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

Asheville Custom Closets - Best Value Compared to Online Competitors

Today I would like to talk with you about why it is not a good idea to buy closets online. Many companies offer online "custom closet" sales.  I would ask you to reflect on  a couple of questions that might start you thinking about why you should consider a local company:


1.  How do you know what to order? What parts and pieces are important?  How will it fit?  As a competitive designer in the Asheville area market I have had many homeowners bring designs to me that they have either created themselves online or had the automated computer create via an online closet source. Many of these designs have not been what I would consider "good" designs. They are inefficient - not using all of the closet space or sometimes just don't make functional sense. A closet designer will ask many questions about you, your lifestyle, your clothes, how many, how big, how much, etc and help decide what goes where and the most efficient use of space and functionality. I travel in the Asheville Area and all of Western North Carolina to assist homeowners with custom closet designs - see my closet video.

2. When they say "shipped to your home"  - do you realize this means on a "semi - truck" that you must unload and then count the parts and pieces that come to make sure you got everything. A current builder client of More Space Place has a horror story of how he tried to save a couple hundred bucks on his closets and when the semi truck arrived with some parts damaged and no instructions on how to assemble the parts, he was quite regretful. He will only buy closets from More Space Place Asheville now.

3. Who is going to install this for you? Are you going to install the closet rails and parts and cut the shelves to length? Do you have the tools?  If you hire a handy-man is he reliable? Does he know where to put the rods? Our installers are trained to install closets. They have a complete set of instructions with notes that you and I have made regarding placement of any accessories and rod heights. These guys could install closets in their sleep. They have years of experience and can finish a complete house of closets in just hours.

4.  Are you getting the best deal? What really is the price?   I have compared many closet quotes. From local to national vendors, to online resources. Apples to apples is not easy to spot for the untrained consumer-  More Space Place can provide you with the BEST VALUE in the Asheville Area. We INCLUDE installation and tax in every quote. We do not nickel and dime our clients. A one time complimentary adjustment is available if you need shelves or rods moved once you get your clothes in place.  Just this week, I had a homeowner who brought me a set of plans from an online source. Their price was $4200.00 including shipping (no tax). My price was $4500.00 for a finished installed in-home project including our 7% NC tax.

5. If you can support a local company that has families living in your neighborhood - why would you buy a product from an online source?  Our employees are part of the local economy, we live, eat, go to school, and spend our money with other local companies when possible. We have a showroom at 1025 Brevard Road in Asheville NC where you can touch and test the products with smiling faces to greet you.

Call Amanda Ballew, Interior Designer for an appointment or email - I will show you how More Space Place Asheville can provide you with the BEST VALUE in custom closets for the area.