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.". Shop now. 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. McCarthy was married to grandson of Walter E. Smithe, Timothy Smithe Jr. in Paris, France in June of 2013. . ("You should keep that hat on for about three weeks. Mix together different, but complimentary, elements such as woods, metals and stonesand feel free to mix various metals together. It was a natural fit, she said. The company made its website easier to use and more modern-looking. This rating has improved by 10% over the last 12 months. They seem very pretentious I think. We strive to bring our clients the best in home furnishings for every style, budget, and. The 86-year-old patriarch of the Smithe family, Walter Edward Smithe Jr., "died .
Since 1945 the company has . We take that very seriously, and we have so much passion for it.". 22 miles. He cites the U2 music video takeoff. I gave up sleep and TV, Maureen jokes. What The Walter E. Smithe Daughters Do . 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 Smithe brothers have been described as "Chicago's most recognizable furniture purveyors", due to their ubiquitous television commercials starring themselves. Edited to add: Looked them up and gee, it's one of the daughters managing the marketing. "There are still people who ask us, 'Where are the brothers? "And I'd be yelling, `I can't breathe! View info about Walter E. Smithe Furniture (smithe.com). In some of the footage, youll see my dad installing a dimmer or my uncle driving a truck. 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. He NEVER blinks. For people who are in their 40s and have families, that's how brothers act around each other when they get together. (Last year, Walter E. Smithe resurrected the 1950s-era cartoon that was a holiday staple on WGN-Ch. 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.. "With a strategy to continue Smithe parodies of relevant topics, really, the future is limitless," he says.
Moms of 17 juggle the Chicago-based family business You have this sense of passion and responsibility for it. 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. We see this country chic trend currently happening as a design emergency, says Maureen. There is nothing like a day spent soaking up the sun and a good book or an evening with friends and good food and drinks under the stars. Whoever said brick-and-mortar is dead hasn't met the Smithe sisters. But one by one, they followed Maureen's lead and rejoined the family business. Walter E. Smithe is a furniture company based in Itasca, Illinois. "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.
Kyla McCarthy - EverybodyWiki Bios & Wiki "And they've been able to personalize a retail chain through the use of the brothers. Smithe brothers aim for 'Sex' appeal in latest quirky commercial, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Walter_E._Smithe&oldid=1127865487, This page was last edited on 17 December 2022, at 02:33. Anyone got a link to the current commercial? I think people felt sorry for me, assuming that I wasnt getting any sleep and having to come to work every day, says Maureen. Oct 2012 - Apr 20152 years 7 months. The Smithe boys started out in a tiny ranch house in Des Plaines, the children of Walter Jr. and Florence. My hope is to inspire people to slow down enough to talk with a designer and hopefully buy something.. 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. - 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. - Nick Celozzi and Maury Ettleson: Starting in the early '70s, they waved fistfuls of cash at TV viewers and reminded everyone that Celozzi-Ettleson Chevrolet in Elmhurst was "Where you always save more money!". "Staying fresh, young . "I said, `Let's get you guys on camera.'". His signature line: "Linn Burton for certain!". Till your hair grows back."). Even with little ones underfoot, the Smithe sisters make balancing their family furniture business and their growing broods look effortless. And yet, as they went off to college and moved into the next phase of life, they were never expected to someday return full time. }); Chicago Parent is Chicagolands trusted parenting hub since 1984. "So that drove us, I think, to be successes.". During a stint in the Army, Smithe attained the rank of captain and became an expert in the field of computers. 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." "People really did love seeing them on their TVs.". "They were loved," said Colleen Smithe, the youngest daughter of Walter Smithe III. Smithe then went into the computer industry working for General Electric and IBM in 1967, according to his obit. While they took breaks from the biz to make their own way after college, each came back when the right positions opened up.
Walter E. Smithe Jr., founder of Walter E. Smithe Furniture & Design Holly Hunt (222 W. Merchandise Mart Plaza, Ste. Furniture Stores.
Walter E. Smithe Furniture and Design Reviews - Glassdoor 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. 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 implication was that he was doing/looking at something inappropriate. Even their more than 250 employees are treated like family. It's fun to be part of Chicago in that way.". His sons, Walter, Tim, and Mark, joined the company in the 1970s and 1980s. They hammer out a script, call in O'Neil and start filming. "It's been about reworking how we approach visually what we want to convey about the product that we're selling," Meghan said. Over the past 76 years, the company has grown to include 10 Chicago area showrooms. 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. "By being so close and meeting so regularly, we're all in the loop with what's happening in each other's sphere. "It's made us focus on what we do best, which is designing our clients' homes," he said. It was like the empire jingle. Colleen loved being able to point out that her dad and uncles, Mark and Tim, brainstormed and executed the ideas themselves.
Sisters Take Smithe Spotlight, More High-End Barware, and a Sofa Sale 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. And they wanted a way to build the brand. 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. Hope, once a Smithe designer and store manager, now lives in Colorado with her husband. View a map of participating First Friday locations. Multi Location Business. "It was kind of ingrained in us," Caitie Smithe said. But he soon returned to the family furniture business that his father first started in 1945, and pioneered the concept of custom-order furniture in the Chicago area. The Smithe boys started out in a tiny ranch house in Des Plaines, the children of Walter Jr. and Florence. Contact Information. Tags: Design Controls - Facebook Instant Article, Home & Garden, Interior Design. Chicago magazine newsletters have you covered. Visit Website (opens in new window) Walter E. Smithe. I havent seen the Tile Outlet lady in a while!! (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune). [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 E. Smithe Furniture, Inc. is headquartered in Itasca, IL. The first change I noticed was it became all about the sons. officially retires, although he still enjoys visiting showrooms and meeting clients. Walter E. Smithe is a family business in every sense of the word, the sisters say. It took the mother of six children a few years to figure out how to juggle her demanding career and busy home life. "It almost feels like the business is, in a weird way, a member of the family. 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. Sometimes it does not pay to work with family. So I'm speaking, and they're half listening, you know. Bloomingdale Plaza. Main Telephone (630) 285-8000. 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. Touch device users, explore by touch or with swipe gestures. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune).
Last year there aas a commercial where the puppet quickly moved to close his laptop when someone came in the office. If you grew up in Chicago, you can probably hum it. "If you think of furniture commercials, it's always just panning a showroom with obnoxious graphics," says O'Neil, who has directed all the Smithe commercials. "It's never gone completely crazy -- no one can say that one commercial will bring customers in -- but we kind of thought it re-established us in the marketplace. They've spruced up their styles, selling more contemporary pieces among their traditional designs. Visit . In the 1970s Walter left Smithe and Shanahan (His brothers remained with the original company) to start his own company - Walter E. Smithe. Receive a 20 percent discount on sofas, love seats, sectionals, chaises, and more at Cassona (5241 N. Clark St., cassona.com) through March 13. "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. "As needs within the business grew, positions opened up organically," Maureen said. "KFC dances to beat of familiar drummers". Courtesy of Walter E. Smithe Furniture and Design. Start shopping. Sometimes its the only quiet I get.. 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. Courtesy of Walter E. Smithe Furniture and Design, - Courtesy of Walter E. Smithe Furniture and Design, Paddock Publications, Inc. is an Employee-Owned Company.
Instead of starring third-generation brothers Walter III, Tim, and Mark, the new ones put the spotlight on fourth-generation sisters Caitie, Meghan, Maureen, and Colleen.
Luxury Hotels, Travel, Dining, Lifestyle - Haute Living The new generation of Smithes are featured in the company's new advertising. We don't take that lightly.". "We're kind of strategically positioned in different departments," Meghan said. October 12, 2022 / 3:27 PM 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. E. Smithe sisters Caitie, Colleen, Meghan and Maureen were introduced to the business at a young age. CHICAGO The founder of Walter E. Smithe Furniture and Design has died.
Walter E. Smithe Furn-Itasca | Better Business Bureau Profile Billy Corgan and Walter E. Smithe Wrestling. Walter E. Smithe and Bill Shanahan founded the store anticipating a booming economy in the wake of World War II. The daughters took over the company. Walter E. Smithe also is changing up its ads. Updating your home theater? Shop the clearance. '", "I was at a gym on a treadmill," Mark says of the first time he caught one of the commercials. Is she OK? His line was, `If you can talk you can breathe.'". The Smithe sisters have heard it all before, and they've set out to dispel those misperceptions. You can still be a fun premium brand (Virgin, for example) but this is Family Dollar-type schtick. Chicago, IL. Dont burden yourself with the boredom of a matching wood set. 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. Let's go Cubbies! Only a year apart in age, the lively, fast-talking Smithe sisters consider one another best friends. Brothers Walt, Tim and Mark Smithe -- the faces of Walter E. Smithe Furniture -- seem to have hit on something with their ubiquitous ads. 1251 West Thorndale Avenue. 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. Please enter valid email address to continue. They can really do great things. And then fate gently tapped them on their shoulder. Feb 20, 2022 - The 4th generation of Walter E. Smithe family stops by to visit Bob and Marianne. "They've done a wonderful job building a distinctive brand," says Tim Calkins, a professor of marketing at Northwestern University. One of my friends used to live near Fullerton and Western, and she would always tell people she lived near Tile Outlet. 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. Give yourself time to just be in a comfortable and beautiful outdoor space.
Meet The Walter E. Smithe Furniture Sisters - Luxe - Design The girls got the bedrooms; the three boys shared a room in the basement. Now, a lot more people know about us than knew a few years ago.". Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. You can send your sympathy in the guestbook provided and share it with the family. 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 E Smithe Daughters - Josephine Goodwin Blogs With 16 1/2 children among them (Colleen is due with her third baby this month), the sisters also find work as a time to be togethersans children. 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. 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. Find locations. So as long as strangers keep serenading them with the company jingle instead of pelting them with "Hardrock, Coco and Joe" DVDs, and as long as the business continues to grow, they'll keep doing the ads. Their dad, the company's president, continued filming his signature ads with his brother, Mark, for a short period of time, Colleen said. "What about you and your sisters?". The sisters are making their official debut in a new campaign theyve recently launched called the Smithe Family Makeovers. Fielding countless applications, the Smithes choose a home where they redesign a space and showcase the full range of interior design services and furnishings Walter E. Smithe Furniture & Design offers. 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. They've relaunched catalogs showcasing their furniture in fully designed spaces. Walter E. Smithe Jr. died peacefully at age 86, his family said in a prepared statement. 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. Reviews on Outlet Walter E Smithe in Glendale Heights, IL 60139 - Walter E. Smithe Furniture & Design, Toms Price Home, The Dump Furniture Outlet, Ashley HomeStore, The RoomPlace, Roy's Furniture, Domicile
What happened to the Walter E Smithe guys? - Cowetaamerican.com 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..
20 White Bathroom Design Ideas | HGTV Determine whether Walter E. Smithe Furniture grew or shrank during the last recession. Tim, 41, is the vice president of sales; he and his wife have four kids and live in Winnetka. Contents. One spot was modeled after Apple's weird commercials. Walter E. Smithe Jr's death was announced Thursday on the company's Facebook page.
Smithe Parker leads Walter E. Smithe advertising "And there's 10 televisions, all tuned to the same station. "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.
'Flipping Out' Where To Get Jeff Lewis' Furniture Collection Tomorrow, Hubbard Woods Design District (Green Bay Rd. And it's not uncommon for their kids to make cameo appearances in advertisements or to help sort through fabric samples, "which would technically make it a five-generation business," Maureen says. Walter E. Smithe Furniture & Design (Old Orchard) 17 miles. Regarded as top performer within the account and the Agency, as a result of consistent over-delivery, passion to grow the business . And it's those commercials, always informative and usually silly, that have the Smithe brothers walking in the footsteps of Linn Burton and the Empire Carpet Guy as Chicago TV commercial icons. But now a new generationsisters Meghan, Colleen, Maureen, and Caitie . The founder of well-known Chicago-area furniture company Walter E. Smithe has died, his family announced Wednesday. Chicagoans came to know and appreciate the three Smithe brothers who starred for years in quirky TV commercials touting their family-run furniture company. ". A matte black bathtub, vanity mirrors and hardware pop against the airy walls in this modern primary bathroom.
Walter E. Smithe ads, famous for their jingle, now featuring next Still, the Smithes have had to weather various challenges since joining the company, including the retirement of their uncle, Tim. Darvin is always yelling about discounts. Nothing will be worse than the commercials they ran the last time the Cicadas were in season. Who are these guys? Am I the only one who just thinks he looks like Louis CK? With a 71-year history and 11 stores sprinkled throughout Chicago and the suburbs, Walter E. Smithe is a local furniture icon. The Smithe sisters now serve as the face . So is there a `Wally and the Sofa Factory' in our future?". The brothers are recognized on the street, in grocery stores and coffee shops ("I got a free Starbucks latte once," Tim says). 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. 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. Now, there are 12, a 115,000-square-foot headquarters in Itasca and more than 550 employees, and this year Walter E. Smithe Furniture will do $100 million in sales. The Smithes: (L-R) Colleen, Meghan, Walter III, Walter Jr., Mark, Caitie, and Maureen. "We had a common agreement that we had the best furniture in Chicago," Tim says, "but not enough people knew about it.".