OUR STORY;       DEVELOPING THE CLOSET ASSISTANT

Early in 2020, I was looking for a place to hang some of my cool stuff – like my running gear and clothes that I wanted to wear on a date-night with Kira.  Well, my closet happened to be L-shaped such that one of the closet rods was just extended out in mid-air without any support. This originally seemed like a poor design, but in that moment I saw it as an opportunity.  I could hang the shoulder strap of my duffle bag over the open end of the cut off closet rod but not in the middle of a regular closet rod.  I found this to be so useful that I then wondered how I could create additional open-ended closet rods in my closet.  Well, I didn’t want to cut the closet rods or damage the walls with screws or time-consuming modifications.  I searched the Internet but didn't find any helpful clues.  I still didn’t have a clear idea of how to create additional closet rods or something similar, but that became my quest.

 

So, I did what any self-respecting suburbanite does when faced with an insurmountable challenge in their home.  I went to Lowe’s Home Improvement.  (Sorry Home Depot, but Lowe’s was closer).  I just walked all the aisles brainstorming ways to create something like the open end of the closet rod that I had at home.  I came home with probably 15 different items to test out.  I had wires of all types, straps, hooks, and stuff I can’t even remember.  But I clearly remember bringing home some fine wood boards, including red oak and poplar.  As I made various contraptions and devices over the next couple of weeks, I soon abandoned the wire and metal items.  When I took the wood boards into my closet it was just a matter of moments before I realized how to make the CLOSET ASSISTANT. 

 

One important piece of information to share is that I had worked in a woodworking shop over summer and winter breaks during a couple of years in high school.  One of my projects at the woodworking shop was to use a shaper table to make organ pedals.  A standard organ pedal has, to the best of my knowledge, a flat bottom surface and rounded top over much of its length.  As soon as I placed a first red oak board between the closet rod and the shelf, I knew exactly what to do.  I was confident that the flat surfaces of the board would allow the board to set stably in place and that I could round off the top surface so that it would accept any standard hanger.  But, I didn’t have a shaper table. 

 

I used the stick – that blocky, rectangular stick – for a couple of weeks in the privacy of my own closet.  I was reluctant to even share the thought with anybody since this was not a very high-tech idea.  Eventually, I got up the courage to show Kira.  I was afraid that she would shoot the idea down as being either silly or without merit.  However, she instantly liked it and had some suggestions for improving it!  So, we went about working together to improve the board that we referred to as "the stick.” 

 

Guess what Kira gave me for Christmas 2020!  A router, a router table and router bits that would allow me to shape the red oak stick as I had imagined it in my mind.  The initial cuts weren’t so good, but the cuts improved with time, patience and numerous adjustments.  Kira has done all of the sanding and was the inspiration for the luxurious look and feel of the wood.  She experimented with various stains and other treatments before settling on the current shade of stain and mineral oil that makes the wood feel good to the touch.  Working together, we slowly transformed the "stick" into what we now call the CLOSET ASSISTANT. 

 

We initially shared the first 50 CLOSET ASSISTANTS with family and close friends and the feedback was really positive. Of course, when we first hand someone a CLOSET ASSISTANT, they are initially a little confused.  They haven’t seen anything like it before, and they are momentarily unsure what such a thing could be used for.  After a brief explanation, most are looking forward to trying it at home.  It has been really fun for us to hear these same people tell us about their own discoveries of ways they have found to use their CLOSET ASSISTANT.  It seems that just about everybody has something they need to hang up and don’t have a good place for it to hang.  Now they do. 

 

We hope you will enjoy your CLOSET ASSISTANT.  When you need some assistance in your closet – ask CLOSET ASSISTANT. 

 

                                        Jeff, inventor of the CLOSET ASSISTANT

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