Closet expert offers training programs

Eric Marshall, principal of the Closet Training Institute based in Tempe, Ariz., wants to help custom woodworking professionals enter and succeed in the closet/storage industry. He’s got over 40 years of experience as a client design specialist and says it’s a great time to enter the field.

“The closet industry is getting out of control right now and what’s going on is its growth, [which is interesting] because for many years we’ve been like the red-headed stepchild,” says Marshall. “Closets were just like this wire shelving where you shove your clothing in there. But the pandemic changed all that. We got stuck at home, we started looking at our needs, and our needs became storage.

“Now the closet companies don’t actually have the capacity to service the market anymore. The cabinet guys have figured this out. They started doing research and learned that closets are worth more per square foot than anything else that they’re doing.”

Marshall started his company in 2022 after spending about four decades working for two of the top commercial closet companies in the U.S. He’s already trained over 100 clients. While some have closet experience and just want help with sales and marketing, he says about 90 percent are cabinetmakers who are new to closets and find them quite challenging, which is where his expertise comes in.

“The issue with cabinetmakers is that they’re trying to make [a closet] like a cabinet. It’s not a cabinet. It doesn’t have backing and they’re uncomfortable jumping out of that because they’re so used to putting a stabilizing back in there,” says Marshall.

“We train cabinet guys how to manufacture parts that are important for the closet industry. It’s kind of secretive. The big [companies] don’t want anybody to know how to do this because it’s cutting into their business.”

Marshall offers consulting services at a training center in nearby Scottsdale but will also travel to clients upon request. The price is $2,000 per day for a 10-hour session.

Learn more at closettraininginstitute.com.  

This article was originally published in the December 2023 issue.