About Us
About Us
About New England Closets
New England Closets offers custom closet design solutions throughout Eastern Massachusetts and Southern New Hampshire. In addition to traditional reach-in and walk-in closets, we offer solutions for home offices, pantries, mudrooms, entertainment centers, and garages.
We are proud of our company and our journey and strive to provide tremendous customer service and value to each and every one of our customers. We also strive to provide a great work environment for our team – where we all work together to transform our clients’ living spaces.
Our Story
We are Jeffrey Cohen and Raffi Iskenderian, the founders of New England Closets. Our story began at Capital One, where we worked together providing financing for home improvement projects. Through that experience, we witnessed the good, the bad, and the ugly in the home improvement industry. We often talked about starting a home improvement company that would be run the right way.
In 2009, during the Great Recession, we took the leap, leaving Capital One to acquire the Massachusetts ShelfGenie franchise. With ShelfGenie, we specialized in pullout shelving solutions for kitchens, pantries, and bathroom vanities. Over the past 14 years, we’ve served more than 5,000 customers, helping them create more space, better organization, and easier access—all while earning rave reviews along the way.
During the early years of ShelfGenie, our customers frequently asked us for closet recommendations. After referring a few companies, we made it a point to follow up to learn about their experiences. The feedback was mixed. Some clients were pleased, but others found the closets overpriced, disliked high-pressure sales tactics, or felt frustrated when designers and installers weren’t aligned. Time and again, we heard the same suggestion: “You guys need to get into the closet space!”
So in 2015, New England Closets was born. From the outset, we knew we wanted an independent company—not tied to a franchise or national dealer. This independence allows us to offer better value to our customers by avoiding royalties and unnecessary overhead. More importantly, it gives us the flexibility to operate in a way that puts our customers first, free from external restrictions.
To ensure seamless communication and quality, we built an integrated team where designers, operations staff, and installers all work together under one roof. We don’t subcontract installations, ensuring that every project meets our exacting standards.
Today, our team takes immense pride in transforming spaces and delivering the exceptional customer service we dreamed of providing over 15 years ago. There’s nothing more rewarding than seeing our customers’ reactions to their new spaces, reading their glowing 5-star reviews, collaborating on multiple projects, or working with their friends, neighbors, and family members. At New England Closets, we remain as passionate as ever about creating beautiful, functional spaces and exceeding our customers’ expectations.
We look forward to transforming spaces like your for years to come. Come visit us at our showrooms in Sudbury or Woburn, or reach out to schedule a complementary in-home consultation.
Sincerely,
Jeff Cohen and Raffi Iskenderians
Values
Quality
New England Closets provides high quality solutions for custom closet material, craftsmanship, and customer service. With focused attention to detail, all of our work goes through rigorous quality control. We hold ourselves to the highest standards – every custom closet, every project, every time.
Integrity
At New England Closets, we act in the best interests of our customers. With our promise of legendary customer service, we will always try to do the right thing to meet each clients’ unique needs. We hold ourselves accountable daily to act with integrity and kindness throughout every interaction.
Customer Service
A high quality product usually comes with a high price tag. That’s not the case with New England Closets. Our partnership with vendors like The Closet Works guarantees quality workmanship, and our team guarantees design, delivery, and installation of fantastic storage solutions at unbeatable prices.
Team
Introduction
With decades of experience in the home improvement industry, the New England Closets team, lead by Jeffrey Cohen and Raffi Iskenderian, is dedicated to providing the highest quality products and legendary customer service for each and every customer. From the early days founding a home improvement financing business together, to today’s success as the co-founders of New England Closets, this dynamic team has built a home remodeling empire.
Jeffrey Cohen
Raffi Iskenderian
Raffi’s roots in home improvement run deep—as a licensed contractor, property manager, and now as a business owner. Like his partner Jeff, Raffi has held various business development roles within startup organizations. From that experience, he and Jeff created Shelf Genie in 2009. After immersing himself in kitchen transformations and cabinet resurfacing, Raffi co-founded New England Closets with Jeff in 2015. Before he and Jeff co-founded New England Closets, Raffi and Jeff worked together at Capital One, where they were part of the founding team for Capital One’s Home Improvement Financing Business. Raffi has an MBA from Babson College and an undergraduate degree from Boston College. He and his wife and two children live in Watertown.
