walter e smithe daughters

Get Eric Clark's email address (e*****@smithe.com) and phone number at RocketReach. Instead, the Smithe sisters Colleen, director of advertising; Maureen, a buyer; Caitie, a designer; and Meghan, the marketing director help a Chicago couple with tastes that sometimes clash give their town home a new look before relatives show up for a visit. ". Walter E. Smithe Jr's death was announced Thursday on the company's Facebook page. There are so many cool and unique materials being used to manufacture furniture these dayssuch as capiz shells, bone inlay, faux shagreen, concrete, rope and slate. Spoken like the daughter of a true "shop owner," as her father Walter E. Smithe III, president of the eponymous furniture retailer calls himself. That collective experience comes in handy ahead of any major decisions. In recent years, Smithe enjoyed his time with extended family. Holly Hunt (222 W. Merchandise Mart Plaza, Ste. In one of their most memorable ads, the four women get into a food fight -- spaghetti and red wine included -- and seemingly destroy a bright white couch, which is then scrubbed clean. Woven Roman shades, a jute rug and a blonde wood vanity usher texture and warmth into the otherwise minimalist design. While we still have traditional pieces, our showroom appeals to a number of different lifestyles. The seven pieces featured in the Quincy Master Bedroom vignette below (chair, trunk . Sisters Colleen, Meghan, Maureen and Caitie Smithe, from left, say three key words have helped them carry their family-run furniture company into a fourth generation: fresh, young and relevant. Shop the Sofa Sale. As mothers, all of us have cleaned up a childs spill, or even their vomit, from our furniture, Colleen jokes. "Still hard for me to imagine.") Over the last 12 years, one by one, Walter's daughters have been hired on at Smithe in an official capacity. Home Cities Chicago Meet the Smithe Sisters, The new generation is shaking things up at furniture icon Walter E. Smithe. Relevant. I can't breathe!' They can really do great things. "I was at Dulles Airport in Washington, waiting for a 9:30 flight at night," Mark says. [4], In March, 2017, daughters of Walter E. Smithe III became the fourth generation of the Smithe family to be featured in the commercials.[8]. "We're not your parents' furniture company," Caitie said. }); Chicago Parent is Chicagolands trusted parenting hub since 1984. Its a tough balance, but I like figuring out the retail puzzle.. Sibling revelry; Their offbeat commercials have made the Smithe brothers cult heroes. What she does: Come up with ideas that get people off their couch and into our storesand put my sisters in awkward positions (see our commercials)., What she does: Whether were working or just hanging out, my Type A personality keeps us organized and on track.. Now, the fourth-generation leaders of Walter E. Smithe are learning to balance their busy personal lives with the big responsibility of carrying out the legacy of their family-run business. We can be real nimble when we're this tight and this spread across the business.". It takes work and sacrifice.. Jeff Lewis's collection of vignettes is available at Walter E. Smithe's 11 showrooms in Chicago, and online. One of my friends used to live near Fullerton and Western, and she would always tell people she lived near Tile Outlet. Get 5 free searches. "We're all rolling up our sleeves and getting dirty. That sentiment applies to their lively commercials, too, which frequently feature the sisters chatting on a stylish couch or gathering with family members in a beautifully staged home. I presented my ideas for this two weeks ago and it will be out on the floor in three weeks. (Last year, Walter E. Smithe resurrected the 1950s-era cartoon that was a holiday staple on WGN-Ch. Walter E. Smithe III, is the President of family owned and operated Walter E. Smithe Furniture + Design. "I said, `Let's get you guys on camera.'". 443 were here. A 2005 advertisement showed Mark and Tim Smithe dueling with CGI-enhanced lamps in an homage to the lightsaber duels of the Star Wars films. "In a family business, everyone has to wear all hats at all times," Maureen said. It was a natural fit, she said. They brought in real clients, worked with real designers and demonstrated each sister's essential role within the business. Bargain-hunters, take note: Artistica (990 Green Bay Rd., Winnetka, artistica.com) has gotten a jumpstart on spring cleaning and updated its clearance selection to include more than 600 items (including custom-painted majolica backsplash panels) discounted by 50 percent. But they do have a business. Then when I plugged it in, the place went up for grabs. Updating your home theater? In the late '60s, the growing family -- there are also four sisters, Cindy, Margie and twins Hope and Amy, none of whom is involved in the family business -- moved to a slightly larger home in Park Ridge. Last edited on 17 December 2022, at 02:33, https://incfact.com/company/walteresmithefurniture-itasca-il/, Walter E. Smithe gives royal treatment to Royal Manner. The Smithes had been encouraged to air their outtakes on television after Tim Smithe screened them at an interior design seminar and received a positive reaction from the crowd. How could they ensure the 75-year-old brand would be sustainable for decades to come? Or using a new high-tech application to keep couch fabric truly worry free from childrens spills, everything from spaghetti sauce to Kool-Aid. He received a Bachelor of Philosophy in Commerce from the University of Notre Dame in 1958. He also hosted telethons. They have a younger brother, who lives out of state, and plenty of younger cousins who have yet to join the team, though the sisters say there's still time. "We have wonderful clients who are my generation or older, but we have to figure out how we cater to this new generation that's setting up households now. The are the Smithe sisters, Meghan, Colleen, Maureen and Caitie. Some ways to do this include mixing fabrics and leathers such as pairing linens with velvets, shag rugs, fur throws, organic elements such as rattan and bamboo even the reflective-ness of chrome can add texture to a room! They got on each other's nerves and learned to talk quickly at the dinner table if they wanted to get a word in. Today, they help oversee 10 showrooms, the warehouse and headquarters, working together (generally) perfectly. The company offer of a free DVD generated a huge response, and more than 60,000 were given away.). Later, both Tim and Mark were night managers at competing convenience stores, Tim at a 7-Eleven in Niles and Mark at a Park Ridge White Hen. But I never forget that these are my sisters and I completely respect them. "By being so close and meeting so regularly, we're all in the loop with what's happening in each other's sphere. "You think a huge corporation is going to have pencil pushers and button touchers," says Lynn Hamilton, vice president of the Shirley Hamilton Agency, a Chicago talent agency. [4][5] In 2008, they filmed and edited a takeoff of the Sex and the City franchise, with the brothers sipping "Smithe-o-politans". The process starts with Tim Smithe, Pam Thorson (the company's director of advertising) and director/editor Bill O'Neil of O'Neil Productions of Wilmette. It's partnered with celebrity designers and broadened the mix of products carried in stores, online and in its resurrected catalog to include more current trends and a wider range of price points. We don't take that lightly.". 1428, hollyhunt.com) has expanded its Great Plains textile offering with the Foreign Affair collection, which has a mix of warm and cool neutrals. "It's been about reworking how we approach visually what we want to convey about the product that we're selling," Meghan said. Visit . "As furniture commercials go, what the Smithes are doing is great," he says. Tags: Design Controls - Facebook Instant Article, Home & Garden, Interior Design. walter e smithe. Find locations. Hope, once a Smithe designer and store manager, now lives in Colorado with her husband. The brothers are recognized on the street, in grocery stores and coffee shops ("I got a free Starbucks latte once," Tim says). Caitie was a manufacturers' representative before becoming a stay-at-home mom. 9615 Skokie Blvd, Skokie, IL 60077. - The Victory Auto Wreckers guy: Almost every night since 1981, on some channel, Bob Zajdel has barely escaped injury when the driver's door fell off his old Chevy. The answer -- and the sisters' secret to success -- can be summed up in three key words: Fresh. Calkins says that by minimizing production costs and media costs and doing those quick turnarounds, Smithe gets a bigger bang for its advertising buck. William Hageman and Tribune staff reporter. Around the same time, Caitie was ready to return to the workforce as a designer and stylist, a skill she had honed early in her career. I love the one where they are drinking what looks like Tang out of wine glasses. At Walter E. Smithe Furniture & Design, we are committed to helping our clients love their homes through expert design, quality furnishings, and exemplary service. Walter Smithe, president of the furniture company, climbs the stairs March 21, 2017, at the Walter E. Smithe furniture store in Oak Brook, alongside his four daughters, Colleen, from left, Caitie, Maureen and Meghan. For instance, finding that perfect piece of decorative furniture that creatively doubles as a toy box for kids games, toys and video devices. We connect families with the best local resources, advice, stories, things to do with kids and much more. Sometimes we present to our dad as a united front and other times we need him to be a tie breaker. I'm a brand manager and their commercials make the brand seem like a discount bin. You could say that the Smithes are a bit obsessed with quality. "And they've been able to personalize a retail chain through the use of the brothers. Nothing will be worse than the commercials they ran the last time the Cicadas were in season. Compare how recession-proof Walter E Smithe Furniture is relative to the industry overall. [2] Today, the company has ten showrooms in Illinois and Indiana and is listed by Furniture Today as one of the top one hundred furniture retailers in the United States. Whether bringing in color as an accent or making a big statement with a lot of color, your home will feel instantly transformed and personalized. It was like the empire jingle. Mark admonished Walt to keep his feet off the furniture. Its no longer that way.. - Linn Burton: He started selling appliances in Polk Bros. ads in 1953, but the majority of his 35-year TV career was spent hawking cars -- Kaisers, Frazers, Joe Rizza's Pontiacs and, most famously, Bert Weinman's Fords. Tim, 41, is the vice president of sales; he and his wife have four kids and live in Winnetka. For decades, the public faces of the privately owned company have been the sisters' father, Walter E. Smithe IIIthe 59-year-old grandson of the business's namesakeand the sisters' uncles, Mark and Tim. "We were kind of like dorks, geeks, growing up," Mark says. But now a new generationsisters Meghan, Colleen, Maureen, and Caitie Smitheis shaking things up in a big way. And Amy is a singer and songwriter. And in between the entertainment were his folksy commercials for Courtesy Motors -- his cars were "honeys" and "sweeties" -- which at one point was the world's largest Ford dealer. The announcement was merely an early April Fools' Day prank, although the Smithe brothers said they had received about one hundred emails from viewers who were not sure what to think. CHICAGO (WLS) -- Walter E. Smithe, Jr., founder of Walter E. Smithe Furniture & Design, has died at the age of 86, his family said. All three attended St. Mary's College in Winona, Minn. Walt got an MBA at Notre Dame, Tim got one at Northwestern, and Mark got a law degree at Loyola. Im stunned when people watch one of our makeovers and are surprised that Smithe carries so much of what they like, says Caitie. Lewis Lazare. Nothing is left unchanged, Meghan notes. This initiative calls for all hands on deck. I was probably in elementary school when I would come in to work in the warehouse sweeping for a nickel Colleen says. But the truth is, I love coming to the office. Here, get to know this powerhouse quartet. What The Walter E. Smithe Daughters Do . You may have noticed a change lately in those Walter E. Smithe (smithe.com) siblings-on-a-couch commercials. Courtesy of Walter E. Smithe Furniture and Design, - Courtesy of Walter E. Smithe Furniture and Design, Paddock Publications, Inc. is an Employee-Owned Company. Meghan and Colleen spent several years working at advertising agencies in Chicago. Subscribe for free today! Determine whether Walter E. Smithe Furniture grew or shrank during the last recession. Walter E. Smithe is a family business in every sense of the word, the sisters say. Then there's their father, a hardworking industry expert who leads by example and walks into any work setting saying, "We check our egos at the door.". Or "Hardrock, Coco and Joe." We strive to bring our clients the best in home furnishings for every style, budget, and stage of life. Watch. Walter E. Smithe wants to create a series of similar videos to give customers a behind-the-scenes look at their services and the company. Born in the heart of Chicago, we're a family owned and operated local business since 1945, now four generations strong. Darvin is always yelling about discounts. The Walter E. Smithe furniture jingle "you dream it, we build it" has been a longtime fixture in the firm's television ads, just as the Smithe brothers themselves have been. Were really excited about this program, explains Meghan. Chicago Parent, as a Zoe Communications Group company, is certified as a Womens Business Enterprise by the Womens Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC), the nations largest third-party certifier of businesses owned and operated by women. Walter E. Smithe Furniture and Design has an overall rating of 4.0 out of 5, based on over 92 reviews left anonymously by employees. We get that question all the time, and that was to be expected," Colleen said. Bob's proudly proclaims that it sells cheap garbage, Walter E looks like they're trying to sell you viagra and Penny Mustard radio commercials are justweird.. The Feldco guy creeps me out more. [6], One of Walter E. Smithe's most discussed commercials aired in late March 2006. Oct 2012 - Apr 20152 years 7 months. "Staying fresh, young . Walter Smithe, president of the furniture company named for his grandfather, is flanked by daughters, Maureen, left, and Caitie on March 21, 2017, as theywatch his other daughters Colleen, far left, and Meghan play pingpong at the Walter E. Smithe furniture store in Oak Brook. No surprise why the quality is so crap. Since 1945, we have been Chicago's local source for quality furniture and expert design. Its very much in line with our desire to offer the most beautiful pieces that are of the highest quality. 2022 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Smithes: (L-R) Colleen, Meghan, Walter III, Walter Jr., Mark, Caitie, and Maureen. [1] The 4th generation (the Smithe Sisters), all daughters of Walter III, are Maureen Smithe (buyer), Meghan Smithe (director of marketing), Caitie Smithe (designer, design coordinator and stylist) and Colleen Smithe (director of advertising). Smithe then went into the computer industry working for General Electric and IBM in 1967, according to his obit. So, somewhat reluctantly, they let themselves become the public face of Walter E. Smithe Furniture. We take inspiration from the world of interior design to curate customized . Their dad, the company's president, continued filming his signature ads with his brother, Mark, for a short period of time, Colleen said. And youll see each of my sisters doing what they do best.. Kneen & Co. (399 W. Fullerton Pkwy., Ste. While it may not be usable 365 days a year, the days that your outdoor space are in fact usable should be embraced. It worked really well for a long time, but post-recession, we saw peoples sensibilities had changed, says Meghan. "I think it's time for us to get out of these TV commercials," Walter said. The company made its website easier to use and more modern-looking. "It was kind of a neat way to kick off our involvement in the business as a group.". When I first came on board, our industry was very much a good old boys club, says Maureen, who regularly travels to marketplaces around the country to buy merchandise. The CBS Chicago team is a group of experienced journalists who bring you the content on CBSChicago.com. Thats fast, but it shows what we can do. "That's F-A-M-E, with an E". "What about you and your sisters?". Those early Smithe commercials were straight-forward affairs, with each brother talking about his area of expertise -- Walt discussed the merchandise, Tim the company's designers, and Mark Smithe's delivery system and customer satisfaction -- and, of course, the furniture. The founder of well-known Chicago-area furniture company Walter E. Smithe has died, his family announced Wednesday. Growing up, she and her sisters held various roles at the furniture and design firm, earning their first paychecks and gaining job experience and exploring interests that would later launch their careers. For decades, the public faces of the privately owned company have been the sisters father, Walter E. Smithe IIIthe 59-year-old grandson of the businesss namesakeand the sisters uncles, Mark and Tim. For people who are in their 40s and have families, that's how brothers act around each other when they get together. The sisters get together at least twice a week, traveling from their homes in Chicago, Barrington and Riverside, leaving behind their children, husbands and home duties. Edited to add: Looked them up and gee, it's one of the daughters managing the marketing. His sons, Walter, Tim, and Mark, joined the company in the 1970s and 1980s. "People really did love seeing them on their TVs.". Only a year apart in age, the lively, fast-talking Smithe sisters consider one another best friends. Even if you weren't sure that Walt, Tim and Mark Smithe were brothers -- yep, those Smithe brothers, of "Walter E. Smithe, you dream it, we build it" fame -- their banter at a recent commercial shoot was a dead giveaway. "They're having a lot of fun. Shop the label. His line was, `If you can talk you can breathe.'". The sisters laughed at hearing this family adage, knowing that home furnishing has been woven into the tapestry of their lives. Smithe guy Walt actually Walter Smithe III 45 is president and general manager of the. Falling asleep. In fact, none of the sisters seriously considered having a career in the company, founded by their great-grandfather in 1945. Touch device users, explore by touch or with swipe gestures. We not only respect this, we embrace it.. That cartoon of Bob has BDE and you can't deny it. and became working moms in different industries. "They took different career paths," Tim says. "Some dabbled and moved on and others just weren't interested.". Find out where to go, what to eat, where to live, and more. Caitie Smithe, Designer and Stylist. Pinterest. Walter Smithe III and his brothers Mark and Tim helped make the furniture store a household name with clever commercials -- a tradition that's continued with Smithe III's four daughters, Colleen . It was founded by Walter Edward Smithe and Bill Shanahan in 1945. Smithe was born in 1936 to Margaret Slifka and Walter E. Smithe Sr., and grew up on the Northwest Side in Belmont Central. Were a Chicago company that was given national exposure. 2023 Zoe Communications Group | 332 S. Michigan Ave., Suite #LL-M974, Chicago, IL 60604 | 708.386.5555 | Website by Web Publisher PRO, ParentEd Talks: Free Virtual Speaker Series, A Concerned Parents Guide to Gun Violence and Gun Safety. I also think, coming from a family business myself, to see how they interact with each other just gives you the feeling that they're good people, that you'd want to do business with those people.". The original simple jingle and slogan was perfect. Like their brothers, the four Smithe sisters were all in the business when they were in high school. "With a strategy to continue Smithe parodies of relevant topics, really, the future is limitless," he says. Shop now. To their delight, the reaction to that initial campaign was primarily positive, as has been the case for every commercial they've produced since. Walter E. Smithe Jr. Obituary. portalId: "6766057", After college, all three gravitated back to the family business, which was founded by their father. They decided on an ad campaign that would, simply, pitch their product. The business grew in popularity as they approached adulthood, at which point friends would regularly sing the jingle and colleagues would ask about the creative TV ads. Nah, I know a few of them. Young. We understand that customers see a certain look on, say, Instagram and they want it replicated in their own home, Colleen says. Till your hair grows back."). They've transitioned into the spotlight. Additional partnerships with the likes of Cynthia Rowley and Ellen Degeneres have exposed the company to a new customer base. Contents. This has been our priority since we first began serving the Chicago area back in 1945. If you are ready to get grown-up furniture, this place has a very nice selection, with helpful staff who can guide you toward the proper colors, scale, and what looks nice together. It's all a part of an effort to hang on to the company's loyal customers while persuading younger shoppers that Walter E. Smithe isn't just their parent's go-to store. walter e smithe furniture inc. walter e smithe. The company has become known over the years in particular for its quirky TV commercials Chicago TV viewers have long known the jingle, "Walter E. Smithe, you dream it we build it." Primary Address. The chemistry among this familial foursome is something parents can only hope for from their children. She has a few ideas for how to add a little spring to your home. "Staying fresh, young and relevant is how we're going to sustain the brand into the next 75 years," Meghan said. That was the extent of his pitchman career. Walter E. Smithe Furniture & Design (Old Orchard) 17 miles.

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