walter e smithe daughters

Even if you weren't sure that Walt, Tim and Mark Smithe were brothers -- yep, those Smithe brothers, of "Walter E. Smithe, you dream it, we build it" fame -- their banter at a recent commercial shoot was a dead giveaway. Visit . It was founded by Walter Edward Smithe and Bill Shanahan in 1945. And now with the company's 75th anniversary approaching in August, they're ready to push forward plans to expand and evolve. Growing up, she and her sisters held various roles at the furniture and design firm, earning their first paychecks and gaining job experience and exploring interests that would later launch their careers. "We're dreamers and we have big ideas," Meghan said. Or using a new high-tech application to keep couch fabric truly worry free from childrens spills, everything from spaghetti sauce to Kool-Aid. In recent years, Smithe enjoyed his time with extended family. [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]. 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 . First published on October 12, 2022 / 3:27 PM. But it wasn't long before he approached his youngest daughter with a proposition. 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. They look hungry. In the 1970s Walter left Smithe and Shanahan (His brothers remained with the original company) to start his own company - Walter E. Smithe. Sibling revelry - Chicago Tribune CHICAGO (CBS) -- Walter Edward Smithe Jr., the founder of Chicago's Walter E. Smithe Furniture & Design, has died at the age of 86. Subscribe for free today! We get that question all the time, and that was to be expected," Colleen said. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. / CBS Chicago. Check out the new collection. Meghan and Colleen spent several years working at advertising agencies in Chicago. Who are the Walter E Smithe daughters? The answer -- and the sisters' secret to success -- can be summed up in three key words: Fresh. Anyone got a link to the current commercial? There have been more than a thousand of them since, and thanks to the magic of cable TV he is now a national celebrity. 74% of employees would recommend working at Walter E. Smithe Furniture and Design to a friend and 70% have a positive outlook for the business. While it may not be usable 365 days a year, the days that your outdoor space are in fact usable should be embraced. Walter Smithe III and Mark Smithe (the Smithe Brothers) are the sons of Walter Jr, and serve as President and VP/Legal Counsel, respectively. Sip A Negroni While Exploring This Stunning New Home Boutique, Peruse Artisan-Crafted Collections At This Chicago Boutique, Fresh And Feminine Vibes Rule This Winnetka Boutique, Whats In Store At Chicagos New Must-See Surface Destination, 3 Things To Know About The Latest RH Gallery, Do Not Sell Or Share My Personal Information. In some of the footage, youll see my dad installing a dimmer or my uncle driving a truck. - Lynn Hauldren: Who? CHICAGO The founder of Walter E. Smithe Furniture and Design has died. His sons, Walter, Tim, and Mark, joined the company in the 1970s and 1980s. Moms of 17 juggle the Chicago-based family business (847) 933-1481. This has been our priority since we first began serving the Chicago area back in 1945. The Smithe brothers commercials Chicagoans are used to were great for getting the Walter E. Smithe name out, but the new ads put the focus back on the furniture and design services, said Meghan Smithe. Smithe's wife of 64 years was by his side when he passed, and he . Their dad, the company's president, continued filming his signature ads with his brother, Mark, for a short period of time, Colleen said. The sisters laughed at hearing this family adage, knowing that home furnishing has been woven into the tapestry of their lives. - 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. They're nice folks. In the late '60s, the growing family -- there are also four sisters, Cindy, Margie and twins Hope and Amy, none of whom is involved in the family business -- moved to a slightly larger home in Park Ridge. Colleen Smithe, Director of Advertising Calkins says that by minimizing production costs and media costs and doing those quick turnarounds, Smithe gets a bigger bang for its advertising buck. Favorite design style: Cozy and comfortableaka hygge ethos. WALTER E. SMITHE FURNITURE Revenue, Growth & Competitor Profile "We had a common agreement that we had the best furniture in Chicago," Tim says, "but not enough people knew about it.". 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. "It's made us focus on what we do best, which is designing our clients' homes," he said. Touch device users, explore by touch or with swipe gestures. Kneen & Co. (399 W. Fullerton Pkwy., Ste. They brought in real clients, worked with real designers and demonstrated each sister's essential role within the business. If you find the right furniture, it will last even through your kids, Colleen says. It also featured an appearance by Dutchie Caray, wife of the late Cubs announcer Harry Caray. Walter E. Smithe Jr., founder of Walter E. Smithe Furniture & Design Holly Hunt (222 W. Merchandise Mart Plaza, Ste. Tim offered Walt brotherly support after a just-completed scene. 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. Sisters Take Smithe Spotlight, More High-End Barware, and a Sofa Sale That collective experience comes in handy ahead of any major decisions. About. 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. The commercial included the tagline "Change the Name, Change the Luck", a reference to the Cubs' decades-long struggle to reach the World Series. An added factor in the commercials' success are the brothers, who come across as regular guys. As their father, the company president, has told customers for decades, Life is too short to sit on uncomfortable furniture.. Walter E. Smithe Furniture & Design advertising has featured everything from parodies of "The Price Is Right" to a 2013 classic in which the Smithe brothers got into a wrestling ring with Billy Corgan. walter e smithe furniture - inc. walter e smithe furniture. You can send your sympathy in the guestbook provided and share it with the family. There is no true balance for moms in our situation., We cant be everything all at once, Meghan says. Favorite design style: Modern mixed with traditional. 1 Early life; 2 Television; 3 Personal Life; 4 References; . The Feldco guy creeps me out more. 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. Jeff Lewis's collection of vignettes is available at Walter E. Smithe's 11 showrooms in Chicago, and online. 2022 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. 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. As the fourth generation to run their family-owned Chicago furniture store, Walter. Smithe Family Takeover - Country Magazine I dont think anyone in the furniture industry does advertising well. With a 71-year history and 11 stores sprinkled throughout Chicago and the suburbs, Walter E. Smithe is a local furniture icon. The 3rd brother, Tim Smithe, retired in 2016. To their delight, the reaction to that initial campaign was primarily positive, as has been the case for every commercial they've produced since. Hope, once a Smithe designer and store manager, now lives in Colorado with her husband. Take dress up and glam up a notch with a self-care day at this luxurious spa for kids and tweens. "Staying fresh, young . Shop the clearance. But the truth is, I love coming to the office. With a 71-year history and 11 stores sprinkled throughout Chicago and the suburbs Walter E. Maureen in 2002 Meghan in 2014 Caitie in 2015 and Colleen in 2016. Find locations. Eric Clark email address & phone number | Walter E. Smithe Furniture Only a year apart in age, the lively, fast-talking Smithe sisters consider one another best friends. "They took different career paths," Tim says. They've relaunched catalogs showcasing their furniture in fully designed spaces. Subscribe to one or more of our free e-mail newsletters to get instant updates on local news, events, and opportunities in Chicago. The two renamed the store Smithe and Shanahan, but Bill Shanahan eventually sold his share to Smithe's brother Charlie. Walter E. Smithe ads, famous for their jingle, now featuring next 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. That cartoon of Bob has BDE and you can't deny it. A 2005 advertisement showed Mark and Tim Smithe dueling with CGI-enhanced lamps in an homage to the lightsaber duels of the Star Wars films. "There are still people who ask us, 'Where are the brothers? 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. Rocketreach finds email, phone & social media for 450M+ professionals. "With a strategy to continue Smithe parodies of relevant topics, really, the future is limitless," he says. College was a turning point for the sisters, who now call one another their best friends. From 5 to 8 p.m., select retailers will offer refreshments while highlighting unique designers. 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. 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. '", "I was at a gym on a treadmill," Mark says of the first time he caught one of the commercials. Sometimes its the only quiet I get.. The Smithe family announced that their patriarch died this past Sunday with his wife of 64 years, Florence Flynn Smithe, by his side. Shop the Sofa Sale. Reaching a younger demographic and expanding their clientele has required some creativity, the sisters said. "The majority of what we run is informational and tells about the company, but those aren't the ones people are talking about at the water cooler. The sisters left for college with a few prized furnishings and a work ethic that became a permanent fixture in their lives. Here, get to know this powerhouse quartet. 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. Till your hair grows back."). The Smithe brothers have been described as "Chicago's most recognizable furniture purveyors", due to their ubiquitous television commercials starring themselves. 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. Walter E. Smithe Furniture & Design - Chicago's Furniture Store and Contents. Walter E. Smithe Furniture founder, Walter E. Smithe Jr., dies at 86 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. It was like the empire jingle. The company offer of a free DVD generated a huge response, and more than 60,000 were given away.). Maureen Smithe and Caitie Smithe had the pleasure of working with Chicago's own Mr. FixIt, Lou Manfredini.Such a nice guy and a true Chicagoan! Building upon the Smithe family legacy is a big responsibility, the sisters said, one they've embraced with fervor. With a 71-year history and 11 stores sprinkled throughout Chicago and the suburbs, Walter E. Smithe is a local furniture icon. Watch. Also would somebody please feed them? One by one, each sister began working in the family business. Be sure to visit Sawbridge Studios, which will showcase sustainably harvested, live-edge furniture by David Stine. Oct 2012 - Apr 20152 years 7 months. Please enter valid email address to continue. The company began in 1945 as Tone Appliances and Furniture, a single store on Belmont Avenue in Chicago. Instead, the Smithe sisters Colleen, director of advertising; Maureen, a buyer; Caitie, a designer; and Meghan, the marketing director help a Chicago couple with tastes that sometimes clash give their town home a new look before relatives show up for a visit. The seven pieces featured in the Quincy Master Bedroom vignette below (chair, trunk . The company makes, sells, and repairs furniture, specializing in custom upholstery, and operates ten showrooms throughout the Chicago metropolitan area. Walter e smithe daughters. Meghan can recall her pigtails bouncing as she ran through the Walter E. Smithe warehouse as a young girl, pulling sales tags in exchange for a nickel or dime from her grandfather, Walter Smithe Jr. "Smithes have fun at the old ballpark". I presented my ideas for this two weeks ago and it will be out on the floor in three weeks. No surprise why the quality is so crap. It turned out so well that Tim carried along a copy to a speaking engagement. It takes work and sacrifice.. Over the last 13 years, one by one, Walters daughters have been hired on at Smithe as the jobs became available. A family affair: How four sisters are bringing a 75-year-old store into Now, the Itasca-based furniture and interior design company wants you to get to know the Smithe sisters. We learned so much from these relationships, Colleen says. "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. And Mark, 40, is Smithe's general counsel; he and his partner live in Lincoln Park with Petey, a 4-year-old bulldog. 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. Walter E. Smithe Jr. Obituary (1936 - 2022) | Chicago, Illinois But I never forget that these are my sisters and I completely respect them. Timothy Smithe Jr. (m. 2013-2018) Kyla Lynn McCarthy (born October 8, 1986) is the daughter of politician and former Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy. It was a natural fit, she said. "You think a huge corporation is going to have pencil pushers and button touchers," says Lynn Hamilton, vice president of the Shirley Hamilton Agency, a Chicago talent agency. Spoken like the daughter of a true "shop owner," as her father Walter E. Smithe III, president of the eponymous furniture retailer calls himself. 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. Walter E Smithe Daughters - Aniya Hendrix Trends That's a galaxy away from the current "Star Wars" parody. Meghan was hired in 2013 and now serves as director of sales strategy. 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. Others have been parodies of reality television shows, such as The Apprentice and The Bachelor. His line was, `If you can talk you can breathe.'". "And I'd be yelling, `I can't breathe! Today, they help oversee 10 showrooms, the warehouse and headquarters, working together (generally) perfectly. So is there a `Wally and the Sofa Factory' in our future?". 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 . He was still spending weekends at Smithe furniture showrooms until recently and he volunteered for many years for Habitat for Humanity, building houses in the U.S. and Central America. The Smithe brothers used good-natured humor on countless TV commercials selling furniture. The Itasca-based company has 10 locations across Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana, where the sisters ply their fourth-generation talents. But even as likable as the brothers are, do they run the risk of oversaturation or going to the well too often? "So that drove us, I think, to be successes.". One of my friends used to live near Fullerton and Western, and she would always tell people she lived near Tile Outlet. This rating has improved by 10% over the last 12 months. Spoken like the daughter of a true shop owner, as her father Walter E. Smithe III, president of the eponymous furniture retailer calls himself. "What about you and your sisters?". Darvin is always yelling about discounts. When they get a topic, Smithe says, he tries to figure a way to blend it into an ad. 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. I love incorporating an unexpected element into a room. October 12, 2022 / 3:27 PM Like their brothers, the four Smithe sisters were all in the business when they were in high school. walter e smithe. Who are these guys? Compare how recession-proof Walter E Smithe Furniture is relative to the industry overall. We take that very seriously, and we have so much passion for it.". Am I the only one who just thinks he looks like Louis CK? ". Caitie Smithe, Designer and Stylist. However, Lewis Lazare, the Chicago Sun-Times' advertising critic, has defended the commercials. They seem very pretentious I think. "And of course this summer's blockbuster is supposed to be `Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.' We understand that customers see a certain look on, say, Instagram and they want it replicated in their own home, Colleen says. The best commercial -- at least the one viewers relished -- featured this grating kid getting hit in the face with a pie. Dont burden yourself with the boredom of a matching wood set. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. The are the Smithe sisters, Meghan, Colleen, Maureen and Caitie. Lewis teamed up with Smithes merchandising team to create in-store vignettes, and also featured the store on his show. As mothers, theyve learned its not only possible, but preferable, to have a functional yet beautiful home. My wife and I were just talking about this yesterday, we truly hate the Walter E Smithe commercials with the daughters. But now a new generationsisters Meghan, Colleen, Maureen, and Caitie . "And they've been able to personalize a retail chain through the use of the brothers. Cindy went to college in Iowa and settled there after school. 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. Bringing new and various textures into a room can take it from plain and lacking in interest to exciting and memorable. The announcement was merely an early April Fools' Day prank, although the Smithe brothers said they had received about one hundred emails from viewers who were not sure what to think. Walter E. Smithe Jr. died peacefully at age 86, his family said in a prepared statement. I only hear them on the radio. "He'd come up from behind and drop in it on us," Tim says. It's fun to be part of Chicago in that way.". 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 Empire Carpet Guy, of course. (Last year, Walter E. Smithe resurrected the 1950s-era cartoon that was a holiday staple on WGN-Ch. Its a tough balance, but I like figuring out the retail puzzle.. A few bucks later, the clunker is off to Victory's Bensenville lot. It's pretty surprising they are still playing on these tired sexist tropes in this day and age. Then the commercial came on. This is useful in estimating the financial strength and credit risk of the company. During a stint in the Army, Smithe attained the rank of captain and became an expert in the field of computers. 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. Walter E. Smithe Furniture & Design is a family-owned furniture retailer, founded right here in Chicago, back in 1945. Walter E. Smithe, Jr. joined the business in the 1960s with his brothers Gary and Tomm, and began phasing out appliances to focus on custom upholstery.

How To Sponsor A Ukrainian Refugee, Wilson Pro Staff 97 String Pattern, Articles W