My friend Alan Price who used to be a designer at Hancock and Moore, moved over to Whitmore-Sherrill and we have lots of discussions about style and design of sofas. He has one particular sofa he designed that he really likes and showed it to me and I said "Alan, the back cushion is too low, the customer buying a sofa that long, and that deep, wants shoulder support, the back has to be taller, I mean, it looks great for style, but an average size man is going to sit in it and say he can't get comfortable in it. Can you bring it up to 36?"

Now most places would take that feedback and never do anything with it. Not Alan, he's in the Sherrill workshop and just sent me this photo, he wants to have this taller back version ready for Market in two weeks to show me. Did I like this height? Yes, I do. The original height is on the left, my new suggest back height is on the right.

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Customers give me feedback and I listen, then I pass that onto the Designers. Now we just have to wait and see if the added height will mess up the design lines of the sofa, it it does, then the height has to be reduced.

When they listen - we all get a better product. For me, this is the best part of the furniture business.