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. 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. Regarded as top performer within the account and the Agency, as a result of consistent over-delivery, passion to grow the business . [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). Through March 16, enjoy savings of up to 20 percent on select rugs (hopscotch, anyone?) Indian Trail, High Street intersection work approved in Aurora, Suspect in high-speed chase crashes into, kills veteran Indiana State Trooper trying to stop him: officials, Educators get peek at Paramount play about artificial intelligence which is set to tour schools, Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information. The Smithe sisters have always been close -- and growing up, it wasn't always by choice. Since 1945, the company has established itself as a reliable family-run retailer, with the second- and third-generation Smithe men at the helm. 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 . Still, she never dreamed of working full time for Walter E. Smithe Furniture, even while growing up in Barrington with her three sisters, Maureen, Caitie and Colleen. }); Chicago Parent is Chicagolands trusted parenting hub since 1984. It said he passed away peacef "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. Further confused by the commercials now. "It's made us focus on what we do best, which is designing our clients' homes," he said. How could they ensure the 75-year-old brand would be sustainable for decades to come? Please enter valid email address to continue. We are sad to announce that on October 9, 2022 we had to say goodbye to Walter E. Smithe Jr. of Chicago, Illinois. "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. "[5] Of the commercials, Tim Smithe has said, "We wanted to entertain people first, so then when we wanted to inform them they'd already be paying attention". Young. I love incorporating an unexpected element into a room. 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. Walter E. Smithe is a furniture company based in Itasca, Illinois. 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. Tags: Design Controls - Facebook Instant Article, Home & Garden, Interior Design. My sisters and I loved being a part of it.. "That's F-A-M-E, with an E". I can't breathe!' The company gained national exposure from Lewis' collection, and each sister was able to shine in her own specialty. The Walter E. Smithe + Jeff Lewis showcase certainly fits the bill. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. "Staying fresh, young . "And I'd be yelling, `I can't breathe! 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 guy Walt actually Walter Smithe III 45 is president and general manager of the. I only hear them on the radio. between Scott Ave. and Tower Rd., Winnetka, shophwdd.com) hosts a First Friday event on the North Shore. "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. "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. My sisters and I represent the viewpoint of our younger clientele, Meghan says. Explore more of the publications in our portfolio here. Jamie Sotonoff. To their delight, the reaction to that initial campaign was primarily positive, as has been the case for every commercial they've produced since. Then they tie in pop culture it shows that they're sort of a with-it furniture company. Along the way, they got married, had children (17 in all!) When Smithe makes a furniture delivery, Its not uncommon for our crews to bring a 25-year-old sofa with a Smithe sticker on it back to this warehouse, Meghan says. But learning how to work together while also juggling their busy personal lives -- they have 18 kids among the four of them -- can be a delicate balance. Favorite design style: Clean and neutral. Tim recalls Walt trying to smother him -- repeatedly, apparently -- with a bean bag chair. [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. "We had a common agreement that we had the best furniture in Chicago," Tim says, "but not enough people knew about it.". But the truth is, I love coming to the office. Kneen & Co. (399 W. Fullerton Pkwy., Ste. Mark admonished Walt to keep his feet off the furniture. Chicago's Best Furniture and Expert Design. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune). Walter E. Smithe Furniture, Inc. is headquartered in Itasca, IL. "It almost feels like the business is, in a weird way, a member of the family. Favorite design style: Cozy and comfortableaka hygge ethos. Walter E. Smithe Jr. also earned a master's degree in Anthropology at Loyola University Chicago in 1980. The Bob's puppet is a far better actor than the Smithe girls though. Hope, once a Smithe designer and store manager, now lives in Colorado with her husband. 1 Early life; 2 Television; 3 Personal Life; 4 References; . He attended the University of Notre Dame and earned a bachelor 's . It worked really well for a long time, but post-recession, we saw peoples sensibilities had changed, says Meghan. The implication was that he was doing/looking at something inappropriate. As teens, the four sisters worked only part time in their fathers showroom or outlet store, selling furniture and earning their first paychecks along with other eager, cash-strapped teens. The original simple jingle and slogan was perfect. "People really did love seeing them on their TVs.". And they're not showbiz types. They look hungry. 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The Smithe boys started out in a tiny ranch house in Des Plaines, the children of Walter Jr. and Florence. Their camaraderie is genuine, and they can easily share ideas and bounce between conversations. Since 1945, the company has established itself as a reliable family-run retailer, with the second- and third-generation Smithe men at the helm. Lewis Lazare. Industry: Home Furniture & Housewares Stores. One spot was modeled after Apple's weird commercials. That was the extent of his pitchman career. Bringing new and various textures into a room can take it from plain and lacking in interest to exciting and memorable. Receive a 20 percent discount on sofas, love seats, sectionals, chaises, and more at Cassona (5241 N. Clark St., cassona.com) through March 13. 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. walter e smithe furniture & design. Its very much in line with our desire to offer the most beautiful pieces that are of the highest quality. Also would somebody please feed them? 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. Their advertising is creative, it's timely and it's interesting, so people remember it and they like it.". The boys' first ventures into the working world included Walt's daily paper route -- 70 Tribunes, three or four Sun-Times and a couple of Wall Street Journals -- that Tim helped him with ("I got 1 cent per paper, and I'd give Tim 10 cents for helping me"), and collecting beer cans that they resold at a Park Ridge flea market. Jeff Lewis's collection of vignettes is available at Walter E. Smithe's 11 showrooms in Chicago, and online. In fact, none of the sisters seriously considered having a career in the company, founded by their great-grandfather in 1945. Lewis Lazare. "I was at Dulles Airport in Washington, waiting for a 9:30 flight at night," Mark says. At-a-glance. After college, all three gravitated back to the family business, which was founded by their father. You have this sense of passion and responsibility for it. I gave up sleep and TV, Maureen jokes. Its unnerving. But when they finally decided to accept, they knew they needed to come up with a unique and effective way to introduce themselves to the Chicago market as the new faces of Walter E. Smithe. To the Smithe sisters, the company has always been a piece of their identity, an integral thread of their childhood. October 12, 2022 / 3:27 PM Since 1945, we have been Chicago's local source for quality furniture and expert design. Walter E. Smithe is a family business in every sense of the word, the sisters say. Over the past 76 years, the company has grown to include 10 Chicago area showrooms. "He'd come up from behind and drop in it on us," Tim says. To see these serious, stuffy guys laughing and having fun someone yelled out, `You should use that as a commercial. "There are still people who ask us, 'Where are the brothers? Who are these guys? Courtesy of Walter E. Smithe Furniture and Design. During a stint in the Army, Smithe attained the rank of captain and became an expert in the field of computers. Edit: I have been informed that they are the daughters, not the wives. There's a certain time and simplicity factor, so from the time of the idea to the time we shoot it can be as short as a week.". They've been able to weather the unexpected storm of the coronavirus pandemic. So much misogyny in these comments, their commercials have always been cheesy and annoying. This has been our priority since we first began serving the Chicago area back in 1945. But one by one, they followed Maureen's lead and rejoined the family business. 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. The first order of business: ditch the longstanding, highly recognizable ad campaign featuring their father and two uncles. "But we've also gotten some really nice feedback from people who are happy to see four working women on their TV.". Walter E. Smithe Furniture & Design is a family-owned furniture retailer, founded right here in Chicago, back in 1945. walter e smithe furniture - inc. walter e smithe furniture. The commercial, Colleen's brainchild, aimed to show off the company's new "worry-free" performance fabrics that repel stains, a trend Maureen recognized at a major industry trade show and brought back to the Chicago market. The Feldco guy creeps me out more. Find locations. The company offer of a free DVD generated a huge response, and more than 60,000 were given away.). The inky accents create a sleek statement against the white walls and lend a streamlined look to the space. As the oldest sibling, Maureen was the first to officially join Walter E. Smithe in a professional capacity in 2004. 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. Read the rest of the issue. Woven Roman shades, a jute rug and a blonde wood vanity usher texture and warmth into the otherwise minimalist design. So is there a `Wally and the Sofa Factory' in our future?". 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." They brought in real clients, worked with real designers and demonstrated each sister's essential role within the business. 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 chemistry among this familial foursome is something parents can only hope for from their children. Their interactions were zany, their dialogue lighthearted, their catchy jingle -- "you dream it, we build it" -- recognizable throughout the region. Favorite design style: Modern mixed with traditional. The company makes, sells, and repairs furniture, . CHICAGO (CBS) -- Walter Edward Smithe Jr., the founder of Chicago's Walter E. Smithe Furniture & Design, has died at the age of 86. Since 1945 the company has . We not only respect this, we embrace it.. "In a family business, everyone has to wear all hats at all times," Maureen said. "We're kind of strategically positioned in different departments," Meghan said. "Pam, Bill and I are always on the watch for pop culture. Sometimes it does not pay to work with family. 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. Like their brothers, the four Smithe sisters were all in the business when they were in high school. Falling asleep. He began working in the . We get that question all the time, and that was to be expected," Colleen said. You can still be a fun premium brand (Virgin, for example) but this is Family Dollar-type schtick. There is no true balance for moms in our situation., We cant be everything all at once, Meghan says. People are buying a look, but they want it to feel curated and personal., Its up to Maureen and Caitie to monitor the market, make sure the showroom reflects current palettes, while staying a few steps ahead of what is currently trending. "With a strategy to continue Smithe parodies of relevant topics, really, the future is limitless," he says. "If we'd done that with a large agency, it would have been flying people in from New York and storyboards and approvals along the way," he says. It was a natural fit, she said. 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.