(Editor: Leona)

The 2015 Cabinets & Closets Conference and Expo is shaping up to be the biggest — and liveliest — edition of the show. On the big side, Cabinets & Closets Expo 2015 sales manager Mike Litwicki has rearranged the floor to accommodate more working machinery in bigger booths as the Chicago show approaches a sell-out.

“We will probably have to expand the exposition site again,” Litwicki says, something he expects to announce this month for The Renaissance Convention Center, Schaumburg, IL.

On the busy side, the Expo program has been enlivened with the addition of several major changes: keynote speakers will make their presentations each morning of the show. In a departure from years past, the 2015 Woodworking Network Design Awards Gala also has been moved to the show floor; at 5 pm on Wednesday, the cash bar will roll in, and the stage will be set for the closets and custom woodworking industries’ only national awards celebration.

This year four awards programs are included: the Custom Woodworking Design Portfolio; the Closets Top Shelf Design, the Young Wood Pro and the Kitchen Design Awards. Entries for the first two will officially launch January 15, 2015.

Also new this year, the all-day conference sessions have been split into three tracks: one for closets professionals, one aimed at the business of design, and a third for custom woodworking. In another addition to the event, an expanded line-up of sessions will be held on the show floor each day — all free — under the Woodworking Network Live banner. Expo registrants will be able to attend these sessions – a mix of technology, marketing, hardware and supplies trends – at no charge.

Visitors will also be able to try out portable power tools at the Tool Zone each day of the show. And two plant tours are in the works. Conference and show floor speakers include Dan Claypool, CEO and owner of Merric Millwork; Steve Stephens, VP marketing at acpi Cabinets; and designers Martin Goebel and Denise Butchko.

Cabinets & Closets 2015 Conference, Expo

Tuesday April 14, 8 am - 5 pm

All-Day Conference, Three Tracks:
Closets Sessions • Business of Design • Custom