Kennedy Jaspering took over as manager at Cleek’s Home Furnishing a month ago. She is, however, a furniture veteran, having served as sales manager for the Mexico store. Prior to that, Jaspering was on the staff of The Ledger, processing obituaries and classified ads.

She grew up in Perry, which she points out is only 20 minutes from Mexico, “so I knew the town.”

1. How were sales during the pandemic?

We did well, but we couldn’t go into a customer’s home. That was different.

2. That probably made installation difficult.

Yeah, our installation service was a struggle for a while.

3. What’s the most difficult thing to install?

Probably a washer and dryer. It’s not hard to deliver, but you never know what you’re going to walk into. There are tiny laundry rooms and some the size of a living room. You may have to remove a door. We’ve installed a stackable in a closet. There’s a lot that goes into it.

4. So it’s all about coordinating.

Yes.

5. You stock some of everything. What’s the biggest seller?

Our biggest are beds and mattresses.

6. Do you really have to change mattresses often?

We tell people it’s whatever they are comfortable with. A good mattress lasts three to five years, depending on how you use it. But if you buy it for a guest room that gets little use it will last longer.

7. Is there a style the store leans toward?

Our vice president, Junior Cleek, does the ordering. He gets a mixture of everything, contemporary to retro. You don’t know what people will like.

8. That must make it hard to predict.

It does. We never know what’s going to walk in the door. We also do special orders.

9. What’s trending now?

Big TVs right now. People come in and say ‘how big of a TV can you get?’ The biggest was an 86 inch, and it literally sold right away. We got it off the truck and into the system and a woman said ‘I want that.’

10. A television can’t be too big, can it?

We just got one that takes up the entire wall. It’s personal preference, I guess.