Dallas - Nearly 300 closet industry professionals packed into the first CLOSETS & HOME ORGANIZATION CONFERENCE, March 16 at the Dallas Renaissance Hotel. The conference, presented by CLOSETS magazine, preceded the fifth Texas Woodworking Show, March 17-18 at Dallas Market Hall, which attracted more than 1,500 visitors.

Attendance for the inaugural Closets Conference was double what was expected, according to Laurel Didier, publisher of CLOSETS. Attendees came from throughout the continental United States and Canada, and from as far away as Hawaii, Brazil, Norway and Australia. The Texas Woodworking Show included a Closets pavilion, featuring displays by exhibitors specially geared to the needs of closet, garage and other home storage system product manufacturers.

Harry Urban, vice president and publishing director of Vance Publishing Corp.'s Industrial Division, said, "The Texas Woodworking Show and Closets Expo brought a wide range of professionals together. As in past Texas Woodworking Shows, cabinet, millwork and furniture companies from Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Louisiana made up the bulk of our attendance base. But, thanks in large part to the co-located Closets event; we transformed what traditionally has been a regional woodworking show into a national event."

"No doubt, the success of this event raises the bar of expectations for our Closets Conference & Expo next year in Santa Clara," Didier said. "We're thrilled to have a front-row seat to this dynamic and evolving industry."

The CLOSETS & HOME ORGANIZATION CONFERENCE AND EXPO is scheduled for March 1-3, 2006 at the Santa Clara Convention Center, Santa Clara, CA. For more information visit www.closets-expo.com For exhibit information or to be added to the list to receive details about the 2006 CLOSETS & HOME ORGANIZATION CONFERENCE AND EXPO, phone Hall-Erickson Inc. at (800) 752-6312 or (630) 434-7779, or e-mail closets@heiexpo.com.

About Vance Publishing
Since 1937, Vance Publishing has been a recognized leader in business information and communications. The company has grown thanks to entrepreneurial startup publishing ventures, as well as strategic and opportunity acquisitions that have helped build their markets. Vance serves select business-to-business markets with 25 magazines, a host of newsletters, Web offerings and data and custom media products. For more information visit www.vancepublishing.com.

About Hall-Erickson
Hall-Erickson is a leading exposition management company that provides trade show, conference and event management services to associations and publications. Hall-Erickson's mission is to produce successful events with an uncompromising commitment to professionalism, integrity, and quality. Founded in 1952, Hall-Erickson's roots trace back to the 1930's in Chicago. Hall-Erickson currently manages exhibitions and conferences in various industries in exhibit facilities across the country, including 4 Tradeshow Week "Top 200" events. These events range in size from 20,000 to 600,000 net square feet and are attended by more than 300,000 people from around the world. For more information, please visit, www.heiexpo.com or call 800-752-6312.