The unexpected twists and turns in life can often be challenging. However, they can also open doors for growth and positive change. How we respond to these challenges can significantly influence not only our own lives, but also the lives of those around us. Embracing these moments and finding ways to use them to shed some light and lead to inspiring and meaningful outcomes are essential tools for life.
Artisan Custom Closets, a renowned southern closet design company, has a compelling backstory marked by an unexpected life event that shaped its core values and vision. Design, organization, and visuality not only inspired the uniqueness of Artisan Custom Closets, the story behind the company created its core that carries on today. We talked with Christina Johnson, Director of Marketing, to give us a little insight.
How does the personal background of the founder shape the company today?
Lisa Carlquist, the founder of Artisan, started the company when an unexpected life change of her husband's passing created an immediate need to support herself and her daughter. Already a well-established closet designer, Lisa saw an opportunity and took it, combining forces with her business partner to launch what became the Artisan Custom Closets we know today. It's truly inspiring to see what she accomplished and what she grew this company into before handing it off to Georgia Oak Partners and the current executive team who runs Artisan. As a female, I think it's amazing! She was a full-time mom and a full-time CEO and still managed to grow this largely successful business. I love the history of this company and the legacy Lisa created. Now it's entrusted to us to carry it on.
What is the most rewarding aspect of closet designing for people?
A: The reward that comes with what we do is yes, now you have a beautiful space, and we certainly hear that from the majority of our customers, but at the end of the day I think there is one bit of feedback we often receive that really hits home. You don’t realize how much stress a lack of organization creates in your day-to-day life until you fix it. Suddenly, that stress is gone and mornings are easier and you think to yourself 'Wow, why didn’t I do this before?' It is a stress that most of us live with because a lot of times we just default to whatever is in the house or condo when we buy it and we just continue to muddle through it. To have our clients come back to us days, months, even years later, in some cases, and thank us so deeply for our work and how it improved their lives – it’s amazing to witness. We love to create beauty in our clients' homes, but we love creating peace for them even more.
How does your favorite project make a positive impact on lives?
My personal favorite is when we do projects for kids. We had someone we worked with at the beginning of this year who has a son who is on the autism spectrum, and wanted to do something for him to help him be comfortable with the day-to-day of life. She took his bedroom closet and worked with one of our designers to create a fun, unique space where he had tons of storage for all of the things that mattered to him – his books, his stuffed animals, his clothes, and so much more. The best part, however, was that we were able to craft a custom “hidey nook” for him as part of his closet. When he gets stressed, he likes to hide, and this gave him his own space to do so and also her peace of mind because she would know where he was in those moments. His nook was so cozy. We added lighting in the area for him to read with, and she added lots of pillows and his favorite stuffed animals, and the end result was an amazing little space. She shared a video of us doing a ‘reveal’ with him. He loved his closet and immediately started investigating all of the shelves and drawers and, of course, his nook. It’s so fun to watch kids recognize ‘organization’ and respond to it just like us adults do! The client still keeps in touch with us to let us know he remains obsessed with his closet. She even sends us pictures of him in his space! It’s neat to see how we can affect people’s lives instantly.
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