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Member Profile - Smith-Western: 60 years and going strong |
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Written On: January/February 2007 |
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Written By: by Daniel Brunell |
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As travelers and tourists, we’ve all been there. The last-minute scurrying around the airport terminal looking for a souvenir for a child, wife, or friend back home. Stepping into a shop near your gate, you quickly look through the postcards, T-shirts, coffee mugs, hats, and other souvenirs for something that they might like. As the cashier bags your purchase and you run to the gate to catch your flight, the thought of who actually designed and made these products is probably the furthest thing from your mind.
Chances are, the items in your bag originated right here in Washington. Smith-Western Co. of Tacoma is one of the largest vendors of attraction goods in the United States. With more than 2,000 clients nationwide, you’ll find their products everywhere from Las Vegas to Seattle, from national parks to coastal resorts.
Smith-Western produces an amazing variety of products for their customers. Postcards, calendars, coffee mugs, Christmas ornaments, bells, picture frames, jewelry, ashtrays, plates, salt and pepper shakers, hats, plush animals, trivets, playing cards, magnets, key chains, lapel pins, spoons, and shot glasses—anything that a tourist attraction can put its name on.
Smith-Western began as a one-man operation. After returning from World War II, Kyle Smith worked as a salesman and was an avid amateur photographer. In 1947, with the blessing of his wife, Smith started his own business selling postcards to vendors around the Northwest. Smith was involved in every step of the process. He took the photos, had them printed as postcards, and delivered them to stores around the Northwest.
"I would pack up the back of the wagon up and travel around the state selling postcards to shops and taking photos for new postcards along the way," said Smith.
Smith-Western grew throughout the 1950s as the burgeoning post-war tourism industry steadily expanded. In 1962, Seattle hosted the World’s Fair and Smith-Western’s business skyrocketed, allowing Smith to expand his product line from post cards to other tourist goods. Looking for a reliable supplier for ceramic goods, he traveled to east Asia. "We were one of the first Northwest companies over there," said Kyle "Skip" Smith Jr., Smith’s son and the current president of Smith-Western. "We have a lot of relationships with companies over there that go back 40 years or more."
The company grew by leaps and bounds in the 1960s and 70s, still located in their original downtown Tacoma location at a time when other businesses were abandoning the area. In the 1990s, Smith-Western faced a crisis. The city of Tacoma was making plans to redevelop the downtown area, an idea that the Smith-Western supported. However, the site the city decided on for a new convention center was located right on Smith-Western’s property, which had been their headquarters for more than 40 years. After a brief consultation, Smith-Western agreed to swap their downtown property for a new 50,000-square-foot building on 80th Street in south Tacoma.
Now a strong 89 years old, Kyle Smith continues to take an active role in the company. He still comes in to work and makes weekly sales calls to long-standing customers like the Seattle Space Needle. The company has remained in the family, headed by Kyle Smith Jr. as president and daughter Patt Smith as office administrator, with family members in all sorts of roles from receptionist on up.
Smith-Western is a Northwest success story, enjoying their sixth decade making the things that memories are made of.
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