think all of them had fun and are looking forward to next year.

Asheville Chamber Business Before Hours at More Space Place Asheville

Friends, Clients, other Professional Networkers and Asheville Area Chamber Member Businesses are invited to join us on August 17th at 8 am for our annual

Murphy Beds and Mimosas Event.

Presented by: BB&T

Catered by: Colorful Palate

Hosted by: More Space Place Asheville   828-665-9665

Letter from a happy client of Amanda's Asheville Custom Closets

I want to share with you a letter I received recently from a pleased homeowner after their custom closet project with More Space Place was installed. I would be happy to meet with you regarding custom closets for your home. Call or email me for a complimentary in home design consultation.






Dear Amanda,

We would just like you to know how pleased we are with the beautiful custom closets your company installed in our new home. They are even more than what we expected or envisioned. The fine touches and workmanship comes only from a business with true professionals.

We especially appreciated your assistance since everything was handled long distance through phone calls, emails, and faxes. Your patience and suggestions were wonderful. We were really glad that we were in Asheville just as the installation was completed.

Thank you again for your personal and conscientious attantion. You are definitely in the right line of work!

Sincerely,

Pam and Herb H.
June 25, 2010