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Were really excited about this program, explains Meghan. "[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". The seven pieces featured in the Quincy Master Bedroom vignette below (chair, trunk . To their delight, the reaction to that initial campaign was primarily positive, as has been the case for every commercial they've produced since. Meghan is director of marketing, Caitie is a designer and stylist and Colleen is director of advertising. The sisters can measure the span of their careers by their childrens ages and development, so they clearly understand what its like to worry about furniture at the mercy of young, messy children. 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. My sisters and I loved being a part of it.. About. ("Did you notice he used the wide-angle lens when he shot your [rear end]?"). A matte black bathtub, vanity mirrors and hardware pop against the airy walls in this modern primary bathroom. Additional partnerships with the likes of Cynthia Rowley and Ellen Degeneres have exposed the company to a new customer base. 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 businesss namesakeand the sisters uncles, Mark and Tim. While their father and grandfather are still actively involved in the day-to-day, the women have taken over the companys marketing, design, advertising and buying effortsand immediately went about altering brand perceptions. There's a lot of blurred lines, and we have to learn when to defer to each other.". 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.". Draftfcb. Haute Living is a network of luxury publications with bimonthly regional editions in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, and San Francisco. 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'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. 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. 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. "We had a common agreement that we had the best furniture in Chicago," Tim says, "but not enough people knew about it.". Bringing new and various textures into a room can take it from plain and lacking in interest to exciting and memorable. It couldn't have gone more perfectly, Maureen said. 9's "Garfield Goose" and "Ray Rayner" shows. Unlike their brothers, they chose other careers. The best commercial -- at least the one viewers relished -- featured this grating kid getting hit in the face with a pie. "They go a long way with a limited budget through the use of creativity," he says. Some have criticized the spots for underemphasizing Walter E. Smithe's actual furniture products. But even as likable as the brothers are, do they run the risk of oversaturation or going to the well too often? The slogans "You dream it, we build it", or "That's Smithe, with an E" are commonly used. 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 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. 443 were here. The CBS Chicago team is a group of experienced journalists who bring you the content on CBSChicago.com. The company made its website easier to use and more modern-looking. officially retires, although he still enjoys visiting showrooms and meeting clients. While a new recession may strike a particular industry, measuring the industry and . 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. 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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. Their advertising is creative, it's timely and it's interesting, so people remember it and they like it.". For people who are in their 40s and have families, that's how brothers act around each other when they get together. This is not how you attract a premium buyer or build a premium brand. It was an organic transition for each of us, says Colleen, the youngest sister. This article originally appeared in the April 2019 issue of Chicago Parent. I'm a brand manager and their commercials make the brand seem like a discount bin. If you grew up in Chicago, you can probably hum it. 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. Who are these guys? 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. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_E._Smithe. Falling asleep. [4][5] In 2008, they filmed and edited a takeoff of the Sex and the City franchise, with the brothers sipping "Smithe-o-politans". "I was invited to speak to 300-some designers in Oak Brook," he says. USA. The commercial included the tagline "Change the Name, Change the Luck", a reference to the Cubs' decades-long struggle to reach the World Series. 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. Only a year apart in age, the lively, fast-talking Smithe sisters consider one another best friends. With a 71-year history and 11 stores sprinkled throughout Chicago and the suburbs, Walter E. Smithe is a local furniture icon. But they still manage to get out to their stores about once a week, touching base with their employees, surprising customers or hosting events such as book signings or wine tastings. They've spruced up their styles, selling more contemporary pieces among their traditional designs. 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. The company makes, sells, and repairs furniture, specializing in custom upholstery, and operates ten showrooms throughout the Chicago metropolitan area. Walter E. Smithe also is changing up its ads. [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]. It stuck in your head. And I thought, `makeup and lighting. 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 . What are they up to?' You may have noticed a change lately in those Walter E. Smithe (smithe.com) siblings-on-a-couch commercials. Read the rest of the issue. Take dress up and glam up a notch with a self-care day at this luxurious spa for kids and tweens. 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. The Smithe sisters have always been close -- and growing up, it wasn't always by choice. While we still have traditional pieces, our showroom appeals to a number of different lifestyles. The campaign was inspired in part by a partnership with designer/house-flipper Jeff Lewis of the Bravo show Flipping Out. William Hageman and Tribune staff reporter. "We're dreamers and we have big ideas," Meghan said. "It's made us focus on what we do best, which is designing our clients' homes," he said. Pinterest. 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. 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. Walter E. SMITHE corporate office is located in 1775 W Rand Rd, Arlington Heights, Illinois, 60004, United States and has 382 employees. 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. 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. Lewis Lazare. We simply never had that conversation, Meghan says. There's a preconceived notion that furniture stores are stuffy and tired, run by men in suits and catering to older generations. Weird. "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. The Smithes stand out because they're doing silly things. Chicagoans came to know and appreciate the three Smithe brothers who starred for years in quirky TV commercials touting their family-run furniture company. That's a galaxy away from the current "Star Wars" parody. Is she OK? "It's always positive, and it's nice to be part of it. walter e smithe, furniture stores near me, ballinger vase buy, gold side end table, tall mirror, walter e smithe daughters, furniture . He attended the University of Notre Dame and earned a bachelor 's . Cindy went to college in Iowa and settled there after school. It said he passed away peacef And they wanted a way to build the brand. 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. 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. With a 71-year history and 11 stores sprinkled throughout Chicago and the suburbs, Walter E. Smithe is a local furniture icon. 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. In recent years, Smithe enjoyed his time with extended family. After college, all three gravitated back to the family business, which was founded by their father. Watch. Edit: I have been informed that they are the daughters, not the wives. We get that question all the time, and that was to be expected," Colleen said. I gave up sleep and TV, Maureen jokes. "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. 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. Shop the label. Since 1945, the company has established itself as a reliable family-run retailer, with the second- and third-generation Smithe men at the helm. Hauldren -- an advertising copywriter who created the character -- first appeared in the ads in 1973. "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. and runners at CB2 (800 W. North Ave., cb2.com). Not as long as they keep the commercials clever and topical, O'Neil says. It took the mother of six children a few years to figure out how to juggle her demanding career and busy home life. Along the way, they got married, had children (17 in all!) I can't breathe!' Its unnerving. The Walter E. Smithe + Jeff Lewis showcase certainly fits the bill. Relevant. Its unjust to think that women can somehow balance it all, Colleen adds. Tags: Design Controls - Facebook Instant Article, Home & Garden, Interior Design. But the sisters also know they can always turn to the leaders who came before them. "As needs within the business grew, positions opened up organically," Maureen said. "With a strategy to continue Smithe parodies of relevant topics, really, the future is limitless," he says. Walter E. Smithe Jr. Obituary. But they do have a business.