Falling asleep. 1428, hollyhunt.com) has expanded its Great Plains textile offering with the Foreign Affair collection, which has a mix of warm and cool neutrals. How, they wondered, would longtime customers respond to four new female faces on their television screens? Spoken like the daughter of a true shop owner, as her father Walter E. Smithe III, president of the eponymous furniture retailer calls himself. Currently, there are 3 generations involved in the business: Walter Smithe Jr is retired, but regularly visits the showrooms. So is there a `Wally and the Sofa Factory' in our future?". Edited to add: Looked them up and gee, it's one of the daughters managing the marketing. "They were loved," said Colleen Smithe, the youngest daughter of Walter Smithe III. It was like the empire jingle. - 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. 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. Favorite design style: Clean and neutral. They've relaunched catalogs showcasing their furniture in fully designed spaces. I presented my ideas for this two weeks ago and it will be out on the floor in three weeks. Contact Information. They brought in real clients, worked with real designers and demonstrated each sister's essential role within the business. with Maureen Smithe Brusznicki and Caitie Smithe Jisa at Walter E. Smithe Furniture & Design. To make up for it, she woke up early to make heart-shaped pancakes. }); Chicago Parent is Chicagolands trusted parenting hub since 1984. We don't take that lightly.". The Smithe sisters have heard it all before, and they've set out to dispel those misperceptions. 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. Some have criticized the spots for underemphasizing Walter E. Smithe's actual furniture products. USA. The 86-year-old patriarch of the Smithe family, Walter Edward Smithe Jr., "died . Hope, once a Smithe designer and store manager, now lives in Colorado with her husband. We had no grand plan.. You could say that the Smithes are a bit obsessed with quality. My sisters and I represent the viewpoint of our younger clientele, Meghan says. Three years later, she recruited Colleen to become advertising director -- a position she accepted without hesitation. When they get a topic, Smithe says, he tries to figure a way to blend it into an ad. "It's been about reworking how we approach visually what we want to convey about the product that we're selling," Meghan said. "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. How could the Itasca-based company break the mold and reach a new audience while still carrying its message into a fourth generation? 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. Building upon the Smithe family legacy is a big responsibility, the sisters said, one they've embraced with fervor. The Smithe sisters are working to expose the brand to a new customer base Photo credit: Robin Subar. We all trickled back in, and it happened really organically, says Meghan of the industrious quartet, who collectively has 17 children. To see these serious, stuffy guys laughing and having fun someone yelled out, `You should use that as a commercial. "By being so close and meeting so regularly, we're all in the loop with what's happening in each other's sphere. The Smithe brothers have been described as "Chicago's most recognizable furniture purveyors", due to their ubiquitous television commercials starring themselves. The founder of well-known Chicago-area furniture company Walter E. Smithe has died, his family announced Wednesday. She also sees more demand for curation: Rather than walking into a store and getting an entire matching bedroom or dining set, people are mixing and matching and getting a look thats uniquely theirs., The new ED Ellen DeGeneres furniture collection (now available at all 11 Walter E. Smithe showrooms) allows for just thatand it includes versatile pieces that transcend their typical use. We see this country chic trend currently happening as a design emergency, says Maureen. The Smithe boys started out in a tiny ranch house in Des Plaines, the children of Walter Jr. and Florence. 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. At-a-glance. For the most part, that relationship translates well in the business world, they say. Tim, 41, is the vice president of sales; he and his wife have four kids and live in Winnetka. 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. "In what seems to be their unending and over-the-top zeal to self-promote, they just may be helping drive traffic," he wrote, adding, "If nothing else, the advertising suggests the chain has some suits with personality attached. 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. Like most mothers, whether theyre working or staying at home, we do what we can, she says. We take inspiration from the world of interior design to curate customized . I was probably in elementary school when I would come in to work in the warehouse sweeping for a nickel Colleen says. Spoken like the daughter of a true "shop owner," as her father Walter E. Smithe III, president of the eponymous furniture retailer calls himself. The spot showed the brothers at a news conference announcing that they had purchased Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs, with plans to rename it Walter E. Smithe Field. View a map of participating First Friday locations. When the boys took over from their father, there were about a half-dozen stores. The sisters can measure the span of their careers by their childrens ages and development, so they clearly understand what its like to worry about furniture at the mercy of young, messy children. "It's made us focus on what we do best, which is designing our clients' homes," he said. Today, they help oversee 10 showrooms, the warehouse and headquarters, working together (generally) perfectly. Since 1945, the company has established itself as a reliable family-run retailer, with the second- and third-generation Smithe men at the helm. "And they've been able to personalize a retail chain through the use of the brothers. Walter E. Smithe III, is the President of family owned and operated Walter E. Smithe Furniture + Design. She has a few ideas for how to add a little spring to your home. Its unnerving. It's pretty surprising they are still playing on these tired sexist tropes in this day and age. They were each only a year apart, at one point covering all four grade levels at Barrington High School. In 2002 they brought in director Bill O'Neil to help them. My sisters and I loved being a part of it.. Then they brought in the wives. 177 East Army Trail Road, Glendale Heights, IL 60139. Unlike their brothers, they chose other careers. At Walter E. Smithe Furniture & Design, we are committed to helping our clients love their homes through expert design, quality furnishings, and exemplary service. Smithe then went into the computer industry working for General Electric and IBM in 1967, according to his obit. 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. Find locations. The answer -- and the sisters' secret to success -- can be summed up in three key words: Fresh. Revenue: $100 to $500 million (USD) Competitors: Linly Designs, Rieke Office Interiors, 57st Design. It was founded by Walter Edward Smithe and Bill Shanahan in 1945. Explore more of the publications in our portfolio here. Find out where to go, what to eat, where to live, and more. What she does: I make spaces beautiful for clients homes, our catalogs and showrooms, and play couples therapist for clients who cant agree on a sofa.. "We're not your parents' furniture company," Caitie said. 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. officially retires, although he still enjoys visiting showrooms and meeting clients. Mark admonished Walt to keep his feet off the furniture. They've been able to weather the unexpected storm of the coronavirus pandemic. College was a turning point for the sisters, who now call one another their best friends. Walter E. Smithe and Bill Shanahan founded the store anticipating a booming economy in the wake of World War II. "We're custom, so we can create everything, but we need to get the right mix out there to give people ideas," said Meghan Smithe, the company's director of marketing. walter e smithe. "We had a common agreement that we had the best furniture in Chicago," Tim says, "but not enough people knew about it.". Also would somebody please feed them? 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.. '", "I was at a gym on a treadmill," Mark says of the first time he caught one of the commercials. The campaign was inspired in part by a partnership with designer/house-flipper Jeff Lewis of the Bravo show Flipping Out. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune). "He'd come up from behind and drop in it on us," Tim says. 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. She sounds annoyed that the spill isn't absorbing, like there's some insurance scheme that hinges on being able to stain this white couch. The girls have all worked elsewhere before they came to work here, says Walter of his daughters who have had careers ranging from merchandising to advertising. That was the extent of his pitchman career. 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 furniture - inc. walter e smithe furniture. October 12, 2022 / 3:27 PM Relevant. Favorite design style: Modern mixed with traditional. The fourth generation of Smithe leadership is hoping that this young, fresh approach to advertising and marketing will resonate with a consumer base that hasnt yet shopped with Smithe before.
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