The first order of business: ditch the longstanding, highly recognizable ad campaign featuring their father and two uncles. 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. Three generations are involved in the family-run Walter E. Smithe Furniture and Design, including Walter Smithe Jr. (far right); his sons Walter III (far left) and Mark; and his four granddaughters, from left, Maureen, Caitie, Colleen and Meghan. We take that very seriously, and we have so much passion for it.". "The girls have all worked elsewhere before coming back to Smithe," says Walter of his daughters who have had careers ranging from merchandising to advertising. It took the mother of six children a few years to figure out how to juggle her demanding career and busy home life. But they do have a business. Brothers Walt, Tim and Mark Smithe -- the faces of Walter E. Smithe Furniture -- seem to have hit on something with their ubiquitous ads. Favorite design style: Cozy and comfortableaka hygge ethos. 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. I presented my ideas for this two weeks ago and it will be out on the floor in three weeks. Courtesy of Walter E. Smithe Furniture and Design, - Courtesy of Walter E. Smithe Furniture and Design, Paddock Publications, Inc. is an Employee-Owned Company. Watch. Draftfcb. 1428, hollyhunt.com) has expanded its Great Plains textile offering with the Foreign Affair collection, which has a mix of warm and cool neutrals. The sisters laughed at hearing this family adage, knowing that home furnishing has been woven into the tapestry of their lives. With 10 years of advertising industry experience, Smithe Parker, daughter of President Walter E. Smithe III, has worked with high-profile advertising agencies in Chicago. The transition took place over the span of 12 years as key positions became available in the company, starting with Maureen who became a merchandise buyer. "There was some physical violence between the brothers," Walt says with that satisfied look of a big brother who got to dish it out. The Smithe sisters - Walter III's daughters Maureen, Meghan, Caitie, and Colleen - are also now executives at Walter E. Smithe Furniture & Design and appear in the ads. Meghan Smithe was on maternity leave when she began working part time in the family business, long known for its infectious jingle: You dream it, we build it.. With a 71-year history and 11 stores sprinkled throughout Chicago and the suburbs, Walter E. Smithe is a local furniture icon. Ask how we can add diversity to your supply chain. Walter e smithe daughters. 9615 Skokie Blvd, Skokie, IL 60077. The Feldco guy creeps me out more. Mark admonished Walt to keep his feet off the furniture. Walter E. Smithe Furniture and Design Reviews - Glassdoor 1 Early life; 2 Television; 3 Personal Life; 4 References; . Caitie, Colleen, Maureen and Meghan Smithe represent the fourth generation helping run their Chicago-based family furniture store, Walter E. Smithe, and they're determined not to be the last. Walter has been known to take furniture for test drives, says Meghan. A new collection at Holly Hunt, discounts at EuroFurniture, a First Friday event at Hubbard Woods Design District, and more. This has been our priority since we first began serving the Chicago area back in 1945. "But we've also gotten some really nice feedback from people who are happy to see four working women on their TV.". 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. 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! To see these serious, stuffy guys laughing and having fun someone yelled out, `You should use that as a commercial. It's not included in a shorter version now airing on TV. That's a galaxy away from the current "Star Wars" parody. Please enter valid email address to continue. Spoken like the daughter of a true shop owner, as her father Walter E. Smithe III, president of the eponymous furniture retailer calls himself. I'm a brand manager and their commercials make the brand seem like a discount bin. We simply never had that conversation, Meghan says. Today, they help oversee 10 showrooms, the warehouse and headquarters, working together (generally) perfectly. Walter E. Smithe Near You in Vernon Hills, Illinois - furniture Now, the Itasca-based furniture and interior design company wants you to get to know the Smithe sisters. PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROBIN SUBAR, When Maureen Smithe returned from maternity leave after giving birth to identical twin daughters last August (children number five and six for those keeping count), she was puzzled by the pained looks she received from some of her colleagues. He entertained the youngest generation of the family playing banjo and singing folk songs such as "The Rock Island Line," and telling stories of Tiny Tim and the Magic Gumball Machine, his obit said. Sibling revelry - Chicago Tribune That can help Walter E. Smithe differentiate itself from the growing number of lower-priced furniture retailers that have moved into the Chicago area in the past couple of years, Walter Smithe said. I was probably in elementary school when I would come in to work in the warehouse sweeping for a nickel Colleen says. Then they tie in pop culture it shows that they're sort of a with-it furniture company. 2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. Its unjust to think that women can somehow balance it all, Colleen adds. We refer to Smithe.com as our 12th store, since many of our clients are doing their research online before coming to see us in person.. Then they brought in the wives. Meghan is director of marketing, Caitie is a designer and stylist and Colleen is director of advertising. The first change I noticed was it became all about the sons. Chicago, IL. The company gained national exposure from Lewis' collection, and each sister was able to shine in her own specialty. Determine whether Walter E. Smithe Furniture grew or shrank during the last recession. Rocketreach finds email, phone & social media for 450M+ professionals. Eric Clark email address & phone number | Walter E. Smithe Furniture "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. Over the last 13 years, one by one, Walters daughters have been hired on at Smithe as the jobs became available. You could say that the Smithes are a bit obsessed with quality. I havent seen the Tile Outlet lady in a while!! - 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. As the oldest sibling, Maureen was the first to officially join Walter E. Smithe in a professional capacity in 2004. This rating has improved by 10% over the last 12 months. Chicago's Best Furniture and Expert Design. They brought in real clients, worked with real designers and demonstrated each sister's essential role within the business. "We're kind of strategically positioned in different departments," Meghan said. Chicago magazine newsletters have you covered. 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. Since 1945, the company has established itself as a reliable family-run retailer, with the second- and third-generation Smithe men at the helm. That collective experience comes in handy ahead of any major decisions. Kyla McCarthy - EverybodyWiki Bios & Wiki That's why when she and her three sisters -- Maureen, Meghan and Caitie -- were asked a few years ago to transition into the role their father and uncles held for so long, they weren't immediately receptive. Or "Hardrock, Coco and Joe." "Pam, Bill and I are always on the watch for pop culture. The Smithe sisters have always been close -- and growing up, it wasn't always by choice. 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Haute Living is a network of luxury publications with bimonthly regional editions in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, and San Francisco. Walter E. Smithe Jr. Obituary (1936 - 2022) | Chicago, Illinois You want it to succeed and do well.". About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features Press Copyright Contact us Creators . We all trickled back in, and it happened really organically, says Meghan of the industrious quartet, who collectively has 17 children. The commercials are created in-house. But it wasn't long before he approached his youngest daughter with a proposition. Still, the Smithes have had to weather various challenges since joining the company, including the retirement of their uncle, Tim. Through March 16, enjoy savings of up to 20 percent on select rugs (hopscotch, anyone?) 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 . A family affair: How four sisters are bringing a 75-year-old store into Walter e smithe is a high end furniture store, no surprise their ads are geared towards middle aged women from high income households aka suburban moms. She is a celebrity who is genuinely interested in how her furniture will do and be perceived, Maureen says. October 12, 2022 / 3:27 PM Jeff Lewis's collection of vignettes is available at Walter E. Smithe's 11 showrooms in Chicago, and online. When autocomplete results are available use up and down arrows to review and enter to select. Over the past 76 years, the company has grown to include 10 Chicago area showrooms. We can be real nimble when we're this tight and this spread across the business.". They're going to be the ones buying furniture for the next 50 years, so we have to be ready to serve them the way they want to be served," said Walter Smithe, 57. Four sisters carry the Walter E. Smithe brand into the future Still, she never dreamed of working full time for Walter E. Smithe Furniture, even while growing up in Barrington with her three sisters, Maureen, Caitie and Colleen. As mothers, theyve learned its not only possible, but preferable, to have a functional yet beautiful home. Its nice to see when a family is ready to replace a well-loved piece that they come back to Smithe to do it. To date, there are 10 Smithe stores scattered throughout Chicago, and one in northwest Indiana. walter e smithe, furniture stores near me, ballinger vase buy, gold side end table, tall mirror, walter e smithe daughters, furniture . Dazzling Divas Glam Mansion Offers the Ultimate Diva Experience, Family Guide to Attending a Chicago Cubs Game at Wrigley Field, Pelvic Floor Therapy Growing in Popularity for Women, 10 Non-Candy Items for Your Kids Easter Basket. Colleen, Caitie, Meghan and Maureen Smithe, all between the ages of 33 and 37, represent the fourth generation of the family business and are daughters of company President Walter Smithe, the grandson of the business's namesake. The Bob's puppet is a far better actor than the Smithe girls though. The new campaign, dubbed Smithe Family Makeovers, showcases Smithe furniture in the homes of actual clients, revealing the handiwork of the companys designers in HGTV-esque episodes. It turned out so well that Tim carried along a copy to a speaking engagement. "I said, `Let's get you guys on camera.'". And they represented Walter E. Smithe with a sense of drive and zeal that can only exude from the third-generation stakeholders of what has become a household name. The brothers spend most of their time in the company's Itasca headquarters, which also serves as a warehouse, customer service center and point of departure for the fleet of Smithe trucks. Sisters Take Smithe Spotlight, More High-End Barware, and a Sofa Sale, 2020 Chicago magazine / A Chicago Tribune Media Group website, map of participating First Friday locations, Design Controls - Facebook Instant Article. What happened to the Walter E Smithe guys? - Cowetaamerican.com [4], Many of Walter E. Smithe's commercials have been pop culture parodies. Revenue: $100 to $500 million (USD) Competitors: Linly Designs, Rieke Office Interiors, 57st Design. She had been a buyer for Abercrombie and Fitch for a few years after college when a job opened up in the Smithe merchandising office. Walt and Tim mocked Mark's new haircut. President - Walter E. Smithe Furniture + Design - LinkedIn Hope, once a Smithe designer and store manager, now lives in Colorado with her husband. The boys' first ventures into the working world included Walt's daily paper route -- 70 Tribunes, three or four Sun-Times and a couple of Wall Street Journals -- that Tim helped him with ("I got 1 cent per paper, and I'd give Tim 10 cents for helping me"), and collecting beer cans that they resold at a Park Ridge flea market. Sisters Colleen, Caitie, Maureen and Meghan Smithe, from left, are breaking the mold as fourth-generation leaders of the 75-year-old Walter E. Smithe Furniture and Design. Walter E. Smithe told me they work with many designers but Jeff was really able to get a lot of value into the pieces in his collection and that its why . Bloomingdale Plaza. I can't breathe!' We've got the radar out for that," Tim Smithe says. 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. The Smithe sisters now serve as the face of the firm, offering a female perspective that better reflects the company, the industry and the country today. His four daughtersMaureen Megan Clarke Caitie Jisa and Colleen Parkerare now the new faces of this historic Chicago brand a spot he and his brothers held for decades. The 86-year-old patriarch of the Smithe family, Walter Edward Smithe Jr., "died . 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 . ", Says Tim Smithe, "Pop culture is always changing and so are we.". Meghan was hired in 2013 and now serves as director of sales strategy.
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