The aisles were crowded with manufacturers of every type of wood product. The International Woodworking Fair (IWF) had more than 1,000 exhibitor booths showing everything from panel processing equipment to decorative knobs and pulls.
It’s a huge show and a bit overwhelming but what really struck me was the amount of equipment and hardware displayed specifically for closet and garage organization companies. And the good news is that most of these companies will be exhibiting at the Cabinets & Closets Expo next March in Charlotte. It’s going to be a great show with many new exhibitors and products.
Some of the trends I saw at IWF and were also presented at the full-day Closets symposium, moderated by Editor Michaelle Bradford, were higher-end materials like leather, metal and glass doors, floating shelves for shoe and handbag displays. Color is more prominent especially blues and grays. Lighting options were also prevalent with automated on-off functions and the accessories available to closet and design professionals are simply amazing.
What’s new for the magazine
Closets & Organized Storage (COS) has spent the last year improving the paper quality, expanding and qualifying its circulation. To answer your need for more information and to find new products, we are expanding COS to six issues in 2019.
We’ve also invested in a readership study to get your opinions on what we are doing right and how we can continue to improve the product. Thank you for the feedback. If you didn’t get a chance to respond to the survey but have thoughts on the publication, please email me at [email protected]. All comments are welcome good or bad. We are also conducting a “State of the Industry” study. The results will be presented at the 2019 Cabinets & Closets Conference & Expo in March.
Today is the age of closets and getting organized. Put your seatbelts on; it’s going to be a fun ride!
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