KJ Gleason says he often considers his job of interior design consultant more akin to a design therapist. He sits down with clients and asks tough questions, and much like an actual therapist, the answers to those questions are often found “inside you” and just need to be pulled out, he says.
Gleason has been with Edelman Design since 2019, when he joined after entering into an agreement with owner Tom Edelman. At that time, the store was known as Edelman Furniture but has since changed its name and revamped its image.
November will mark the 75th anniversary of the store that has become a staple on West Marshall Avenue in Longview.
Edelman’s father and uncle, Ray and Howard Edelman, started in 1947 what was first known as Greggton Furniture Co.
The store was across the street from where it is now at 3413 W. Marshall Ave. in a building that’s now home to Greggton Antique Mall.
In 1962, the Edelman brothers built a new building across the street and renamed it Edelman’s Greggton Furniture.
In 1987, Tom Edelman took over the 10,000-square-foot building, and it eventually took the name Edelman Furniture until it changed in 2019.
Gleason said Edelman was considering closing the store when he met him.
“I knew that in its current iteration it would not succeed — it was a dying thing,” Gleason said. “So in order to breathe new life into it, we made it more design focused.”
When comparing interior design to what therapists do, Gleason said he wants to help customers find what they want and help them make decisions so that when they’re not in “the counselor’s presence” they can make those choices on their own.
“I teach people and I try to help them learn how to approach their project, their
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