Quantity versus Quality

It’s a common question in the building industry and many others — should you go for quantity or quality? It also can apply to many different things in life.

When I was younger, I loved shopping — especially for clothes. The more clothes I had to choose from, the better. I would shop sales and collect things I loved. But at some point, I ran out of room for all these amazing deals and needed to start editing my stuff…and figuring out the best way to store it.

In the weeding-out process I found that I gravitated not towards my (vast) collection of trendy and dated items, but preferred instead my “good” items — well-made classics I can mix and match for work and other occasions.

But inevitably, I would collect more of the “good stuff” and still needed places to put it. Cue my woodworking husband, who was tasked with creating closet systems to help keep me organized.

The past few decades have seen the explosive growth of closet and organizing systems, and I was fortunate enough to speak with one of the closet industry’s pioneers at the recent AWFS Fair in Las Vegas.

Closet Guru Eric Marshall held an education session on the Live stage on the AWFS show floor. I attended several of these sessions, but one thing was for sure — his was the bestattended that I saw. This guy knows what he’s talking about.

We sat down the next day and talked at length about all things closets — I even shared a few accessory ideas my husband fabricated for me in my current closet. You can read more from our conversation on page 16.

While talking, Marshall would greet friends and fellow closet connoisseurs. One gentleman remarked how he thought there wasn’t as much foot traffic at this year’s show, but Marshall was quick to respond.

“When I see people like you here, I know that the right people — owners of companies — are walking through, and that's all they need,” said Marshall. “There’s not as many large companies but there are way more small booths and vendors, which is great!”

He gets it. Sometimes, it’s more about the quality than the quantity.

Jennifer Williams, Managing Editor