Pierre Deux furniture

Tumblers help Walter E. Smithe promote

Ad spotlights Chicago's Buckingham Fountain

Furniture Today Staff

Members of the Jesse White Tumbling Team leap over the furniture-retailing Smithe brothers and Jesse White, the Illinois secretary of state, in a new TV ad.

CHICAGO — The Walter E. Smithe brothers combine tumbling, a local landmark and some crudely spoken French in a new TV ad.

In the spot, Walter, Tim and Mark Smithe are seated on a sofa at Chicago landmark Buckingham Fountain along with Jesse White, the Illinois secretary of state. The ad showcases the new Pierre Deux French Country Collection, available exclusively in Chicago at furniture retailer Walter E. Smithe.

While the four chat in French, members of the internationally known Jesse White Tumbling Team somersault over the sofa.

Although the spot has English subtitles, they don't match the actual spoken French in a couple of key places, according to Tim Smithe.

"Since none of us speaks French, we all memorized the dialogue phonetically," he said. "Walter and I decided to play a prank on our youngest brother Mark. We take turns playing jokes on each other, and it was Mark's turn. We had him memorize a line that he thought meant, ‘We are proud to introduce our Pierre Deux line.' But what he is really saying is, ‘A clown just called me and said he wanted his tie back.'"

"I didn't mind being the target of my brothers' jokes because it was for two good causes: the restoration of Buckingham Fountain and the wonderful Jesse White tumblers," said Mark. The Buckingham Fountain has a French connection, since it was inspired by the Latona basin at Versailles, according to the Smithes.

White was in on the gag and did his own ad lib in French. While the English subtitle reads "Looks good, hit it guys," he actually directs a mock challenge in French to President Barack Obama, saying, "I would make a great president."

To see the ad, go to www.smithe.com/videos.htm and select the top spot, "Red (Jesse) White & Blue Sale."

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Keys to 'Extreme' home are handed over; furniture being moved in

The keys to Erie's first "extreme" home are now in Ty Pennington's hands.


Maleno Real Estate Development, the local builder chosen for "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," turned over the keys to Clara Ward's new house to Pennington and the rest of the crew just after 3:30 p.m. Because it was being filmed, the hand-over was repeated nearly 20 times until the producer liked what he saw.

Between now and tomorrow's unveiling -- tentatively scheduled for between 1 and 3 p.m. -- volunteers will move in a houseful of furniture donated from Schultz Furniture Superstore, and the show's designers will do their thing, turning the house into a home.

In the meantime, intermittent rain hasn't dampened the spirits of the spectators watching the action from a yard across the street. By 2:45 p.m., a crowd of about 350 had gathered.

It was Luane Martin's first time at the site.

"We wanted to see history made in Erie," Martin said. "It's a great experience."

Andrew Delgado, a soon-to-be eighth grader at Erie's JoAnna Connell Elementary School, did her one better.

"It's a once in a lifetime experience," he said.

-- Erica Erwin

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Investing in quality furniture

While it may be tempting to pick up that living room set on sale at the chain furniture store, you may want to stop and think about what kind of investment you are making in your home and your lifestyle. Inexpensive furniture is often cheap furniture, cheap as in low quality. However, in the long run, it will not be the best choice for anyone. It will be better to slowly build your furniture collection over time as you find quality pieces that you love and will last the test of time.

When it comes to buying quality furniture, most of us must be patient because we cannot afford to furnish a whole room at once. High-end furniture is an investment from our pocketbook, but will far outlast the cheaper knock-offs. These pieces are often handmade from seasoned craftsmen and constructed with quality materials and durable fabrics. These pieces will retain their beauty and durability through the years.Because of this, it is important to select timeless styles that will be relevant long after current interior trends.

Investing a bit more in the front-end will save you the time, money, and frustration of having to replace a worn out second in just a few years after you purchased it. It will also save space in the landfills by not filling it will cheaply constructed pieces that fall apart.

http://www.examiner.com

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Spruce Austin This contemporary design studio helps clients transform old furniture into artful additions to the home.

From "shopping your closet" to re-soling your shoes, spiffing up what you've already got is a popular trend in recessionary times. Interior designers Amanda Brown and Lizzie Joyce apply that notion to interiors at their Austin, Texas-based studio, Spruce, where they reupholster clients' furniture with custom fabrics and hard-to-find textiles. Along with their studio work, the duo sells finished pieces in their ecommerce boutique that range from pillows ($60-$225) to couches ($1,250-$2,500) and tables ($900 and up). What's more, those with a D.I.Y. attitude can attend weekend classes in the Spruce studio to learn how to upholster chairs and headboards.

Classes start at $250. Costs for upholstery work varies per project. For more information, visit www.spruceaustin.com.

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Auction touts furniture fit for all types

By KENNETH KNIGHT

kknight@tampatrib.com

NEW TAMPA - Two towering marble lions guarding the front door of the former site of a Linens 'n Things store drew curious passers-by.

Peering through the glass door, lavish artwork, ornate home furnishings and huge mermaid, Roman warrior and Egyptian-themed sculptures littered the showroom floor.

Workers scurried around the room, pushing massive pieces of furniture carried on dollies into place.

Two weeks of preparation work set the stage for the World of Decor Auction Extravaganza, a traveling road show of high-end home and lawn furnishings trucked in from Orlando to be auctioned off to the public.

Auctions were held June 20-22 and 27-29 at 18071 Highwoods Preserve Parkway in The Walk at Highwoods Preserve shopping plaza at the northwest corner of Bruce B. Downs Boulevard and Highwoods Preserve Parkway. The next one is scheduled for Aug 1-3.

"This is the first time in quite a few years we have been back" in Tampa, said Wyin Stoy, spokeswoman for World of Decor in Orlando. "Last time it was at a different location."

Many of the items in its inventory are oversized furnishings suited for grand homes and residential estates. There are one-of-a-kind handcrafted pieces made of antique wood, bronze, marble, granite and other precious minerals, which would carry hefty prices at retail.

A World of Decor auction event offers a unique shopping experience to satisfy every taste and budget, Stoy said.

"Everybody has a chance to go home with something," she said, adding that $5 bids have been successful.

As of 8 p.m. June 22, the highest bidder had purchased a crystal chandelier for $9,000.

The auction company takes merchandise on consignment from major manufacturers and importers to sell at auctions across the country.

The inventory includes unique handcrafted furniture as well as an overstock of sofas, bedroom and dining room sets, accent pieces, exotic rugs and carpets, mirrors, designer florals, lamps, chandeliers, gazebos, bookcases and other architectural items.

The auctions in New Tampa drew a diverse crowd from across the Tampa Bay area. World of Decor provided them pizza and beverages.

J.R. Brutus of New Tampa said he heard about the auction through a friend and showed up in search of a couch. He had not submitted a bid by 7:30 p.m. June 22 but was willing to wait to see merchandise yet to come.

Stoy predicted customers like Brutus are likely to find something they like because the auction doesn't end until the last bidder walks away.

Then, there are shoppers like Lillie Haskopoulos of Oldsmar. She purchased a mirror at the June 21 auction then returned the next day in search of other items to bid on.

"A lot of things are fascinating me," Haskopoulos said, browsing a row of artwork.

Stoy said she sees a lot of repeat customers because new merchandise is trucked in daily from Orlando.

Milton Beard of St. Leo is a regular at World of Decor auctions. He said the event offers him an opportunity to get beautiful, high-end furniture at affordable prices.

"We have gotten a lot at these auctions," said Beard, who travels across central Florida to attend them. "This is the first time they have been here. They have great merchandise and great prices."

WORLD OF DECOR AUCTION

WHEN: Aug. 1-3

WHERE: 18071 Highwoods Preserve Parkway, Tampa

HOURS: 1 p.m. to close, Aug. 1 and 2; 6 p.m. until close, Aug. 3.

INFORMATION: (813) 979-1290 or visit www.worldof decorauction.com

Reporter Kenneth Knight can be reached at (813) 259-7413.

http://carrollwood2.tbo.com

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Lowly plywood bent into high-end furniture

By ZAHID SARDAR
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE

Plywood, a strong, low-cost board composed of glued-together, crisscrossed strips of waste wood, rose in popularity after World War II and became a building staple. Midcentury furniture designers Ray and Charles Eames began to experiment with this humble material, steaming and bending it the same way craftsmen did real wood, to make enduring, curvaceous furniture.

Fast-forward to 1995, when Dakota Jackson, a former magician and furniture designer in New York, was hired to design a library chair for the Main Library in San Francisco.

He inverted history and borrowed the look of bent-plywood furniture for a modern chair of solid wood. "It has simple, worked planes of wood that just look like bent wood," Jackson says.

Now he is experimenting with his own form of plywood. Among Jackson's latest designs at the De Sousa Hughes showroom in San Francisco, the Tango stackable chair and Cascade tables also have undulating planes, but these designs use the lamination principles of standard plywood.

"It is a simple technique but deceptively complex," Jackson says. Instead of carving wood to look like bentwood or bending flat plywood sheets in hand-carved molds, Jackson creates digitally designed molds carved from medium-density-boards using a computer-numerical-controlled machine. Crisscrossed layers of 1/16-inch-thick, 4-inch-wide American maple wood strips are put in the molds, steamed and glued together for 12 hours to form curved chair seats or table bases.

"It is just another way of making plywood," Jackson says. "You just don't have to bend it afterward."

At a glance

Expert opinion: Cascade tables have 31 layers of veneer woven together. Steaming and gluing them simultaneously requires care. "The amount of heat, water and glue used to mold them together is tricky. It can help or hinder elasticity if the material gets too soggy," Jackson says. "If it dries too quickly, the wood shrinks and cracks."

Pros: Jackson's lightweight Tango chair (pictured) and Cascade plywood tables use non-formaldehyde polyresin glues.

Cons: Although the material costs are low, Jackson's Tango and Cascade designs are labor intensive. Several prototypes have to be made for the right combination of curves and durability. "I like to push the material to create shapes without limit," Jackson said. "But the time it takes to make them perfect becomes costly." Hand-sanding, routing and doweling the wood forms either to metal bases or glass tops can add 12 hours to each piece. For instance, a team of people takes as much as a week to make one Cascade table.

Price: Tango chairs cost $576 each; Cascade coffee tables, depending on the high-gloss or matt azure, coal, ruby and chalk finishes, range from $6,569 to $7,399. Cascade dining tables cost $15,092 each; tempered glass tops cost extra.

Resources:

De Sousa Hughes, 2 Henry Adams St., Suite 220, San Francisco; (415) 626-6883, desousahughes.com.

http://www.seattlepi.com

E-mail ideas for Material World to Zahid Sardar at zsardar@sfchronicle.com.

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Duo re-fabs waste to furniture

BY Mike Jaccarino

They have a green dream.

Two New Yorkers are scouting the South Bronx for a place to start up an innovative company that will turn discarded wood and construction materials into furniture for sale.

"We're taking advantage of the fact that there is a lot of usable and predictable waste in New York City and the tristate area," said Jon Santiago, 25.

Santiago and partner Amelia Cunard are now looking for a warehouse in the South Bronx with about 1,200 square feet of space to rent for between $1,500 and $2,000 a month.

"We have a prototype, and we have a team assembled, and we're looking for financing. We're definitely in a start-up phase," Santiago said.

But they've made lots of progress so far.

Calling their company Re-Fab, Cunard and Santiago have forged ties with a furniture company in New Jersey that produces "tons and tons of waste" that can be transformed into usable furniture, as well as a group called Build it Green.

Build it Green finds a home for construction waste that would otherwise be sent to a landfill.

"We went to their warehouse and found a lot of stuff that we were able to work with and we were able to make prototypes from that," said Santiago. "The material costs are virtually nothing."

Cunard and Santiago have a prototype - a shelving fixture that can be used to display commercial items in stores.

They are now looking for financial backers. They've found their first partner in Majora Carter, founder of Sustainable South Bronx.

"Jon is such a great example of a bright, young person who applied his knowledge where it was needed most in an innovative way, and is progressing with it in the marketplace in a responsible manner," said Carter. "We are very proud of Jon, and can't wait to see him and his project grow."

Cunard, a graduate of the Parsons School of Design at the New School, made a name for herself there by picking up old pieces of furniture in the West Village and renovating them. Santiago has a math degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Re-Fab was recently a finalist in the New York Green Business Competition, which looks to reward emerging green businesses with investment funds.

"It's very impressive. It's exactly the type of company that we began to look for - very strong local component and being environmentally friendly at the same time. They hit all the criteria we were looking for," said Brad Holmes, director of the competition.

mjaccarino@nydailynews.com

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/bronx/2009/06/30/2009-06-30_duo_refabs_waste_to_furniture.html#ixzz0K4lbXLJL&D

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