Urban-Diversions wins ‘09 Best Furniture Store

Play Tino Breithaupt & Dale Campbell for Urban Diversions Radio
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ANOUNCER: Welcome to Urban Diversions Radio brought to you by Urban Diversions fine furnishings, antiques, and architectural elements of Traverse City.  And now, here’s your host John Bentley.

JOHN BENTLEY: Welcome to Urban Diversions Radio. Today in the studio we have the owner of urban diversions Dale Campbell and his special guest Tino Breithaupt. Tino is the Senior Vice President of Economic Development of the Traverse City Area Chamber of Commerce. Welcome to the program gentlemen.

DALE CAMPBELL: Thank you John.

TINO BREITHAUPT: Thank you. Thanks for having us.

JOHN: Let’s start with Tino first. Tino, what are some of the advantages of doing business of doing business in Northern Michigan?

TINO: Really, we believe the Northern Michigan advantages are pretty clear when people, who are not necessarily familiar with the Traverse City area, once they get here they just fall in love with this place. We have such a vibrant sense of community and a vibrant sense of place and so many opportunities to recreate in our community, that people really look at the opportunities to potentially setup business opportunities here. We have got just a whole sense of place in our region. I think that when people see this place it sells itself and they want to figure out a way to be in Traverse City, Michigan year round or maybe three quarters of a given year as opposed to just coming up here and vacationing for a week.

JOHN: Now, certainly there are specific advantages of doing business in Northern Michigan, besides just falling in love with the community. I certainly feel like that was something that brought me to the area. It was just so beautiful. Isn’t the Traverse City area one of the largest growing populations in Michigan?

TINO: Well, certainly if we’re not the largest, we’re one of the largest. We have a movement going on here in Northern Michigan called the Grand Vision and there have a been a number of studies done that have indicated that our population, our five county population here in Northern Michigan and it’s about 100,000 people and it is projected that our population is going to double or triple over the next twenty or thirty years. So, we’re going to realize continued growth here in Northern Michigan and we do have growing demographic trends in the 60 to 69 year old age range and the 30 to 39 year old age range. So, we have really this kind of retirement population looking to retire and live here. But, then also, in that young professional age bracket of 30 to 39 really people moving here and looking to develop their own business or bring a component of an existing business, maybe outside of this region, to Northern Michigan.

JOHN: What types of business are you seeing moving into the Northwestern Michigan?

TINO: We’re actually seeing a variety of different types of businesses and really that speaks to the nature of Northern Michigan and our region. We are not dependant on one particular industry. I think that a lot of people think that we are solely dependant on travel and tourism and I’m here to tell that while it’s an important component to our regional economy it’s not what we’re dependant on. We have over 550 manufacturing firms in our five county region. We have technology companies. We have professional and technical services. We have art and other types of talent in the arts and culture area. We have a burgeoning wine industry associated to the agriculture industry. So, the strength of our region is really in the diversity of our region and we’ve been saying that for several years now. But, we’re just seeing an across the board, and again from artisans and culture activity and opportunities, we’re in the process right now of relocating a company out of Colorado which is a manufacturer of hunting market products and they’ll be here and up and running probably in a couple of months. So, some manufacturing, some technology oriented activity, professional technical services, but then arts and culture certainly playing a big role as well.

JOHN: Let’s bring Dale into the conversation. Dale, what brought you to the Traverse City area?

DALE: I think Traverse City is a real diverse area where there is a lot of people who really appreciate the culture that is available in this area from theater and arts, and like Tino said, all the recreation, the beautiful scenery. In my opinion, traveling the world, it’s one of the most perfect places.

JOHN: How has the Chamber helped Urban Diversions?

DALE: Tino has been instrumental in bringing organizations to meet with us to discuss manufacturing the line of furniture that I design, Vin Modern, and it’s progressing very nicely.

JOHN: Gentlemen we’re going to step aside here for just a minute here. We’ll be right back on Urban Diversions. More with Dale Campbell and Tino Breithaupt.

ANNOUNCER: Urban Diversions of Traverse City is your source for fine furnishings, antiques, and architectural elements. With 45 years of experience and award winning designs Urban Diversions creates beautiful limited edition furniture. It is made in the U.S. and is made to stand the test of time. For more information on Urban Diversions fine furnishings please visit them on the web at www.urban-diversions.com or call 231-946-6600. Urban Diversions Fine Furnishings. Vertio Talk Radio. We now return you to Urban Diversions Radio with your host John Bentley.

JOHN: Welcome back to Urban Diversions Radio. We’re in the studio with the owner of Urban Diversions Dale Campbell and his special guest today Tino Breithaupt Senior Vice President of Economic Development for the Traverse City Area Chamber of Commerce. Welcome again to the program gentlemen.

DALE: Thank you, John.

TINO: Thank you.

JOHN: There’s lots of reasons for people to bring their business to Northern Michigan. Let’s talk a little bit more about some of the benefits of doing business here in the Traverse City area, Tino. Now, I understand that we have a lot of industrial parks, business oriented areas. Tell us a little bit about that.

TINO: We do. We’ve got about 13 or 14 different business and industrial parks throughout our four county region that we cover as an economic development corporation as a division of the Chamber. But really as it goes into Grand Traverse County specifically we have six business and industrial parks within about five minutes of the airport. I don’t think that was designed in that manner by accident. You take a look at just the geographic proximity of Traverse City and we’re not going to be home to a major manufacturing operation that has to load everything up on a truck and haul it down to major markets. A lot of those types of things just don’t make sense given the fact that we are a peninsula on a peninsula essentially here in Michigan. So, you think about the types of businesses and the types of companies that we have in those business and industrial parks and with today’s technology and with the way things are getting faster, cheaper, smaller, a lot of those products that companies are making can be shipped via air and so, to be right there near the airport to ship essentially your cargo out of Traverse City, you can be anywhere in the world. It’s really why we have FedEx and UPS and other shipping companies in those parks as well. They’re right near the airport.

JOHN: Tino, there’s something called Renaissance Zones, also. Can you inform our listening audience what a Renaissance Zone is?

TINO: Absolutely. Many years ago the State of Michigan and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation developed a renaissance zone program. Essentially what those renaissance zones are tax free zones. There’s been a designated geographic boundary or territory where they have said, throughout various parts of the state, if you locate your residence or if you locate your business in this zone you will essentially pay no taxes; no property taxes, no income tax, no Michigan business tax. It is essentially a tax free zone. We’re fortunate enough to have one of those types of zones within the city of Traverse City at the former state hospital site commonly know today as the Grand Traverse Commons. So, companies and individuals who are living in portions of that development are currently realizing tax free status over a certain period of time.

JOHN: Let’s bring Dale back into the conversation. Dale, I know that Urban Diversions has expanded recently. Can you tell us a little about the expansion and how some of these offerings at the TC Chamber of Commerce have helped you in that regard?

DALE: The expansion here, as you know, we have half of the railroad station, the main depot building and recently the remainder of the building came available to us. We started on March 1st renovating the building back to its original luster. We ground all the terrazzo floors down and re-polished them and we removed a lot of tile on the floor and we found the original maple hardwood floor that is from the date the depot was built in 1926. So, we found a lot of treasures renovating this building and it’s all put back to its original luster. And, of course, it shows off our furniture just fabulous. With the terrazzo floors and all the brick walls and the hardwood floors, I mean, it showcases the furniture just absolutely beautiful.

JOHN: It really is a beautiful location. I was discussing it earlier with my wife. Very beautiful interior and it’s really a neat place for a business. What are some of the existing programs at the Chamber that have helped you with this expansion, Dale?

DALE: Tino and I really didn’t work together on this particular expansion. We’re working together more on the business development side with the manufacturing.

TINO: I guess I’ll jump in. Dale and I first met in mid-December where he, kind of, unveiled his plans to me and to our staff. As we sat around the table and he threw out a bunch of ideas, and we do so much of this with young growing businesses in our region, new start up companies in our region that are looking to call Traverse City, Michigan their home and their headquarters, we kicked around these ideas of identifying furniture manufacturers for their business. They had an established relationship with a company in Grand Rapids and they were really looking ideally for establishing a different relationship with another company in Northern Michigan. As we really kind of kicked around these ideas, nothing was really coming to mind that made sense to break that relationship in Grand Rapids for something in Traverse City. So, our advice was, ‘Hey, if you’ve got a good thing going it will ultimately benefit what you’re doing in Traverse City, you should keep the relationship with the company you’re talking to in Grand Rapids.’ From there we went into what about grant and loan programs, low interest programs, etc., and we kicked around just a number of programs that are just out there in existence. Meeting up with Dale yesterday to tour his facility was pleased to hear that he was working with a company called Northern Initiatives for potential financing as a resource. That’s an organization that we work with here and there as appropriate.

JOHN: Obviously the TC area Chamber of Commerce is offering small business counseling.

TINO: Yes.

JOHN: Hence, what you are doing here with Dale. And, also, site location assistance here in the Traverse City area.

TINO: We do.

JOHN: Anybody that’s interested in looking into the TC Chamber you can find them on the net at TCChamber.org, as well as, anybody that is interested in Urban Diversions Fine Furnishings located at the historic train station in Traverse City, Michigan, you can locate them on urban-diversion.com. I want to thank you gentlemen for joining us today on Urban Diversions Radio.

DALE: Thank you, John. It was a pleasure.

TINO: Yeah, John, thank you very much for having us.

JOHN: We’ve been in the studio with Tino Breithaupt. He is the Senior Vice President for Economic Development for the Traverse City Area Chamber of Commerce and, of course, Dale Campbell owner of Urban Diversions Fine Furnishings. You’ve been listening to Urban Diversions Radio. I’m your host John Bentley. Thanks for tuning in. We’ll see you next time on the program.

ANNOUNCER: You’ve been listening to Urban Diversions Radio at www.urban-diversions.com. Urban Diversions Radio is powered by VTalk Radio and Vertio.net. Talk radio for the 21st century.

ANNOUNCER:  Welcome to Urban Diversions Radio brought to you by Urban Diversions Fine Furnishings, Antiques, and Architectural Elements of Traverse City and now here’s your host, John Bentley.

JOHN:  Today on Urban Diversions Radio we have the Shane Inman,  Owner and President of The Inman Company, specializing in residential and commercial interior design,  . Welcome to the program, Shane.

SHANE: Thank you very much. Glad to be here.

JOHN: Now give us a little over view of The Inman Company.

SHANE: Well The Inman Company is an interior designer and development firm. We do residential and commercial design, new construction, and remodels.

JOHN: OK. Now you have a philosophy; what do you consider the Inman philosophy?

SHANE: Customer service is our number one. We take customer service to the next level and we also pride ourselves in 100% availability. That means holidays; that means weekends; that means before 8:00 a.m. and after 5 p.m.

JOHN: Great so you’re very accessible. That’s a good thing to offer to your clients. Now what about your background in the industry. What is your experience in interior design?

SHANE: I graduated from Michigan State University in 1997. So I’ve been practicing since then. I used to work for a Fortune 500 Company in Miami Beach, Florida, for around 5 years. I then went to Africa where I was a goodwill ambassador for the United States Peace Corp, and then I started my business about 4 years ago. So I am also a custom kitchen and bathroom designer.

JOHN: Wonderful. Now why did you decide to get into this line of work, Shane?

SHANE: Well interior design has always been my passion. Very few people, I believe, actually love what it is that they do. And I find if you could do what you do for free then you are in the right career, and that is exactly where I am. I love to help improve people’s lives, and I feel that the shelter that we live in, our domicile, is very important; it shapes us everyday when we leave and it helps us relax when we come home to it at night.

JOHN: Where does it all begin with interior design? Do you start with a blank room and go from there, or do you find that your clients have certain furniture ideas already in place. How do people approach that with you?

SHANE: Well the very first thing to understand and how I educate this and how I broach this topic with my clients is there are two different forms that are practiced. And they are not synonymous, but a lot of people think they are. There are interior decorators and there are decorators. A decorator is really one who just beautifies an existing space. They may pick out furniture, they may paint walls, some accessories here and there. An interior designer is graduated from a FIDER accredited university. They also have taken the NCIDQ which is a very extensive examination. They also are licensed in certain states where Michigan is not one where you need a license, and they should have accreditation’s behind them whether the ASID or IIDA and both of those affiliations do offer memberships for those who have passed the highest certifications for interior design. So with interior design, interior designers usually work from blueprint and they build a house upward and they do that with a builder and an architect or a draft person. Where a decorator is usually brought in after the home is already up and the interior cavities are existing.

JOHN: OK, that clarifies that for our listening audience. Now you had mentioned organizations that last statement, ASID, I believe was one and NCIDQ, could you elaborate. What are those letters mean and what are they talking about.

SHANE: Sure. The NCIDQ is the National Council for Interior Design Qualifications. After you receive your degree from a FIDER accredited university and FIDOR accredited is the Foundation For Interior Design Education and Research. So you have to take this exam. The exam is three parts. It’s 8 hours long for 3 days. It’s a 24 hour exam. Very equivalent to the bar exam and in order to pass that you have to do a lot of studying, of course. You have to graduate from a FIDER accredited school. Once you do pass that, you are eligible to get your license in the states that require licensing. Once you do pass that, you are eligible to hold the highest memberships in ASID which is the American Society of Interior Designers which I am a member and IIDA which is the International Interior Design Association. So when you are looking for an interior designer or qualifying an interior designer, it is very important that you find out that they have all of this education.

JOHN: Great. Thank you, Shane. Now we are on the phone with the owner and president of The Inman Company specializing in residential & commercial interior design, Shane Inman, and you’re listening to Urban Diversions Radio. We’re going to take a break right now, but we’ll be right back more with Shane in just a moment.

ANNOUNCER:  Urban Diversions of Traverse City is your source for Fine Furnishings, Rare Antiques, Green Furnishings and Architectural Elements.  With 45 years of experience and award winning designs, Urban Diversions creates beautiful limited edition furniture that is made in the U.S. and built to stand the test of time.  For more information on Urban Diversions Fine Furnishings please visit them on the web at www.urban-diversion.com or call (231) 946-6600.  Urban Diversions Fine Furnishings.

ANNOUNCER:  VTALK RADIO.
ANNOUNCER:  We now return you to Urban Diversions Radio with your host, John Bentley.

JOHN:  Welcome back to Urban Diversions Radio.  We are in the phone with the Owner and President of The Inman Company, specializing in residential & commercial interior design, Shane Inman.  Welcome back to the program, Shane.

SHANE: Thank you. Glad to be here.

JOHN:  Now we’ve been talking about your particular business and the difference between a decorator and an interior designer. Let’s talk about the actual time that people are doing it. Is there a certain time, or is there a season that people tend to do interior design.

SHANE: Well I can only speak for myself personally and my company personally. I find I’m a lot busier in the winter months. I find that people are locked inside of their homes and now they’re forced to look at what they have and what they have to work with, and they start dreaming about what it is that they want and need. Whereas the summer months most people are outdoors more. They are more active. They don’t spend a lot of time inside. So I would have to say for my company, I’m a lot busier in the winter time.

JOHN: Now I imagine that with the winter season in the north, we’re in the Michigan area, do you find the trend is that you’re collaborating with the people that are actually doing the construction at this time of year as well?

SHANE: Yes, collaboration is a huge part in either new construction or remodeling. So I collaborate with architects, interior designers, manufacturers, suppliers, warehouses. Yes, lots of collaborating. I would have to say even before my company is professionally attained for the project, there is a lot of collaboration that is involved.

JOHN: What about industry trends? Do you see anything happening this year that is a little bit different from previous seasons?

SHANE: Well definitely the biggest trend, and I would have to say it’s not even a trend anymore, but it is green design, such as Dales “Green” Vin Modern Designs at Urban-Diversions. That is pretty much where everybody is going. I don’t even think you have to try to go there anymore. Basically everything you purchase now has some form of green element in it automatically. It’s just a matter of time before everything is green, but I would have to say that because of the state of the economy remodeling is becoming larger than new construction at this point. So another trend that seems to be going is that all homeowners are very interested in a potential resale value of their home. So I would have to say the interior décor, if you will, is becoming more timeless and classic than a huge expression of your individual style.

JOHN: Do you see that kind of reflection in the furniture business then?

SHANE: Yes, I do. Furniture is absolutely something different, because furniture is something that you can take with you, and you do not have to leave in your home. Other markets down south in multi-million dollar homes there is a big chance, probably 75%, that the person who is interested in purchasing your property will want to buy all of your interior finishes, but that’s really not what happens here in the Midwest. But, yes and no, you can really change a room, you can really change the way your whole interior of your home looks by furniture. So just like when you’re staging your home for resale, it’s very important that you have the right pieces in so you don’t send the wrong message.

JOHN: Now you are based in the Traverse City area. Can you tell me some of the cities and communities surrounding the Grand Traverse area that you do business in, or do you find that you do a lot of business down state?

SHANE: Currently, I have had one project in the metropolitan area of Detroit, but right now I’m working pretty much here in Grand Traverse County and all of the surrounding regions, Old Mission Peninsula, Peninsula Drive, Lake Leelanau, several homes on Lake Michigan. So, yeah, pretty much everywhere.

JOHN: Now do you find that you do more residential as opposed to commercial, or vise-versa?

SHANE: I would have to say they’re equal parts. Individuals or companies that are interested in my company doing commercial work for them, they’re looking to be outside of the box. I am not a designer that comes in and does systems furniture and gives you what the business next door has. I’m constantly trying to use new materials, push the envelope, new paint colors. I’m all about creating an environment that is unique and different that as well goes along with the company that I’m working for; their branding, their logo, their marketing. It’s all one package, and I call that development.

JOHN: Now do you find that your affiliation with Urban Diversions gives you that kind of out of the box thinking when it comes to furniture?

SHANE: Absolutely. Not only do they have great looking furniture, but the quality is great and when you buy furniture that is heirloom quality, you really need the engineering aspect of it. Your investing in quality pieces that last.

JOHN: Now we’ve been in the studio with Shane Inman of The Inman Company specializing in residential & commercial interior design. Shane, before we let you go, I’d like to get you’re website and contact information for our listening audience.

SHANE: Sure. My business is The Inman Company and you can view my full website at www.theinmancompany.com or you can call me directly at (231) 392-5548.

JOHN:  Shane, thank you for joining us on Urban Diversions Radio today.
SHANE: Thank you very much.

JOHN:  We’ve been in the studio with owner and president of The Inman Company, and his name is Shane Inman, and you’ve been listening to Urban Diversions Radio.  Thanks for tuning in.  Everyone have a great afternoon.

ANNOUNCER:  You have been listening to Urban Diversions Radio at www.urban-diversions.com.  Urban Diversions radio is powered by VTalk Radio and Vertio.net.  Talk radio for the 21st century.

My mother and I had the pleasure of visiting your store and meeting you for the first time.  The intentional sentiment and lovely lines of your design, and your thoughtful store was impressive and inviting.  It was like a museum–but one accessible.

Then we sat in your award-winning chair.  I have never in all my days been so enveloped by a chair.  I went somewhere else.  We are blessed with a gorgeous bed at home.  But I had never known a chair to be like that.  I mentioned in thanking you upon leaving–( you had mentioned an upcoming judging at another exhibition)–that I felt sorry for the competition.

I do, and with good reason.  I wish you luck, but am already certain that talent will outweigh any luck, and that you are surely blessed with it.

Our best wishes to you.  We hope to be back, for we’ve not forgotten that chair in the least.

The limited edition collection currently features two unique designs.

A Traditional styled lounge chair built from yellow pine barn beams and cypress reclaimed from a raised green house located in Grand Rapids, Michigan. This lounge chair features robust arms carved from a single beam, the lattice detail on the sides and back are mortised cypress.

The second chair is a unique soft Contemporary design constructed of sustainable walnut and cypress. The lounge chair seat and back are engineered from solid walnut planks and adjust with a simple movement. The artfully placed cypress spindles give the sense of viewing natural marsh grass.

The lounge chair cushions are constructed of eco-friendly soy foam and hypo-allergenic duck feather and down, affording the luxury of comfort and sustainability.

The chairs can be seen at the Retail location of Urban-Diversions in the historic train station in Traverse City, Michigan. or at www.urban-diversions.com

POSTED BY TRENDS UPDATE on 01/20/2009 Written by Ramya

An abode looks unfinished and unfilled sans attractive décor to complement it. Urban-Diversions’ designer Dale H. Campbell created two limited edition pieces of furniture that would not only awe your visitors, but also beautify your interiors, the sustainable way!

“Barn Beam” Chair: This traditionally styled lounge chair costing $3,250 is carved out of yellow pine barn beams and cypress domesticated from Grand Rapids, Michigan’s raised green house features stout armrests engraved from a solo beam. The woven lattice detail on the back and sides comprises mortised cypress.

Transitional ‘Marsh Grass” Chair: This exceptional chair is built out of sustainable walnut and cypress expenses $3,990. The adjustable backrest and the seat are carved out from solid walnut planks and the aesthetically positioned cypress spindles give it the contemporary look and offer the pleasure of viewing natural marsh grass.

Not only are the bodies of these chairs sustainable, but so are their soy foam, hypoallergenic duck feather and goose down cushions that give you the desired comfort.

Source: Urban-Diversions/The Alternative Consumer

Designer
Dale Campbell

Dale began his career in the Casual Furniture Industry 23 years ago following a career of Art and Antiques. He began with Grosfillex, taking several opportunities to visit France, studying their business philosophy and architecture. He continued his education in Casual Furniture by learning the retail side of the industry, co- managing a retail furniture store with a manager who later would become his wife, Teresa Campbell. In 1995 he joined Lloyd/Flanders as National Sales Manager, was promoted to Vice President of Sales and shortly there after was promoted to the position of Vice President of Sales and Marketing. Today,  he is President of Urban-Diversions and VinModern a company he co-founded with his wife Teresa. Since joining the industry Dale has had a keen interest in furniture design. When his former predecessor resigned Dale embarked on putting his interest to the test. Since that date six years ago he has designed twenty collections. Designing furniture is more recreation than task according to Dale,
“I enjoy sitting in the middle of our outdoor living room expressing myself through designs that I hope will improve the lifestyle of others”. “Being a recipient of  the Pinnacle award gives me a sense of pride and true accomplishment”. “For over 100 years people have made Lloyd/Flanders a part of their lives, knowing I was a part of continuing that tradition makes me even prouder”.

Product description
The Sun Chaser was designed for relaxing or sunning all day long without having to continuously turn the lounge to face the sun. All four ends of the double chaise have adjustable ratchets allowing two people to sit side by side or opposite each other and to independently adjust their own back and footrest. The arched ratchet is designed for maximum position adjustments.