First Closets Conference: a great success: next stop, Santa Clara.

DALLAS -- Nearly 300 closet industry professionals packed into the first CLOSETS & HOME ORGANIZATION CONFERENCE, March 16, at the Dallas Renaissance Hotel. The conference, presented by CLOSETS magazine, preceded the fifth Texas Woodworking Show, March 17-18, at Dallas Market Hall, which attracted more than 1,500 visitors.

Organizers will look to exceed the one-of-a-kind event's success with a stand-alone CLOSETS & HOME ORGANIZATION CONFERENCE & EXPO, March 1-3, 2006, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA.

Attendance for the inaugural Closets Conference was about double what was expected, according to Laurel Didier, publisher of CLOSETS. Attendees came from throughout the continental United States and Canada, and from as far away as Hawaii, Brazil, Norway and Australia.

"We were completely blown away by the number of people who came and the distances some of them traveled," Didier said. "The level of enthusiasm these people have for the closet and home organization industry and their hunger to learn was overwhelming."

Helen Kuhl, editor-in-chief of CLOSETS, said each of the nine presentations made during the full-day Closets Conference was well received. "We were blessed to have a talented group of speakers, most of them members of the National Closet Group and all of them home organization experts. The conference set the stage for some great networking among the closet professionals in attendance."

Wide range of professionals

Harry Urban, vice president and publishing director of Vance Publishing Corp.'s Industrial Division, said, "The Texas Woodworking Show and Closets Expo brought a wide range of professionals together. As in past Texas Woodworking Shows, cabinet, millwork and furniture companies from Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Louisiana made up the bulk of our attendance base. But, thanks in large part to the co-located Closets event, we also drew several hundred people from far and wide. It transformed what traditionally has been a regional woodworking show into a national event."

The Texas Woodworking Show included a Closets pavilion, featuring displays by more than 30 exhibitors specially geared to the needs of closet, garage and other home storage system product manufacturers.

"The Closets pavilion was jammed with attendees on the first day of the show, a real testament to the exciting evolution of the market," Urban said. "Our exhibitors were pleased with the quality of the attendees. We do our best to draw key decision-makers."

"The phenomenal success of our first Closets event, in terms of both the conference and the trade show, further validates the vibrancy of the closet and home organization industry," said Rich Christianson, editorial director of Vance's Industrial Division. "Since we launched CLOSETS in November 2003, we have heard the endless echoes of closet and garage professionals giddy to have a magazine, and now a national event, to call their own."

Other highlights of the combined, three-day event were a full-day Cost Estimating seminar presented by Anthony Perno, president of Casework Technologies, made possible by the Architectural Woodwork Institute, and a keynote speech by renowned furniture maker Thomas Moser. Stiles Machinery Inc. sponsored the Closets Conference and ORG, a division of Windquest Cos., sponsored the CLOSETS networking reception, which ran well past its two-hour time limit.

"No doubt, the success of this event raises the bar of expectations for our Closets Conference & Expo next year in Santa Clara," Didier said. "We're thrilled to have a front-row seat to this dynamic and evolving industry."

For exhibit information, or to be added to the fist to receive details about the 2006 CLOSETS & HOME ORGANIZATION CONFERENCE & EXPO, phone Hall-Erickson Inc. at [phone] or [phone], or e-mail [e-mail].