getting a penny or nickel for every clearance tag we pulled," says Meghanthe four daughters of Walter Smithe III have . I think people felt sorry for me, assuming that I wasnt getting any sleep and having to come to work every day, says Maureen. Walt (actually Walter Smithe III), 45, is president and general manager of the company; he and his wife have five kids and live in Barrington Hills. Walter Smithe III and Mark Smithe (the Smithe Brothers) are the sons of Walter Jr, and serve as President and VP/Legal Counsel, respectively. 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. One of my friends used to live near Fullerton and Western, and she would always tell people she lived near Tile Outlet. It's fun to be part of Chicago in that way.". Watch. They seem very pretentious I think. "It was kind of ingrained in us," Caitie Smithe said. "We're dreamers and we have big ideas," Meghan said. The sisters left for college with a few prized furnishings and a work ethic that became a permanent fixture in their lives. 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. Assuming your a dude your not supposed to understand the commercials. Explore more of the publications in our portfolio here. Falling asleep. Multi Location Business. We take inspiration from the world of interior design to curate customized . "Pam, Bill and I are always on the watch for pop culture. The Smithe sisters are working to expose the brand to a new customer base Photo credit: Robin Subar. He also hosted telethons. The sisters laughed at hearing this family adage, knowing that home furnishing has been woven into the tapestry of their lives. "That's F-A-M-E, with an E". His sons, Walter, Tim, and Mark, joined the company in the 1970s and 1980s. The Smithe brothers are following in the footsteps of other memorable Chicago commercial icons: - Jim Moran: Starting in the late '40s, "The Courtesy Man" sponsored wrestling programs, late-night movies, a country-and-western music show and his own variety show. Introduced to the family business at an early ageI can recall pigtails in my hair, getting a penny or nickel for every clearance tag we pulled, says Meghanthe four daughters of Walter Smithe III have embraced their own roles for the Itasca, Illinois-based company; Meghan is director of marketing, Colleen is director of advertising, Maureen is a buyer, and Caitie is a designer. Walt and Tim mocked Mark's new haircut. with Maureen Smithe Brusznicki and Caitie Smithe Jisa at Walter E. Smithe Furniture & Design. Walter E. Smithe Furniture: Contact Details and Business Profile The Sisters Behind the Walter E. Smithe Furniture Company - DuJour Walter E. Smithe Jr., founder of Walter E. Smithe Furniture & Design 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. Subscribe for free today! Today, they help oversee 10 showrooms, the warehouse and headquarters, working together (generally) perfectly. Im stunned when people watch one of our makeovers and are surprised that Smithe carries so much of what they like, says Caitie. 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.. "There are still people who ask us, 'Where are the brothers? Nah, I know a few of them. "It almost feels like the business is, in a weird way, a member of the family. It turned out so well that Tim carried along a copy to a speaking engagement. "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. Even their more than 250 employees are treated like family. 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. She is a celebrity who is genuinely interested in how her furniture will do and be perceived, Maureen says. Courtesy of Walter E. Smithe Furniture and Design, - Courtesy of Walter E. Smithe Furniture and Design, Paddock Publications, Inc. is an Employee-Owned Company. What The Walter E. Smithe Daughters Do . [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). Hotel Mousai Puerto Vallarta, Room Request: Four Seasons Hotel Bogota Casa Medina, New Restaurants and Bars in New York City, Clare V., Mulberry and More New Retail Openings in NYC, Tony Robbins Challenge to Provide 1 Billion Meals Nears its Goal, Get behind-the-scenes pictures on Instagram. McCarthy was married to grandson of Walter E. Smithe, Timothy Smithe Jr. in Paris, France in June of 2013. . You can send your sympathy in the guestbook provided and share it with the family. With a 71-year history and 11 stores sprinkled throughout Chicago and the suburbs, Walter E. Smithe is a local furniture icon. Courtesy of Walter E. Smithe Furniture and Design. As the fourth generation to run their family-owned Chicago furniture store, Walter. That was the extent of his pitchman career. You want it to succeed and do well.". 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 Someone really needs a new marketing director/CMO/agency because they do not know what they are doing. "They go a long way with a limited budget through the use of creativity," he says. Opening Day is March 30. Its unjust to think that women can somehow balance it all, Colleen adds. Kyla McCarthy - EverybodyWiki Bios & Wiki 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. His line was, `If you can talk you can breathe.'". But repeated airings of the ad have made him and his door legendary. Margie, who used to be a buyer for Smithe, moved to St. Louis with her husband, who worked for Anheuser-Busch's ad agency. Its a tough balance, but I like figuring out the retail puzzle.. Find employees, official website, emails, phone numbers, revenue, employee headcount, social accounts, and anything related to Walter E. Smithe Furniture. 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. My wife and I were just talking about this yesterday, we truly hate the Walter E Smithe commercials with the daughters. 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 journey from Point A to Point B started with an all-blooper and outtakes reel that O'Neil and Tim Smithe put together as a birthday gift for mom Florence. 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 . I presented my ideas for this two weeks ago and it will be out on the floor in three weeks. Favorite design style: Modern mixed with traditional. Walter E. Smithe Jr. also earned a master's degree in Anthropology at Loyola University Chicago in 1980. It worked really well for a long time, but post-recession, we saw peoples sensibilities had changed, says Meghan. '", "I was at a gym on a treadmill," Mark says of the first time he caught one of the commercials. Is anyone else annoyed with the new generation of Walter E Smithe "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. But shes quick to point out that the business is still very much a multigenerational effort, noting that their 81-year-old grandfather still regularly meets with clients. To see these serious, stuffy guys laughing and having fun someone yelled out, `You should use that as a commercial. Sibling revelry; Their offbeat commercials have made the Smithe brothers cult heroes. The Smithe sisters have heard it all before, and they've set out to dispel those misperceptions. 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. Then he and Thorson meet with his brothers and throw ideas around. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. 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. "As needs within the business grew, positions opened up organically," Maureen said. Who are the Walter E Smithe daughters? The commercials were being shot at a studio in Northfield and would result in enough footage for dozens of TV ads to appear over the next six months. "And a woman was there with her daughter, and she nudged her and I heard her say, 'That's the Walter E. Smithe guy.' Its no longer that way.. 1251 W. Thorndale Ave. Itasca, IL 60143-1149. We are a 4th generation family-owned business, and our employees are an integral part of . Smithe then went into the computer industry working for General Electric and IBM in 1967, according to his obit. Personally, I dont want to stare at ugly furniture for all those years, Meghan says. 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. There have been more than a thousand of them since, and thanks to the magic of cable TV he is now a national celebrity. From 5 to 8 p.m., select retailers will offer refreshments while highlighting unique designers. [7], Chicagoans have had mixed reactions to the Walter E. Smithe commercials. 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 Daughters - Aniya Hendrix Trends Born in the heart of Chicago, we're a family owned and operated local business since 1945, now four generations strong. 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. Walter E. Smithe Jr. Obituary. "But we've also gotten some really nice feedback from people who are happy to see four working women on their TV.". We are sad to announce that on October 9, 2022 we had to say goodbye to Walter E. Smithe Jr. of Chicago, Illinois. Tomorrow, Hubbard Woods Design District (Green Bay Rd. I was probably in elementary school when I would come in to work in the warehouse sweeping for a nickel Colleen says. While a new recession may strike a particular industry, measuring the industry and . 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. Over the past 76 years, the company has grown to include 10 Chicago area showrooms. He cites the U2 music video takeoff. I love incorporating an unexpected element into a room. Today. For the most part, that relationship translates well in the business world, they say. "As furniture commercials go, what the Smithes are doing is great," he says. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune). Were not trying to portray an image that working mothers can pull off everything without something falling through, Maureen says candidly. 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. To make up for it, she woke up early to make heart-shaped pancakes. How, they wondered, would longtime customers respond to four new female faces on their television screens? I always suggest going with whatever color or colors are most pleasing to you, but some big color trends this spring are oranges, pinks, sage green and pastel blue. At that age, it was very exciting to come home and brag that we sold maybe hundreds or thousands of dollars in furniture, Meghan recalls. About. Walter E. Smithe III, the company's president, and his four beautiful Not as long as they keep the commercials clever and topical, O'Neil says. College was a turning point for the sisters, who now call one another their best friends. William Hageman and Tribune staff reporter. between Scott Ave. and Tower Rd., Winnetka, shophwdd.com) hosts a First Friday event on the North Shore. One spot was modeled after Apple's weird commercials. Determine whether Walter E. Smithe Furniture grew or shrank during the last recession. "They've done a wonderful job building a distinctive brand," says Tim Calkins, a professor of marketing at Northwestern University. But the sisters also know they can always turn to the leaders who came before them. Walter E. Smithe Jr., head of family furniture dynasty, dead at 86 70 reviews of Walter E. Smithe Furniture & Design "This is a really good store for when you hit age 40 or so and realize your house still resembles a college dorm. And I thought, `makeup and lighting. I dont think anyone in the furniture industry does advertising well. Its a constant toggle between work and family talk, notes Colleen, but at the end of the day theyre focused on creating a furniture company that helps clients truly curate a home. The 4th generation (Walter III's daughters) join the business after careers in their respective fields; Maureen in 2002, Meghan in 2014, Caitie in 2015, and Colleen in 2016. This article originally appeared in the April 2019 issue of Chicago Parent. ". I'm so annoyed that I won't buy anything from there. 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. Walter E. Smithe, Jr., founder of Walter E. Smithe Furniture, dies at 86 But always start from a place where we love each other and enjoy working together., Between the ages of 10 and 18, former Barrington High School soccer, For Olympian Patrick Gasienica, ski jumping has been a part of his, Dr. Rekha S. Rajan has devoted her personal and professional life to, One of the most prestigious dance companies in the world, The Joffrey, Saint Anne Catholic Community Churchs Project Hope ministry, A night of sequin-studded disco fever, the 5th Annual Hoosier Ball was.
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