Sue Corso owns and operates More Space Place Jacksonville, FL that designs and installs a variety of space saving solutions. And when it comes to experience and creativity in coming up with just the right closet system for each customer, Sue and her design team bring both qualities to the table.
“There are really only two factors that limit what I can do for a customer’s closet,” Sue says, “and those are space, and of course, budget. Closet systems by definition have to fit in a confined space – the closet. So space saving is not only one of the closet’s ultimate purposes for the user and for their clothes and accessories, space saving is also an influence on my thinking whenever I design closet systems. I have to use every bit of space wisely. Keeping the project within the limit of what someone can spend is crucial, too.”
Designing Space Saving Closet Systems Requires a Listening Ear
In the design phase of a closet system project, Sue or another designer visits the home, measures the closet space, and then comes the most important step in the design. The designer listens to the customer talk about what they want in a closet system.
“One of the compliments I get pretty consistently at both my Jacksonville and Jacksonville Mandarin stores is this: customers like the way I listen to what they’re looking for,” Sue says.
Space saving often appears at or near the top of customers wish lists, she points out, but whatever someone’s hot buttons turn out to be, Sue and her staff make sure the customer is heard, and every idea and question is taken seriously.
Mars and Venus in the Closet
However, designing and installing custom closet systems, and achieving space saving elegance at the same time, does present some opportunities for laughs. Sue has had some fun teasing those who might be called the supporting players she meets on many of her closet jobs: husbands.
“Nobody should be too surprised to hear that in almost every case, it’s the wife who is the star of the closet,” she says. “They are just about always the ones who call and say, ‘help me, my closet is a disaster.’ And when they share the closets with their husbands, their clothes and things tend to dominate, and the man winds up with far less closet space. Again, space saving is a huge factor in cases like this.”
“So I have a little fun with it. I’ll tell a husband that if he would just go out and buy some more clothes, he’d be able to compete a little bit better, and he would win himself some more closet space! Of course, after using a line like that, I sometimes get asked if the men’s clothing industry knows about the support I’m giving them. And it’s usually the man who asks.”
Sue Corso’s Jacksonville stores are located at 11744 Beach Boulevard (904-645-5222) and 11112 San Jose Boulevard (904-292-0201). To find stores outside the Jacksonville area, use the More Space Place Store Locator.