A regional marketplace for woodworking professionals

Laurie Haefele

Opening conference keynote speaker, Laurie Haefele, the well-known designer and owner of the award-winning Haefele Design in Santa Monica, California will discuss “How to turn Afterthought Closets into Custom Luxury Wardrobes.”  Haefele creates upscale kitchens, boutique closet and wardrobe and luxury bath designs but she got her start in the industry as an architect. Haefele pivoted in her career from architecture to design kitchens and closets. Industry recognition and awards in abundance have been bestowed upon Laurie Haefele, associate member AIA, and member of NKBA, ASID and ICAA. Armed with degrees in architectural design and its history and theory, she has been using her training to create upscale kitchen, boutique wardrobe and luxury bath designs since 1997.

April 27, 8:30 a.m.
 

 

 

 

 

Jim Bouchard
Day 2 of the event will kick off with a keynote by Jim Bouchard, founder of the Sensei Leader Movement.  Bouchard will precede his keynote on Day 1 of the event  presenting his  Sensei Leadership Workshop. An author and lecturer, Bouchard will focus on the how leaders can attract, train, and maintain their employees by creating a positive culture within their organizations. Bouchard was the opening keynote at Woodworking Network’s Executive Briefing Conference last September in Colorado Springs.
 “There’s no doubt about it, our world has changed.” said Bouchard.  “Despite all the current challenges, you have a tremendous opportunity to become the best leader you could ever imagine. Embrace change, find opportunities in uncertain times and help others grow through change. More than anything else, people support change when they respect and trust their leaders. To earn respect, trust and loyalty, you have to extend it. The leader goes first.” 

Sensei Leadership Workshop April 27, 9:40 a.m.

Keynote April 28, 9 a.m.

 

 

 

 

 

Brad Cairns

FDMC columnist and lean guru, Brad Cairns will be the opening keynote for Day 3 of the event. Cairns will offer lean strategies for operating in the pandemic era, which is fraught with supply chain disruptions and labor shortages. “With a supply chain as unstable as it is in North America right now, I don’t know of any inventory management system that is going to be able to get your supplies in the right quantity at the right time,” said Cairns. “The minute the supply chain becomes unreliable is the minute those systems fall apart. Don’t try to use a reliable system with an unreliable supply chain. Depending on your cash position and your ability to store material, it might be possible to increase all Kanban quantities past what you might need in hopes that it shows up sporadically and you just don’t run out. “
Cairns said the labor shortage is a bigger problem and something lean thinking can directly impact. “It’s more important than ever to start squeezing every last ounce of waste out of our processes,” said Cairns.

April 29, 9 a.m.

 

 

 

Kenn Busch
Kenn Busch, founder of Material Intelligence, will deliver the afternoon keynote on Day 3 of the event, with a presentation titled, “Material trends and sustainability.”  He specializes in creating educational content for architects and interior designers, and in-depth coverage of international design and materials fairs. Busch will discuss the latest trends in surfacing materials and their innovative uses.  In addition, Busch will discuss his “Climate Positive Now” initiative, which advocates for the inherent environment-friendly nature of the wood products industry. “Wood is nature’s perfect carbon sink. Trees absorb carbon from the atmosphere as they grow. Half of the chemical makeup of wood is stored carbon, which isn’t released until it decomposes or burns. Composite wood panels store more carbon than is released in their production. This is the definition of climate positive. For every sheet of particleboard you use, 40 lbs of carbon are removed from the atmosphere. MDF (medium-density fiberboard) sequesters 43 lbs of carbon.”

April 29, Noon

 

 

Tim Coleman

Tim Coleman founded his Closet Organization company in 1988 and ran his business for nearly 30 years.   He sold his successful company in 2017 and was asked by that buyer to stay on to run the closet division, which he did for 3 years.  In October of 2020, Tim was delighted to take the helm of SCE Unlimited in the Chicagoland area, which is owned by Installed Building Products, a publicly-traded $2.5 billion company.  SCE offers both Wire & Solid Systems from melamine to veneered wood, Shower Doors & Mirrors, and Bathroom hardware. Coleman will share his insights when he takes the stage to present, “Magic Number and Financial Impacts.”

April 27, 9:40 a.m.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Karen Rolleri

Karen Rolleri is the chief organization officer and founder of Organizeology. Rolleri will present her reasoning for why closet professionals should charge clients for their designs at the Closets Conference. What’s more, she will explain how to get the client to agree to pay a design fee. Rolleri, who launched Organizeology in 2007, was featured in the September/October issue of Closets & Organized Storage.  The profile story came on the heels of Rollieri winning the 2021 Top Shelf Design Awards Best of Show prize for her “Modern Industrial Garage.”

April 27, 10:45 a.m.

 

 

 

 

 

Jane Stoller

Jane Stoller is a Swiss-Canadian life-biz organizer, speaker, author and university instructor whose passion is in decluttering spaces and organizing business processes. Jane wrote her first book in 2016 to help friends get more organized. It ultimately gained international attention, and this allowed Jane to turn her passion into a profitable business, Organized Jane. Jane's love for organizing began on a small farm in Seeley’s Bay, Ontario, Canada, where she grew up. As a young girl, she was often found happily lining up her cats by size, her stuffed animals by color, and her parent’s books by publication date. Soon, friends began turning to Jane for guidance on how to part with cluttered sentimental items. Stoller’s global reach has helped thousands gain clarity and get organized with her critically acclaimed books, Organizing For Your Lifestyle: Adaptable Inspirations from socks to suitcases and Decluttering for Dummies (Wiley Publishing), and
through her Business Booster Course. Stoller and her sought-after decluttering expertise, products and books have been featured on numerous international talk shows, podcasts, and magazines. With a proven track record in both lifestyle and business decluttering, Jane has spent the last decade helping people become better versions of themselves. What makes Jane's organizing approach unique is her holistic method and warm personality. She starts by redefining a client’s home and continues at the office - or vice versa. "My goal is not to turn someone’s home into a magazine perfect image, it is not sustainable,” says Stoller. “I work around a client’s specific lifestyle, or an aspect of their life they want to focus on, and develop a custom organization system
from there. 

April 27, 1:10 p.m.

 

 

Amanda Conger

Amanda Conger is executive director of the Cabinet Makers Association and the Association of Closets and Storage Professionals. She will discuss the CMA's 2022 outlook for business, staffing and compensation trends, shop rates, and other issues of importance to custom woodworking executives. She has a deep knowledge of the woodworking industry and business operations. Amanda handles event management, sales & marketing, public relations, bookkeeping, and the continued development of industry partnerships.

April 27, 10:45 a.m.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Matt Wehner

Matt Wehner and his wife, Shelley, purchased Cabinet Concepts of Springfield, Mo., in 2007, focused on the design and manufacture of custom kitchens. They subsequently added Simply Organized by Design, as a division of their company to provide closet, pantry, and garage products. Over the years, the Wehners have substantially grown their business, increased sales, and added staff. The company has also invested in CNC machining, CAD/CAM software, and panel processing equipment to boost productivity. Wehner’s presentation, “How to Add Closets to Your Mix,” is one of five sessions planned for the Wood Pro education track, co-organized by FDMC and the Cabinet Makers Association. 
 

April 27, 11:30 a.m.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Will Sampson

FDMC Editor Will Sampson will tackle the pricing quandary at the Wood Pro Conference. The veteran woodworking journalist will do a deep dive into the wide-ranging bids submitted for FDMC’s 2021 Pricing Survey.  Sampson is a lifelong woodworker, and he has been an advocate for small-scale entrepreneurs and lean manufacturing since the 1980s. He was the editor of Fine Woodworking magazine in the early 1990s and founded Woodshop Business magazine, which he eventually sold and merged with CabinetMaker magazine. He helped found the Cabinet Makers Association in 1998 and was its first executive director. Today, as editor of FDMC magazine he has more than 20 years experience covering the professional woodworking industry. His popular "In the Shop" tool reviews and videos appear monthly in FDMC. Sampson also hosts the Woodworking Network Podcast.

April 27, 1:10 p.m.