How Custom Closets Reduce Stress and Reshape Daily Life with Brent Irish

What if the most underrated wellness upgrade in your home isn't a gym membership or a new mattress — it's your closet? In this episode, Donnie sits down with Brent Irish, owner of Closet Envy Tampa Bay, to talk about why organized spaces reduce stress, save time, and quietly reshape how a home actually feels to live in.

What You'll Learn:

• Why post-pandemic homeowners want relationships, not transactions
• How custom closet design actually works — from inventory count to 3D rendering
• The trends shaping closets in 2026: tunable LEDs, line boring, sustainable melamine
• Why professional organizing is the missing piece most companies skip
• How to build a business — and a home — around your life, not the other way around

About Brent: Brent Irish is the owner and GM of Closet Envy Tampa Bay. After 18+ years in the custom closet industry — starting at California Closets — Brent launched Closet Envy to bring a more personal, design-driven experience to homeowners across Tampa, St. Pete, Sarasota, Atlanta, Dallas, and beyond.

Connect with Brent:

• Website: https://closetenvytampabay.com/
• Closet Envy national: https://closetenvy.com/

Stay Connected with Palm Harbor Local:

• Newsletter: https://palmharborlocal.com
• Instagram: @palmharborlocal

If this episode brought you value, subscribe, leave a review, and share it with a neighbor who could use a little more calm in their space.

Stroll through the laid-back streets of the Palm Harbor community with this informative podcast, proudly brought to you by Donnie Hathaway with The Hathaway Group, your trusted guide and local expert in navigating the diverse and ever-changing property landscape of Palm Harbor.

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Transcript

Lessons From Building Companies

SPEAKER_02 0:00

What's something like you've learned building all these different companies? You've always been a hard worker, doesn't necessarily mean it's effective. So slowing down and focusing on process has really been, I think, a game changer for me as I've, you know, I've been in these different businesses and that could be anywhere from you know the technology you're using to, you know, implementing processes from you know end-to-end. A bigger commitment on building something that's just not just for your business, but kind of for your life.

SPEAKER_04 0:29

What do you see in the future for Closet MV? Anything you're anything different you're kind of working on?

Meet Brent Irish And The Theme

SPEAKER_02 0:34

We've been trying to we're almost there, so close, but uh you know, this industry has really been impacted by technology and you know, more of an automation type of thing. So the manufacturing process being automated, that's a big biggie for us. I don't know how AI is going to really impact our business in terms of design. I was at a couple conferences and you know they say it's coming, you know, uh you know, to to and it won't ever replace designers. I just don't see how that's possible because there's just so much human interaction that's needed.

SPEAKER_04 1:04

Welcome to Palm Hover Local, the show about the active, outdoor, and healthy lifestyle that defines life here on Florida's Gulf Coast. I'm your host, Donnie Hathaway, and today we're sitting down with Brent Irish, who is one of the owners of Closet Envy Tampa Bay. And we're having a real conversation about wellness and how organized space can save time, reduce stress, and create peace of mind. And how Thoughtful Design supports life here in Palm Harbor. Let's jump in.

SPEAKER_03 1:30

So, first podcast. It is welcome. Thank you. Thank you. Excited to be here, Donnie. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:36

Yeah, this is fun, man. I so we were just talking, right? Like we've um known each other now seven, eight years. It's gotta be something like that.

SPEAKER_02 1:44

Yeah, yeah. Back from our old Camp Gladiator days. Camp Gladiator, 5 a.m.

SPEAKER_04 1:49

in the morning, working up or waking up and working outside.

SPEAKER_03 1:52

Right, yeah, getting our day started off right. Yeah, that was that was a lot of fun. A lot of fun and competitive. And you're so fast. You still are fast, I'm sure.

SPEAKER_02 1:59

But yeah, I just remember I'm like, gosh, man, what is this guy? So you're former baseball player though, too, right?

SPEAKER_04 2:03

Yeah, I played baseball growing up. Yeah, so I I just yeah, I love being active. And I think that was that's what was fun about about Camp Gladiator. Yeah. Was his ability to do, I mean, just to be outside was fun.

SPEAKER_02 2:15

Yeah, absolutely amazing. A lot different from Texas, you know, and that's where CG started. But yeah, when I came here, I was so intimidated by it. And yeah, so I was, you know, going to the normal box gyms and started uh Camp Gladiator up in Tarpon, actually, with uh with a great trainer there that really, really made things difficult. And then once I started uh getting the confidence to work out with other people, I was like, okay, I'm gonna try and find a more competitive group. And then I went down to Dunedin where you guys were working out. I was like, oh wow.

SPEAKER_04 2:46

Yeah, that that was a good group. We had a we had a good group there for a while, made it which makes it makes it a lot of fun, right? Yeah. Having that community and stuff. 100%. Yeah. Yeah. All right. So you are the uh the owner of the the the closet MV Tampa Bay franchise, right?

SPEAKER_02 2:59

Yes, sir, yes, yes. We've uh just opened up uh a little over a year ago after our expansions in a few other markets. But uh yeah, I'm a GM and owner and wear a lot of hats just like a small business owner would. Nice.

SPEAKER_04 3:12

So so going back to the beginning, how did you get into closets and in that business? How long have you been in that business?

SPEAKER_02 3:18

Yeah, so gosh, you know, I owned a logistics company back in Texas um close to 20 years ago. And um, I had sold that and was looking for to do something else. And I was living in downtown Dallas, and one of my neighbors had just purchased a closet system. I'm like, custom closets. I didn't even know it was an industry. And um, and I was looking for some other type of business to get into, and that's how I found California closets. Um, gosh, yeah, over 18 years ago, actually. And um yeah, I just recognized how much of an impact it was making on our neighbors' lives. I'm like, wow, this is amazing. I didn't even realize this industry existed. And yeah, so I did a lot of research and just fell in love with it immediately. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 4:03

Was California Closets were they like the first ones to really like break into like customers?

SPEAKER_02 4:10

Exactly. Yeah, gosh, now I'm gonna say it's they're probably coming up on their 50-year anniversary. Okay, yeah, yeah. So yeah, and I had the pleasure of working with uh Barry, um, who was the uh what we call legacy owner. He's one of the very first franchisees. Oh, wow. Um, and I had the opportunity to work with him for about a year. Cool. So that was really helpful and falling in love with the business. Um, he showed me the ropes and you know, I had every intention of of buying a franchise. I wanted to know everything about it, you know, from designing to management to production. And uh I was just grateful for that opportunity for him to really take me under his wing and and show me everything about the business.

SPEAKER_04 4:50

Yeah. Yeah. So you so going back to to Texas, like the logistics company, that you were an owner in that company as well. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 4:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 4:56

Is that something like you've always like grown up, like always wanted to be like an owner, owner of business?

SPEAKER_02 5:01

Yeah, you know, I'm I've always been a hard worker. You know, I grew up on a farm practically, you know, um, you know, during the summer we'd haul hay and I'd work on a dairy before and after school. So, you know, I started working very young and I just always had that work ethic. And I realized, you know, shortly after college that um, yeah, I think I could make a run for this. And so back then, I'm gonna show them my age now, but it's the dot-com business. So I opened up a business called Jo um JoeFixit.com. Okay.

SPEAKER_04 5:33

Classic.

SPEAKER_02 5:34

Yeah. So I spent some time in San Diego and Denver and Atlanta and Dallas when we launched that business, and we were getting so close to going a round two of financing, like we were we were thinking we're gonna go public. Like this thing was taking on. It was such an amazing journey. Um, but you know, the that bubble burst, and you know, along with that, we were able to sell our technology, which was cool. Uh, allowed me to do some things um from a business perspective to, you know, look at some other types of industry. And um, and so I had some relationships with uh, you know, some other internet types of companies, and um one of them was a company called DAS, Dependable Auto Shippers. Okay. And um it was really cool because uh at that time um eBay was gonna start selling cars online. Oh yeah. And we're like, wait a minute, you're gonna buy a car on the internet? Yeah, that was just such a strange thing at the time. And so I was with uh with this company and we managed to negotiate an exclusive contract with them uh to ship all their cars once they were sold. Oh wow. So it was auto shipping on a national level. Okay. This company went from owning five trucks to over a hundred practically overnight. Wow. Yeah, it just blew up and it was such a great journey and had so much fun doing it. But um, I realized like, wow, I'm making all these guys a lot of money here. And I also realized I could probably do this myself. So I got my broker's license and uh started a logistics company. And and speaking of baseball, I was able to really seek out those types of uh professional athletes or even college athletes that were training in other locations and have to play somewhere else. Ship cars and stuff. And so I became I started a company called All Pro Auto Transports, and it was exclusive to athletes. Nice. And so baseball is one of our bigger clients. It's a spring training, and and it was just so funny. I knew about uh trades that were happening before anybody else because I call me to say, hey, we've got to ship this vehicle.

SPEAKER_03 7:36

Yeah, how cool is that? Yeah, it was pretty awesome.

SPEAKER_02 7:39

Yeah, it was pretty awesome. So yeah, so yeah, and the company um was great. I had a good run before that for about five years. It was, you know, started literally out of the bedroom. My first sale was probably like a$250 commission. I was like, wow, this is great. And then three years later I had um 20 employees and close to three million dollars in revenue. So yeah, yeah, it's a lot of fun.

Slowing Down With Process And Coaching

SPEAKER_04 7:59

What's something like you've learned building all these different companies?

SPEAKER_02 8:04

Yeah, that's a great question. Um now where I'm at, if I could look back, it's probably you know, probably slowing down. Like working hard, uh which again, I've always been a hard worker, doesn't necessarily mean it's effective. You know, so so slowing down and focusing on process has really been, I think, a game changer for me as I've, you know, been in these different businesses, and that could be anywhere from you know the technology you're using to, you know, implementing processes from you know end to end. And I think probably more recently, Donnie, it's been um it's probably been a bigger commitment on building something that's just not just for uh your business, but kind of for your life, you know. Um I try and find a work-life balance. Yeah. And and that's really important to me. So I think if there's, you know, probably any advice I could give anybody is you know, slow down, put those processes in place, but obviously hire some people that are smarter than you, which I've been grateful for that. Um and and you know, and also just know that you know, build that business for for your life, not for the actual products, and you know, it's it's just try and have that balance. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 9:20

I love that because that's something I've been thinking on uh a lot about recently, and you know, you hear different perspectives and stuff. Do you do you think like you like so now that you've you've built these companies and stuff and you and you're in a position and and now you have this this mindset of like all right, maybe I need to slow down or I should have slowed down before? Do you think you have to go through those that journey of of growth and like building these other or building something or whatever, if it's multiple companies or one company, you have to go through that process of like the grind, the hustle to to get to that understanding? Or is that something like if I'm starting a business today, I can start with that mindset and grow it that way and be more successful?

SPEAKER_02 10:01

Or well, I think yeah, I think everybody's gonna hustle right out of the gate and they should, yeah. Yeah, because it is. You you've got to have the energy for it, you know. And it's not a young man's game. Like I'm I've started, you know, this particular business, you know, at 55. Yeah, and um, I'm I love it. And and but at the end of the day, I do feel like if you first leverage the resources that may be available to you, like from day one, I've been you know, business owners for several decades. I reached out to a business coach like from day one. You know, I'm like, I don't know everything, and I certainly am coachable, but you know, could I do this differently? And I could based on my own experience, but I still needed that outside support. Yeah. And so, you know, starting out that might be a good idea for you know, entrepreneurs like, and there's so many resources out there for that. Yeah, you know, some that you don't even have to pay. Like there's consultants and there's people that are retired just want to get back. You know, so I say start there and I'll save you a little bit of time.

Meditation And Building A Life Plan

SPEAKER_04 11:06

Before we continue with today's episode, I want to take a quick moment to thank Valley Bank for supporting Palm Harbor Local. I recently moved my business banking over to Valley, and what stood out to me right away was how relationship-driven their approach is. You're not calling a hotline, you're working with real people who understand local businesses and make decisions locally. This episode is supported by Chad Britz, first vice president at Valley Bank's countryside branch, who works closely with individuals and business owners throughout our entire community. If this kind of local relationship-driven banking matters to you, you can learn more at www.valley.com or email Chad directly at C B R I T T S at Valley.com. I like that. So I mean, even with like YouTube and social media and stuff, like there's all this information available about whatever business you're in, or just you know, like you said, just how to grow the company and and stuff. So my I have a business coach, you know, business life coach right now. And it's interesting because like one of the things we've talked about in the beginning was was um finding more joy in personal life and in in business, right? And tying that to together, right? So exactly I think what you were saying is like creating your business around the things that you enjoy. Yeah, doing it.

SPEAKER_02 12:22

Yeah, yeah. Absolutely. In fact, uh when I reached out to my business coach, he you know, he's uh an amazing, amazing man, great, great entrepreneur, very successful. He wanted to help me more on you know, on a personal level. He could always you know answer some business stuff. In fact, I had a 15-minute call with him yesterday on a conflict that I was having, but you know, everything from sitting down and doing some vision work, guided meditation to like really put me in a different place mentally helps me lead the business and and put things in perspective. You know, we even started, which took almost three months to develop um a basically a life plan, which I'd never done. And I was like, wow, this is a lot of work, but so worth it to really put things in perspective. And you know, we started with the personal stuff first, just like you. You know, I was like, where do you see yourself here? And let's just like really put yourself there in a mental way. And I was like, Well, this is great. This is great. Now I've never meditated with a business coach over Zoom, but it worked out great.

SPEAKER_04 13:26

Yeah, have you done meditation before just like by your personally by yourself?

SPEAKER_02 13:30

Back in our training days when I was doing all the Spartan races and stuff like that. That was uh uh they had Spartan mind, and that was what me know first uh you know, where is is really dedicated to prep and then working with Crystal or you know, yeah, yeah. She was really great about that as a as um you know, mental, you know, life coach in so many ways. Yeah, and uh yeah, I'll never forget the first time I really had a big impact when my son was 10, 11 years old and um yeah, 11 or 12. And we sat across from each other on two pillows and I'm like, we're gonna meditate today. And I just realized how impactful it was for him, even as a 12 year old. I'm like, it's for everybody, you know. I need to get back to it though. You know, honestly, it's uh it's uh, you know, it's something I should be more disciplined with. But yeah, I it's made huge impacts on the path.

SPEAKER_04 14:17

It's like one of those tools I think that that really helps you personally kind of like slow down. I think that's what it's done for me recently, is like allow me to slow down a little bit and kind of think through those obstacles or life goals that you want to accomplish and stuff, you know. What was the process like for you uh like creating that that life plan and stuff? Like, because that's been that's been I think that's a challenge for for me and then for probably for a lot of people of like thinking five, 10 years, 15 years out, whatever it is, like you know, how do you kind of figure that out or lay that roadmap?

SPEAKER_02 14:48

I could definitely share it with you, um, you know, in in detail, but for me, it was relying on you know, just being open to it from my coach. That was one thing. Okay. Because at first I'm like, oh, I've got a five-year plan, but let's break it down and really simplify it. And so I think we started with there, you know, like um we had to have a metrics for it, you know, and it started from a business side, okay, where do we want to be revenue-wise? What's it gonna take to get there? And so we just kind of worked ourselves backwards from that point, and you know, again, it was like a three-month process because um there's a little bit of back and forth, but it also allowed me to really come back to my business plan and say, okay, is are we on track here? But it did start with identifying a few uh uh KPIs along the way, and uh uh both on but uh personal, like for example, okay, my son's graduating and you know next year, and you know, again, just looking two years out, where do we want to be? What colleges do we want to visit? And just kind of setting some um benchmarks as a parent, and then basketball. That was another big one. It takes a lot of my time. I'm going on three years of coaching over here at Palm Harbor, and um this year I'm helping coach JV and varsity. Oh wow and it's a lot, and you know, and you know, that's a volunteer position that I just love dearly, and but it's also an opportunity to um do something for the community, but also be with my son, but from a business owner perspective, like that's another part-time job, right? Yeah, so we had to look at that too, and it's like, yeah, okay, is that something I really want to do? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, and what does that look like? So it went from you know, being an assistant the last couple of years to really, you know, now I'm not attending all the practices, you know, there's I had to make that decision. Um, you know, our coach is like, yeah, you know, we we we staffed up, so it allowed me to do some more stats and you know, maybe some film here and there, and you know, a little scouting if that was important, but uh, and mostly just being there for the kids to help them develop. But yeah, hats off to these coaches, man. They spend so much time in this business. So I'm just glad to be part of the yeah, the that's the circle there.

Why Closet Envy Started Post Pandemic

SPEAKER_04 17:06

Yeah, that's pretty cool. That's pretty cool. Well, thank you for sharing that. That was that's cool. Um, so let's talk about Closet Envy and and okay um, you know, how the company started and and then you know, kind of what you guys are are are doing.

SPEAKER_02 17:19

Okay, perfect. Yeah. Um so yeah, as you know, as I said earlier, I was with California Closets for many years. Great company, still, still one of the best. But uh when the pandemic hit, I re realized that um our industry had a few gaps in it. It was becoming, I thought, more transactional in the sense that you know, people are living at home, working from home. Uh it's just it just changed quite a bit. I uh wanted to start Closet Envy because I I felt like we could bring a different experience to the customer from many different areas from technology, but also having the client experience more, I guess, driven to you know, work less like working from Zoom was one thing, but bringing the showroom to them. And so to do that, I was like, okay, could we do this because a showroom is pretty expensive to maintain. And uh I thought, let's try and figure out a way to uh bring that showroom experience to our customers because during the pandemic, they didn't really need that showroom. Oh yeah. And and we we just crushed it at a California closets during the pandemic. And then once I realized, wow, this business can actually thrive without having all of that overhead. So I pivoted and uh yeah, we launched Dallas, Atlanta, um, Sarasota, um, Netboka about six months ago and here in Tampa, and um bringing that technology and experience to to our clients. So that was the big I saw I say hole in the industry. So we do that through some great stuff too, you know, from high-end renderings, things like that, um, great presentation software, interactive dashboard, you know, that that uh really separates us from a lot of our competition.

SPEAKER_00 19:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 19:06

Um, to make it less transactional, more personal. So that was the thought. And it's worked out really well. And then we couple that with basically being partnered with a company called DMA up in Atlanta, David Mitchell Associate. David's just a great guy. It's a millwork company that's very, very large. And they just do some great, great work. They do all of our manufacturing. Okay. So we have access to some of the best product. You know, so I that was another one. I'm like, wow, we can do this and shared services of engineering and design. And so that partnership worked out really well.

SPEAKER_04 19:42

Yeah, so you're really flexible in in the design and customization of what the client actually needs.

SPEAKER_02 19:48

Yeah, yeah. And, you know, and being in the business for a long time, I, you know, I developed some relationships with, you know, designers, manufacturers, a lot of vendors. Um, and so, you know, I I I leveraged that and got some of the best of the best, without a doubt, uh on on every every one of our locations. And so super proud of that, but with the people made and still make all the difference in the world for what Clauset Envy is.

SPEAKER_04 20:15

Yeah. I think that's the um, I think post-pandemic, like that's the biggest shift that I've noticed too, is like that that client experience, the relationships, like all of that. I mean, I think it was important before, but but some companies, some businesses kind of got away with that, or the public, you know, maybe didn't care too much about it. But I think it's gotten gone back to that where it's very everything's very relational now, and and you've got to have relationships. Um, you've got to be doing the right thing, you've got to provide a great service. Yeah, no matter what the business is, even if you're just selling a product off the shelf or something like that. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 20:48

Like that service is is very important. It's super, super important. And, you know, again, I go back to my experience through, you know, other companies, but even with California Closets, um, you know, there was 40 plus years of experience that they had, and you know, I didn't want to reinvent the wheel. I'm just gonna improve it a little bit here. But but yeah, at the end of the day, I saw this opportunity and certainly was ready to give it another go. And even my business coach is like, You got the energy for this? I'm like, absolutely. But uh, but yeah, I I I think um back to your statement there of of things going back to that, you know, we have recognized that bringing the showroom experience is great for our customer to their home, but we also have to give them that option to come see us. So we you know we we had we had to pivot. So our business model kind of shifted a little bit. So you have both options, yeah. So you still gotta maintain the showroom and then it is, yeah. So a little barrier to entry, you know, to start, you know, a franchise of Closet Envy, but you know, we're recognizing that need that our clients need to come in and feel and touch our product, yeah, you know, and just kind of in a setting, but um we we do it in a slightly different way than most of our competition. We try and partner in with um you know different you know high rises or you know social clubs or maybe even a model home at a development versus uh just uh you know a brick and mortar showroom. Um you know we see yeah so we can kind of give them different options. Yeah. Oh that's cool. Cause then location-wise, like you can have different different spots available. Yeah, yeah. We're um, you know, Tampa, St. Pete, we're opening up one next month um at 400 Central, which uh super excited about that. That's a a high rise that's uh over 390 units there and uh just absolutely breathtaking views from this building. Like, oh my gosh. Um uh but uh we're super excited to partner in with uh a couple of other uh trades from you know window treatment to um uh audio visual and an amazing interior designer, Ari. Um I hope she watches this because she's absolutely an amazing designer. Um but yeah, we're we're uh basically turning one of their units into uh a model showroom and we're doing all the closets and you know media center for there. So we've got an exclusive on that, and I'm super excited uh for that. That uh that could be a really fun year for us.

The Custom Design Process Explained

SPEAKER_04 23:09

Yeah, that's cool. Yeah. So what what about like talk to me more about the process? So someone like I come to you, I'm like, Brent, I want to do my my closet. What is that? What does that look like?

SPEAKER_02 23:19

Yeah, um, well, we try and work with our clients in any way that's comfortable for them. Um, you know, a lot of times uh now uh you know we've traditionally have uh gone to their home and we'll sit down and talk about their project. Um, you know, and again, our designers who are absolutely amazing, all very experienced, um, you know, they they they want to try and facilitate that meeting in a way that um, you know, asking a lot of questions and just trying to find out, you know, what what what how we can help them. Um and there's a process for that, usually the in-home, what we call a complimentary consultation um could take anywhere from 30 minutes up to a couple hours. Now, a lot of times clients will just send us their blueprints and we'll start that relationship off just working remotely. So it helps save them a little bit of time and maybe get an alignment on budget and design. So there's a lot of different ways we can work with them, but it always does start with um usually a face-to-face meeting at some point. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 24:21

Do they do do you typically find that the clients have um an idea of what the what exactly what they want in their closet? Or is that um they're like, I just know I want a custom closet to organize my stuff and keep things neat and tidy?

SPEAKER_02 24:36

They they do, you know, and there's so many tools out there now, especially even with AI, that we're seeing this. I mean, uh, we're seeing some pretty cool stuff just by simply taking a picture of your space, I need a custom closet. And it it does like, here you go. Yeah, I'm like, wow, this is cool. Uh, but it doesn't trade our you know experienced designers, uh, but they definitely the collaboration part of it is probably the funnest part for our team. Uh like I used to design nearly as good as my team is, but um, but uh yeah, it's a true collaboration. Um, because a lot of our clients, they don't know what to expect, you know, like I don't know what it's gonna cost. I have no idea. And and so for us to kind of navigate through that, um, you know, it's a process. We we try and identify, you know, what's good for their budget and how can we get an alignment on that. Um, you know, what's their experience with this? You know, have they um, you know, some people are highly organized and others, you know, just need a little help with it. But uh our designers are, you know, trained and skilled to um get to that really, really fun part of their joy. And um, but it's it's and it's also I think um it's more of an intimate space, you know, it's not just a kitchen, it's not just a bathroom, which are great and they add a lot of return, you know, this being a realtor. But the closets are becoming more like furniture now and it's adding adding a lot of you know, first value to their home, but the experience of what you know while they're in there. And so a part of what you know our team and our designers do is to be able to put our clients in that space and what the experience is like. But you know, for example, your wife, you might have a different schedule in the morning. Get up, you know, are you going to your closet? Are you traveling? You know, where's those suitcases going? So you try and figure out how they're living in the space and how they're interacting, and just that experience. And so we truly customize it based on that, their inventory. So we'll measure everything, count all their shoes, measure all the clothes, all the handbags. Okay. And that gives us basically the blueprint to start designing a true custom closet. And then through that, you know, you kind of go through an editing process and a few design revisions, look at material selections, and um, and then we bring it to life using a very, very high-resolution, you know, 3D um rendering uh software that basically you it's like you're standing in the space. Yeah. Pretty cool.

SPEAKER_04 27:04

So they can see exactly what it's gonna look like. Yeah, yeah, that's cool. Yeah, yeah. Like we were talking about before, I I think um, you know, uh the organization has become more of a popular thing, or more people are are taking note of that and and how it can really um enhance your life and lifestyle and everything, right? And and a closet is a big piece of that, your kitchen is a big piece of that. Um, and I think especially here in in Florida, like one of the things I hear a lot is I want to make sure I have enough storage. Yeah, right. They have their garage and stuff, and that's really our only our storage space outside of our closets. So optimizing your closets in inside your home, I think has become really a necessity.

Garages Pantries And Family Spaces

SPEAKER_02 27:44

Yeah, you know, yeah, totally agree. Yeah. And uh and you know, it's not just closets, right? It's a garage, it's home office, it's uh, you know, media centers to playrooms, all of that. Um uh yeah, it's definitely uh it helps eliminate a lot of stress. You know, if you once you start freeing that clutter, um it really does make a big impact on your just quality of life. Oh, right. Um and one of the things that we recognize in that process, Donnie, is that um, you know, not only do we design, but you know, we manufacture and we install, but we also professionally organize their space. There's a couple of other companies that do that, which you know, we found that we can give them all the tools, but until you really truly get it organized, some like I want it color-coded, I want all the stuff, you know, we we bring in that element. And now it just really brings it home because now it's everything is really, really buttoned up for our customer. And also relieves a little bit of stress of the process because you know, the experience that we want to try and bring to our customers is not just you know the closet itself, but the overall process. And of course, um, you know, I don't know if you've seen some of those commercials, but every once in a while they're just in there having a a little uh, you know, tears and glass of wine in their closets when it's done because it's truly uh a life-changing thing. Yeah. Um, but yeah, um we we we love doing that. That's why I'm I'm just I love this business because I just get to see that often.

SPEAKER_04 29:11

That's cool. I I like the idea of like bringing in a professional organizer because I think that that really changes it, right? Like you said, yeah, it it allows people to uh like really maximize the what they just you know created and purchased and stuff.

SPEAKER_02 29:24

So yeah, and I mean, I don't know about you, but you know, there's sometimes I I will buy something and for some reason I'm just holding a lot of value to this thing just because I've simply bought it. Yeah. I'm like, I haven't worn that in forever. And you know, a lot of our clients are that way, you know, and and yeah, and sometimes they, you know, they could use the help of an organizer to, you know, weed through that and you know, whether we call it purging or editing. Um, but when we're in that design process and going through that inventory, you know, we're having those kind of conversations. And, you know, again, it's an intimate space, you know, we're we're we're it's such a privilege to be brought into somebody's home, but let alone see their belongings and how you know it tells a lot about a person and how you know, and so when we're saying, you know, hey, this is gonna be great, but you know, we may have to do some editing here. Are you open to that? And if so, we you know we can help you through that as well. Um, a lot of psychology behind it.

SPEAKER_03 30:17

Yeah, for sure. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 30:20

I try to work on that with my wife, but she she likes to keep some things, and I'm like, but we haven't touched it in six months or three months. Like we can get rid of it. Yeah, oh my gosh. She's like, but what if we need it at some point?

SPEAKER_02 30:31

100%. I yeah, yeah. I mean, even owning the closet company, I'm like, yeah, my partner, Marcy and I, we, you know, it's she's she she kind of lives by the rule, you know, one in, one out. Oh. Pretty, pretty cool. But she also leverages a stylist andor an organizer for that. Okay. Uh, for me, you know, I'm still holding on to something like I'm you know, I'm 20 pounds heavier now. I know I'm gonna get back to that.

SPEAKER_04 30:55

Oh, yeah. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 30:56

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 30:57

So do you guys do so? I know you do what we've talked about the closets and stuff, but you do other spaces in the halls or garages.

Tech Trends Automation Lighting And AI

SPEAKER_02 31:04

Ours our second most popular space um is definitely garage. Um, you know, uh here in Florida, um, you'll find that's gosh, the main access point for a lot of people. Yeah. Um, so garages are are super popular. Um, and uh, you know, next to that it's pantries. Those are so much fun and they're high impact. Um, you know, it's actually probably one of my favorite spaces to design. I think that's true for a lot of my designers. Um, kids' closets are awesome. Oh, cool. Those are fun because you know, at the end of the day, you know, like you want a customer for life. And yeah, but you also know being a parent, yeah, if you can get those kids to stay organized and just kind of give them the tools for it, yeah. You see that impact on the parents. And that's the same with the pantry. So, you know, our team really focuses on those kind of areas because we know those can make a big difference. But yeah, I'd say garage, uh, the occasional media center, those are fun kind of, you know, uh wall units. Um, we recently did this amazing, amazing um wall unit that had uh two twin uh what we call wall beds or Murphy beds, but uh for the grandkids to come on over when they're visiting. It's like that's yeah, that's and they're they live in the you know this downtown high rise, they don't have a whole lot of space, but you know, they made a little office into uh pull down wall beds for the grandkids. Yeah, a lot of fun.

SPEAKER_04 32:24

That's great. That's cool. Yeah, it's almost like any any any space you need to organize.

SPEAKER_02 32:29

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah. And you know, and that's the one thing. Once they once you have had that custom closet or storage experience, then you know, it it the the great thing, and you know, we we try and do the best job we can and and we hope to get that repeater referral business because we know that you know down the road as they grow and things change, right? Um because you being a realtor, Donnie, you've got to know this. And I I have such a deep respect for that that profession. Um, you know, not all homes are really built for you know the the person, you know, unless you've had the great you know pleasure of designing it. But and so, you know, companies like us, I think we have an opportunity to, you know, to make that home a little bit um, you know, built more for them in and yeah, organized in those little areas can certainly help.

SPEAKER_04 33:17

Yeah, yeah. Well, I think this ties back into like what we were talking about, designing your business to kind of fit your lifestyle. It seems like people are looking for homes that fit their lifestyle too, right? And that's another like post-pandemic thing that is that has changed in real estate where it's like, you know, and it's questions I ask all the time, like when people are looking for a home, it's like, well, what is your life, what's your lifestyle? Like, what do you enjoy doing? Where do you spend the most time and stuff, right? And so let's find a home that matches that lifestyle. It's kind of the same thing. It's like with California or Closet Envy where you're creating the the home to match that the client's lifestyle.

SPEAKER_02 33:58

I love those. I've I'll be interested to hear some of those questions that you asked. Yeah, I'm sure there's some similarities, but uh are there certain like trends that you've seen post-pandemic that is more desirable for you know in the home industry?

SPEAKER_04 34:12

Yeah, I think having outdoor space. Okay. Oh, I'm so sorry. That's okay. I thought I'd um like that indoor outdoor living. I know that's always been big for us, is like is like being able to to you know, and it extends the home too, right? Nice, okay. You know, okay, but kitchens are always a a big one, right? If the family cooks or whatever, um, I would say kitchens and then the indoor outdoor living are always like the big spaces that people are really looking for um to kind of fit right you know their their lifestyle, right? Bedrooms, they're not so concerned about size and and that sort of stuff, right? Because they're spending their entire their time outside of that room.

SPEAKER_02 34:48

But nice. I love that makes sense. That makes sense. And two, I think you know, we found a pretty big pickup in in home office um types of environments. I mean, I know right there after the pandemic there was a a big need to uh you know have a flex kind of almost you know, like, hey, these kids are here, we're gonna start teaching them from home and you know, trying to do something really creative in those extra rooms. Um kind of seen that slow down a little bit. But I didn't know if that was still relative in the you know home market people are looking at.

SPEAKER_04 35:17

I I would agree. I think it's like in the beginning, it was when everyone was working from home pretty much. It was kind of like, yeah, we need we need this, and and like that was a thought. But as people are starting to go back to back to the office, it's kind of like it's nice to have the extra space, but it's it's not necessarily needed and stuff, you know. Like we use we have three bedrooms, but one of the bedrooms is for like the girls' playroom. Nice, you know, so it's like all their stuff can can go in there and that's a room for them to kind of hang out and and very cool, you know. So again, but like having that organized and stuff is huge.

SPEAKER_02 35:47

Yeah, yeah, yeah. The playrooms, yeah, absolutely. I I remember when I first started in this business, um uh my son hadn't he wasn't born yet, and and uh um I'll never forget um you know, bringing him home. And we had this old home built in the 1920s in in uh in um east Dallas. And um and I spent, I want to say six months on trying to design this extra space that we had, because you know, I worked from home at the time I was a designer and no knew that I had this, you know, kid that's gonna grow and I needed a little playroom, but uh also the closets were so small in this old home that uh, you know, needed to use that closet, myself a little reach in. So, and also it was a secondary um, you know, media room, and it was just a small little bedroom. And for me personally to experience that, design it and then live it for a couple of years as he was growing. Um, oh man, that's that's yeah, that's what it's about. Because in again, you know, you've got what four, six year olds? Yeah, right. Yeah. So yeah, um, you know, they're gonna continue to grow and their needs change. And um, you know, if you can have a place that's dedicated for that growth, that's pretty, that's pretty amazing.

SPEAKER_04 37:04

Yeah, yeah. We're in the phase right now. We're looking at bunk beds for the cool, you know. So it's like, how do we how do we fit them into the rooms? Like, do we need a custom bunk bed? You know, it's yeah. Maybe that's what you guys should get into next.

SPEAKER_03 37:15

Yeah, rust and bunk beds. Oh, we've been asked and everything. We've been asked, oh yeah. My designer's like, can't we do this?

SPEAKER_02 37:22

I'm like, there's some things are good, uh, but those are probably not in our wheelhouse.

SPEAKER_04 37:26

Well, that's that's what we're struggling. Is like we want, you know, we've got a uh um a dresser in there for their clothes now, but it would if you're putting bunk beds in, it takes up more space. It would be nice to have like storage in the bunk bed that fits in our in their small room. It's yeah, right.

SPEAKER_02 37:40

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. There's definitely some opportunities there for sure. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Start with the closets and you'll be okay.

SPEAKER_04 37:49

Yeah. So what do you guys uh what what do you see in the future for for Closet MB? Anything you're anything different you're kind of working on?

Materials Sustainability And Healthier Homes

SPEAKER_02 37:56

Well, yeah, we were right now we're we've been, gosh, we've been trying to and we're almost there, so close. But uh um, you know, this industry has really been impacted by technology and you know, more of an automation type of thing. So the manufacturing process being automated, that's a big biggie for us. Um so what we call screen the machine. So if we're in front of a client, we're designing something, whatever you see here is what is electronically being sent to the manufacturing facility. Um, so it's truly uh more uh capable of uh doing some like custom line boring. That's a big thing in our business right now, where uh clients don't want to see a bunch of uh you know adjustable or visible holes in the in their in their system. So it looks really built in, okay, which is awesome. Big, big trend that we're seeing some fun, fun things is uh tunable LEDs. So this is really fun because in fact our showroom, we're this is the first time we're gonna have it. Yeah, we we're um this is gonna be a big thing this year, but uh you know, having our clients um have the option of changing the temperature of their room in their closet, which is really fun. Um, you know, sometimes in the morning you you want that bright, bright, you know, daylight type of light. And maybe in the evenings, you know, want to kind of dim it down to a warm light. Um, we see a lot of lightings in in in our closets now. Um, I would say probably 80%. So that's a big impact, um, big trend. Um I think other things, you know, I don't know how AI is going to really impact our business in terms of design, but I was at a couple of conferences and you know, they say it's coming, you know, you know, to to to and it won't ever replace designers. I just don't see how that's possible because there's just so much human interaction that's needed. Yeah. But knowing like what's functional, like what works, what doesn't work. Yeah, 100%. Um but you know, in terms of process, I mean I use it quite a bit, and you know, it's helped me um not only from you know automation and things that you know um we could do, you know, with um with somebody, you know, on the phone constantly, but it's just added that extra level uh of service and and touch points. Um so I think that's gonna be probably a big thing. You know, we're small business, so it's not um, you know, we're not too focused on that. Yeah but uh we're really focused on new product. You know, I'm gonna head out to uh Milan and look at some of the you know new furniture that's coming out. That's really important to us because you know, we're not this huge, you know, national company. We've got some great locations and we have access to some great vendors, but we've driven some trends here that our competition hasn't. Um, like this color. This is an amazing color you have here. We've had that color for probably four years, and now we're seeing it everywhere. You know, we and and for a closet to come in that color, pretty awesome, you know. Like the shelving and materials, okay. Yeah, so so we've had a um we have you know close to 53 finishes available. Okay. Um, and half of that are different colored finishes. So we're seeing a trend there. Um, whether it's a complement of different things, you know, the whole system doesn't have to be colored, some cool, fun trends or you know, wall coverings. Um that's a that's a big fabric, you know, and being behind some exposed areas, that's a lot of fun right now. Yeah, I saw that in one of the videos on the on the website when I got school. Awesome, awesome. Yeah, I didn't, you know, honestly, you know, this is my team. Like they're driving this, and of course our corporate office has a uh uh, you know, they're they're dialed into this. Um but uh yeah, I see that. And we, you know, we've got a pretty fun product line called Deco Fronts, where it's kind of that, you know, that reeded, fluted front. Um so we're doing those. And of course, uh with our manufacturing capabilities, you know, we can pretty much do any painted color you want or stain grade. You know, so those are kind of fun trends that are happening in our business. Yeah, cool.

SPEAKER_04 41:51

What has changed since you've been in the closet business since like the very beginning to now?

SPEAKER_02 41:55

Goodness, yeah, it's been so long. Um, you know, when this industry started out, it's kind of like a what was that old saying uh Ford had, you know, you can have any color you want as long as it's black. Yeah. Um so when the when the industry started by you know California closets, uh, you know, there well, first it was just particle board. It wasn't even painted finishes. And then it went to four colors and then six. Um uh but um what I've seen change is that a lot of people are will like, oh, I don't want that laminate. It's like a plasticky laminate, it's like there's a disconnect because they've had some experience where there may have uh um, you know, I don't know, the quality's not there, whatever. And there is different levels of it 100%. But what I've seen the biggest change is the implementation of what we call melamine. It's a pressed laminate that's thermally fused that has such a unique wood grain texture to it uh that's not repeating patterns, it's a true one big template and you can hold it in your hand and everything else, and you cannot tell it's a difference from you know an engineered furniture grade wood versus a stained wood. Wow. It's just gone so far in that and it continues to um really, really make a big difference. And it's also sustainable. That's a really big part of you know this industry. You know, back in the day it was, you know, particle board, and you know, some people still refer to it as that, but you know, that's like formaldehydes and all this kind of toxic stuff that this um and that's another reason people like laminance. But uh now, you know, they're doing it with recycled stuff, and you know, it's uh it's more sustainable stuff to have in your in your and and and across the board, all of our products offer that. Yeah. Most businesses like us, we need to do that in order to, you know, really service our clients' expectations.

SPEAKER_04 43:44

Yeah. So building building pro or using products that are safer for the individual environment and all that kind of stuff.

SPEAKER_02 43:52

Yeah, and and you know, you gotta have data to prove it. You know, that's the other thing. You know, like a can't just say like, oh, we're doing it. Oh yeah, well at least yeah. I mean we've got Specs for it. And you know, when we onboard a vendor, that's a really important part of their process. And you know, because at some point, if we're, you know, bidding on a large commercial project or you know, maybe just it's really important to somebody, you know, I'm like, yeah, here's here's the data to back it up. And um, because I do think there's probably some companies in this industry, you know, you can take some shortcuts, but you know, you can also, you know, get product that um may not be going through that kind of process. And you know, it's far cheaper. It is, but um, you know, it just depends on what's important to you. You know, some more clients, you know, they're they're have allergies to that stuff. Yeah. So you know there's um but it's also just for the environment. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 44:38

I feel like the I feel like the the home, the homes and themselves, like the home services and stuff, like but it's trending in that direction where like everything that in is in our home, the paints, the woods, like all that is is being the the homeowners are being intentional about what they're what they're putting in the home, right? To make sure that it's safer, make sure it's healthier for themselves, yeah, and better for the environment and all those things. Absolutely, Donna. Yeah, so it is interesting to see that.

SPEAKER_02 45:01

Yeah, yeah. And again, you know, this is not something that Closet Envy, you know, started. This is, you know, I go back to you know, California Closets, you know, again, hats off to them because you know, this was a big push that they led in the industry and everybody followed. And uh, you know, they forced vendors to make some of these, you know, changes. And uh, so yeah, that's what I've seen change probably in in my time. And then, you know, I'll go back to lighting, you know, that's a real big thing. I mean, they're getting so close to almost having LED strip lighting or ribbon lighting wirelessly. It's crazy, you know. Like you can turn this stuff off with remotes and it's just all on your phone.

SPEAKER_03 45:36

Yeah, it's so cool.

SPEAKER_02 45:37

Like, you know, it's like the next smart closet's gonna be telling you how to dress, you know.

SPEAKER_03 45:41

And then they've they've even talked about that. It's like that's true. I need that. I need somebody just like, please wear something else today, bro. Right, I've thought about that.

SPEAKER_04 45:50

So what is it? Uh uh, it's like Steve Jobs or like some of these where they just wear the same color the same attire, same oh yeah, man. Should I go to that? Just do have my own app.

SPEAKER_03 45:58

No, you have way too good a style for that in a way.

SPEAKER_04 46:00

No, somebody like me, it's like I can get away with that. Stuff, stuff. But it is it is convenient, right? Just to have like, I know what I'm wearing today, I don't have to think about it, whatever. Right. But it I think that's the next step is like, okay, here's what I'm doing today. Yeah, what should I last? What should I address right? Maybe that's the AI tie into, you know.

Styling Organizing And Mental Health Benefits

SPEAKER_02 46:18

Yeah. So in fact, uh, one of the um, so you know, offering organizing, we took it a step further this year and we're piloting piloting this here in Tampa uh with a stylist named Michelle who is absolutely amazing. Um uh she's even on our website with a little interview there. But um have you ever used a stylist ever? No. Okay. I didn't again didn't even know this was a thing until several years ago with my my partner. Um, you know, she, you know, she was taking a trip or maybe uh, you know, get ready for some meetings, you know. It's uh um sometime leveraging someone else to kind of help you through that and get things ready for multiple days or whatever it is. And again, this is a service that really helps reduce anxiety and you know, I don't know, you know, like if you what am I gonna wear? What am I, you know, and then what do you do with all these other clothes? Maybe have a a charity function that we're going to and uh and you know you've worn this garment redress or you know, one time or two times. And she's like, you know, these can go to another place or be uh to consignment or donated to you know dress for success. And these stylists have such a great service in that area. And again, I would probably not the person that would really benefit from it because I'm just so bland and basic. But you know, someone who has taste and they need that uh help, um, these stylists do magic, yeah. Right. So so we've partnered in with Michelle um to, you know, on occasion, if we have some clients that are, you know, struggling with that organizing piece of it, but it's really, what do I do with all these clothes? And then it leads to, you know, a styling consultation where, you know, maybe they're just ready to uh maybe they just recently had kids or something, or maybe they're going into a different career field, something that requires that expertise. Yeah. So we're so we're trying to, you know, closet and be such a great name. And it has everything closeted, we want to be able to service. And, you know, we could just focus on manufacturing and design and and and crush it, you know, but I just thought, you know, there's such an opportunity here again to not make it so transactional and be more involved in the client experience from end to end. And and that's the only missing piece that I think is um that we're trying to to remedy uh and offer that on occasion. So yeah, so I love that style.

SPEAKER_04 48:36

Yeah, I think that just goes back to like we were talking about before, just the relationship side of it, because now you you provide such a great service and now they're gonna come back to you or refer clients to you all the time. We certainly hope so.

SPEAKER_02 48:47

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, we hope so. You know, and that's you know, and it is the the organizing piece. I've recently got some feedback from um a client over in Dunedin. Um I'm sure she won't mind me saying her name, but Katie Crumb, she has uh three adorable kids, and you know, they like many, they went through a terrible, you know, flood with the storms and you know, we're out of their house for almost a year. Um a lot of our clients have been through that. And you know, we helped help them with uh, you know, replacing some closets and um, you know, and they have this really amazing older home. Um closets aren't very functional, really shallow, like you know, for you know, back then I guess everybody was really short and small, but um, and only a few pairs of pants, but uh um, but uh we we designed the closets, which was great, but uh um and they were super happy with it, but I just knew how much she was going through and I said, Hey, um, you know, it's part of our service. Anybody that spends, you know, a qualified amount, basically over$4,000, it's gonna come with professional organizing. That's just we're just gonna do it. You know, you don't uh if you don't want it, it's all okay. But um, so I I I went ahead and extended that service. And and I just she when she um texted me back, she's like, Oh my gosh, that was such a great experience. And I now I see why you do it because it really just alleviated a lot of stress for her as a mom with three, you know, busy mom, three kids. And yeah, yeah. Um, so yeah, I I think the mental health part of this business is I didn't know that going in, yeah, you know, but now I see that impact. Yeah, and um, yeah, and then you know, again with styling as well. But yeah, I could talk for days about it.

SPEAKER_04 50:22

It's pretty it's pretty cool to see, like, you know, from where you started 18 years ago at California Closets to now at Closet MB and stuff and how it's changed and what you guys are doing to change the industry and and just yeah um really just help people.

SPEAKER_02 50:35

Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's a it's a service business. Yeah, absolutely. Well hands down. Yeah, we're a service business. Yeah, we're not selling closets. We're yeah, it's a service business for sure.

SPEAKER_04 50:44

I love that.

SPEAKER_02 50:45

Where can people um get a hold of you and and what's yeah, uh so yeah, we've got a great website, um, you know, at closetmb.com or the closetmby.com. Um, you can all go to our local one, they'll tell a little bit more about our company culture and stuff like that. That's uh uh closetmbtampa bay.com. Yeah, um, or just give us a call or I'll send my send me a text. Yeah. Awesome. Brent, thanks for being here. Thank you, Donnie. It was great. I really appreciate that. It was great catching up with you for sure. All right, take care.

SPEAKER_04 51:12

Thanks for listening to this episode of Palm Harbor Local. If today's conversation got you thinking differently about your home, your routines, or how your environment affects your day to day life, share this episode with someone who could use more clarity and calm in their space. You can follow Palm Harbor Local on Instagram, and we'll see you next week.