"He'd come up from behind and drop in it on us," Tim says. "They took different career paths," Tim says. Ask how we can add diversity to your supply chain. Hell stand on things, jump on them, do his best to break dining chairs. Nearby is a mangled lamp that will never find its way to a Smithe showroom floor. "Staying fresh, young and relevant is how we're going to sustain the brand into the next 75 years. The Smithe brothers used good-natured humor on countless TV commercials selling furniture. The Smithe boys started out in a tiny ranch house in Des Plaines, the children of Walter Jr. and Florence. (He's now semi-retired, having turned the business over to his sons about 10 years ago.). I love incorporating an unexpected element into a room. 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. [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. Walter was the first of the third generation to join the family business in 1981 . View a map of participating First Friday locations. 1 Early life; 2 Television; 3 Personal Life; 4 References; . Courtesy of Walter E. Smithe Furniture and Design, - Courtesy of Walter E. Smithe Furniture and Design, Paddock Publications, Inc. is an Employee-Owned Company. Smithe was born in 1936 to Margaret Slifka and Walter E. Smithe Sr., and grew up in the Northwest Side's Belmont Central neighborhood. The campaign was inspired in part by a partnership with designer/house-flipper Jeff Lewis of the Bravo show Flipping Out. Newlyweds can now register for exclusive honeymoon stays and experiences at 23 of Auberge Resorts Collections luxury hotels and resorts worldwide More, With two movies out this winter, the actress and producer Salma Hayek Pinault is at the top of her game More, The star of A Beautiful Noise, which just opened at the Broadhurst Theatre, is a big Neil Diamond fan More, The writer and actor makes his Broadway debut in his just-opened play Aint No Mo More, After flying high in the hit sequel Top Gun: Maverick, Glen Powell stars in the new film Devotion, out now More, It's not enough to just be smart. [6], One of Walter E. Smithe's most discussed commercials aired in late March 2006. Her sisters had fallen into their own specialties and were pursuing different paths at the time. Last year there aas a commercial where the puppet quickly moved to close his laptop when someone came in the office. Its unnerving. Some have criticized the spots for underemphasizing Walter E. Smithe's actual furniture products. Edited to add: Looked them up and gee, it's one of the daughters managing the marketing. A wake will be held at Ryan-Parke Funeral Home in Park Ridge on Friday, Oct. 21, and a funeral mass will follow on Saturday, Oct. 22, and St. Paul of the Cross Church in Park Ridge. Additional partnerships with the likes of Cynthia Rowley and Ellen Degeneres have exposed the company to a new customer base. We dont always agree on things, Colleen says. 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 connect families with the best local resources, advice, stories, things to do with kids and much more. Young. Till your hair grows back."). 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. For example, Meghan had to miss her sons Valentines Day party at school this year, due to work responsibilities. Lewis Lazare. In the 1970s Walter left Smithe and Shanahan (His brothers remained with the original company) to start his own company - Walter E. Smithe. Then the commercial came on. It was founded by Walter Edward Smithe and Bill Shanahan in 1945. 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. Only a year apart in age, the lively, fast-talking Smithe sisters consider one another best friends. Born in the heart of Chicago, we're a family owned and operated local business since 1945, now four generations strong. The answer -- and the sisters' secret to success -- can be summed up in three key words: Fresh. 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.. The founder of well-known Chicago-area furniture company Walter E. Smithe has died, his family announced Wednesday. hbspt.forms.create({ Not as long as they keep the commercials clever and topical, O'Neil says. In the late '60s, the growing family -- there are also four sisters, Cindy, Margie and . Our dad always put an emphasis on hard work, and it stuck with us.. They're not egomaniacs. Walter e smithe daughters. No outside agency required. The Smithe family announced that their patriarch died this past Sunday with his wife of 64 years, Florence Flynn Smithe, by his side. Walter E. Smithe Furniture is a company located in Itasca, Illinois, United States. And I thought, `makeup and lighting. In family businesses, thats the only way to ensure a companys continued success. Today, Maureen is a buyer, Meghan is the director of marketing, Caitie is a designer and assists the merchandising team, and Colleen is the director of advertising. Meghan and Colleen spent several years working at advertising agencies in Chicago. The Feldco guy creeps me out more. Walter E. Smithe, Jr., founder of Walter E. Smithe Furniture & Design, has died at the age of 86, his family said. They pointed out how affordable the pieces are. Smithe was born in 1936 to Margaret Slifka and Walter E. Smithe Sr., and grew up on the Northwest Side in Belmont Central. "Some dabbled and moved on and others just weren't interested.". I was probably in elementary school when I would come in to work in the warehouse, sweeping for a nickel, Colleen says of the brand, which first opened in 1945. Get 5 free searches. Press J to jump to the feed. His line was, `If you can talk you can breathe.'". It said he passed away peacef Find out where to go, what to eat, where to live, and more. October 12, 2022 / 3:27 PM 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. Then when I plugged it in, the place went up for grabs. - Timmy: Dressed as an old-time newspaper boy, 10-year-old Timmy appeared in dozens of commercials in the '70s for his uncle's Long Chevrolet dealership in Elmhurst. Colleen Smithe, Director of Advertising This is not how you attract a premium buyer or build a premium brand. E. Smithe sisters Caitie, Colleen, Meghan and Maureen were introduced to the business at a young age. The two renamed the store Smithe and Shanahan, but Bill Shanahan eventually sold his share to Smithe's brother Charlie. Opening Day is March 30. Walter E. Smithe is a family business in every sense of the word, the sisters say. Sometimes we present to our dad as a united front and other times we need him to be a tie breaker. From 5 to 8 p.m., select retailers will offer refreshments while highlighting unique designers. The Smithe brothers have been described as "Chicago's most recognizable furniture purveyors", due to their ubiquitous television commercials starring themselves. Our lives can be overrun with technology, commitments and schedules. I dont think anyone in the furniture industry does advertising well. There's a lot of blurred lines, and we have to learn when to defer to each other.". This initiative calls for all hands on deck. We simply never had that conversation, Meghan says. "And a woman was there with her daughter, and she nudged her and I heard her say, 'That's the Walter E. Smithe guy.' 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. 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. officially retires, although he still enjoys visiting showrooms and meeting clients. 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 . If you grew up in Chicago, you can probably hum it. Through March 7, EuroFurniture (2145 W. Grand Ave., eurofurniture.com) is offering 15 percent off BDI media cabinets and consoles available in-store, online, and by phone. Then they tie in pop culture it shows that they're sort of a with-it furniture company. Now, the Itasca-based furniture and interior design company wants you to get to know the Smithe sisters. I'm so annoyed that I won't buy anything from there. And they wanted a way to build the brand. Business Profile for Walter E. Smithe Furn-Itasca. 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. They've spruced up their styles, selling more contemporary pieces among their traditional designs. The store, which has 10 locations in the Chicago area, has been open for nearly 75 years and has faced all the challenges of . Tim offered Walt brotherly support after a just-completed scene. As they grew into their teens, there were the usual summer jobs -- caddying, yard work, selling ice cream from a motorized three-wheeler. Read on to find out more about pelvic floor therapy and how it's growing in popularity among postpartum women. 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 . At-a-glance. Or "Hardrock, Coco and Joe." You can still be a fun premium brand (Virgin, for example) but this is Family Dollar-type schtick. We take that very seriously, and we have so much passion for it.". Smithe guy Walt actually Walter Smithe III 45 is president and general manager of the. Unlike their brothers, they chose other careers. With a 71-year history and 11 stores sprinkled throughout Chicago and the suburbs, Walter E. Smithe is a local furniture icon. [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]. Smithe then went into the computer industry working for General Electric and IBM in 1967, according to his obit. They can really do great things. "We wanted to entertain people first, so then when we wanted to inform them they'd already be paying attention," Tim says of their advertising philosophy. This is useful in estimating the financial strength and credit risk of the company. Compare how recession-proof Walter E Smithe Furniture is relative to the industry overall. It's not included in a shorter version now airing on TV. Personally, I dont want to stare at ugly furniture for all those years, Meghan says. Walter E. Smithe Furniture & Design is a family-owned furniture retailer, founded right here in Chicago, back in 1945. Rocketreach finds email, phone & social media for 450M+ professionals. Explore more of the publications in our portfolio here. Check out the new collection. Chicago magazine newsletters have you covered. "And I'd be yelling, `I can't breathe! At Walter E. Smithe Furniture & Design, we are committed to helping our clients love their homes through expert design, quality furnishings, and exemplary service. What she does: I use both sides of my brain: left for all the analytical spreadsheet stuff and right for the creative vision. Further confused by the commercials now. They've transitioned into the spotlight. 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. Along the way, they got married, had children (17 in all!) 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. "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. We don't take that lightly.". To make up for it, she woke up early to make heart-shaped pancakes. Our learning curve has been steep and long, with a lot of challenges, says Colleen, flanked by her sisters at the familys Lincoln Park location, a 10,000-square-foot boutique store. The 3rd brother, Tim Smithe, retired in 2016. The company offer of a free DVD generated a huge response, and more than 60,000 were given away.). One of the first opportunities to test their compatibility was through a partnership with interior designer and TV personality Jeff Lewis. The sisters left for college with a few prized furnishings and a work ethic that became a permanent fixture in their lives. Explore. Nothing is left unchanged, Meghan notes. Take dress up and glam up a notch with a self-care day at this luxurious spa for kids and tweens. "That's F-A-M-E, with an E". 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. The inky accents create a sleek statement against the white walls and lend a streamlined look to the space. 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. The Chicago native attended Fenwick High School and the University of Notre Dame. 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. I'm a brand manager and their commercials make the brand seem like a discount bin. Since 1945, the company has established itself as a reliable family-run retailer, with the second- and third-generation Smithe men at the helm. His four daughtersMaureen, Meghan, Caitie, and Colleenare now the new faces of this historic Chicago brand, a spot he and his brothers held for decades.
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