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VTalk Radio Spotlight
Today's Guest: Dale Campbell of Urban Diversions in Traverse City, Michigan
Today's Host: John Bentley

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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 president and designer, Dale Campbell of Urban Diversions.  Welcome to the program, Dale.

DALE:  Thank you.  I appreciate it.

JOHN:  Well you have a very unique business that you are doing here in the Traverse City, Michigan, area.  Why don't you give our listening audience kind of an overview of what you're up to.

DALE:  We decided to join all of our passions of designing and building furniture and mix it with very wonderful early antiques and upholstery giving people an opportunity to create a very unique environment in their home.

JOHN:  Ok.  So I understand that you're actually taking different products, quality wood and putting together furnishings that have the antique aspect to it, but also are of great quality.  Is that what's going on?

DALE:  Yes.  From an early age I found that there was a lot of value in solid wood antique furniture.  And today so many people are misled of what furniture is actually made of so we decided to actually mirror what was done in the early turn of the century and even pre-Civil War and go back to building furniture out of solid wood, but taking it a step further and being great stewards to the environment, we are actually using reclaimed wood with all my designs.  One of the exciting things is we are actually building it right here in Grand Rapids, Michigan, back in the U.S.A.

JOHN:  Great.  Now what do you mean by reclaimed wood, Dale?

DALE:  A lot of times barns will be torn down or old homes or old stores, and we have found just a rich treasure of wood ranging from solid yellow pine to walnut cherry even red wood from an old greenhouse in Grand Rapids that was torn down. 

JOHN:  Now when you, obviously you are scouting out these kinds of places that have this kind of wood, what are you looking for in the wood itself and how does that affect the designs that you're creating?

DALE:  That's a very good question.  What we typically do is we try to marry the wood to a design.  The first introductions that will come out in a couple weeks here are actually...the wood was kind of custom married to the actual design.  For example, one of the chairs has a very large scroll arm, and we decided to use solid barn beams to carve these arms out of.  So the grain of the wood is just fantastic and the durability of this furniture is just impervious to any kind of normal use, because it is solid wood.

JOHN:  What do you consider to be the Urban Diversions look in this furniture?

DALE:  I would say it's very diverse.  The first two chairs that I'm introducing, one is very contemporary, but has a very natural feel to it when you look at this chair you envision looking right through marsh grass, and it's a combination of walnut and cypress from an old greenhouse.   The other chair that I spoke of with the barn beam construction is actually a very traditional chair with lattice sides and back. 

JOHN:  Let's talk a little bit about your background.  Now I understand that you're an award winning designer.  Tell us about some of the awards that you have accumulated over the years.

DALE:  Well I've been very fortunate.  I started designing furniture about 5 years ago which was greatly influenced by the education I've had in antiques and traveling around the world.  I studied in Europe and France for a couple weeks seven different years just enjoying the architecture and getting ideas from design and things that had been tried and true forever.  When I started designing furniture, I mean, literally I would sit in my back yard at my Tiki Bar and just look around me and think about all the past visual experiences I've had and started drawing furniture.  I had had a previous art background, but never in furniture.  So I literally took the experience I've had in art and antiques and transformed it into furniture, and my very first year of designing furniture, I won the design excellence award from the CFMA and the very next year I won the Adex Platinum Award and the most exciting thing was the following year I won the Pinnacle Award which is the highest honor in furniture design.

JOHN:  Wonderful.  And you're bringing all of this wonderful expertise into your store.  Now you have a location here in the Traverse City, Michigan, area.  Correct?

DALE:  Yeah.  It's an absolute wonderful spot.  It's the old train station right on Boardman Lake and it's just amazing.  We went in...the building needed a lot of work, but that's what we felt was very exciting, because just like we're using reclaimed wood for our furniture, we remodeled this building back to it's original luster exposing all of the old brick and put hand scraped floors in.  It just sets the furniture off so nicely, and when we stand in the store, we look over Boardman Lake and it's just absolutely beautiful.

JOHN:  Now this is obviously your first retail outlet.  Do you plan on having expansion as your business increases?

DALE:  Yes.  We plan on having three to four stores encompassing around the United States.  We have found that even though, you know, the American public is much more savvy on purchasing large items on the internet.  We want people to know that there is a place to go and actually touch and visually experience everything we are doing.

JOHN:  We are in the studio with Dale Campbell of Urban Diversions.  He is the president and designer, and you're listening to Urban Diversions Radio.  We'll be right back after these important messages.

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 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 speaking with the president and designer of Urban Diversions, Dale Campbell.  Urban Diversions Fine Furnishings, Antiques and Architectural Elements.  Dale, welcome back to the program.

DALE:  Thank you, John.

JOHN:  Now you have one of a kind pieces and very unique furniture.  Tell us a little bit about...maybe take a piece and describe a piece that you have in your design.

DALE:  Well I think one of the most unique pieces we have is we purchase the original back bar out of the Frankenmuth Tavern and it was in a little rough condition.  Parts we missing so we decided to rebuild it and customize it so it is just a wonderful solid yellow pine cabinet with stained glass windows and where the columns were missing to hold the upper cabinet in place, we replaced that with solid pine carvings from 1813 which came from the First Catholic Diocese and the surround with the mirror we milled down old barn wood so the pine would have the same patina as the rest of the piece.  It's truly one of a kind.

JOHN:  And that's what you focus on...one of a kind pieces that people can actually bring into their home and have a unique piece that nobody else is ever going to have.  Isn't that true?

DALE:  Exactly.  What we're doing is we're finding pieces or building furniture that people can have as a focal point in their home.  People can buy one or they can actually decorate their own home in these unique pieces and it just gives a very warm and mature environment and it makes their home stand out.  It's unique, you know, they don't go to their neighbors and find the same furnishings.

JOHN:  That's for sure.  I've seen some of Dale's furnishings and it's very unique and very beautiful stuff.  Now you had mentioned "we".  You have a business partner in Urban Diversions.  Tell us  a little bit about your partners.

DALE:  My partner in this business is also my partners, my wife.  It's Teresa Campbell, and she brings so much to this business.  She always keeps me in check when I do designs, she tells me her honest opinion of whether or not she thinks they'll appeal to the masses or whether or not I'm kind of dreaming.  She has also been with me for many years doing all the PR for the past positions that I've had, and she has become just an incredible asset of helping make people aware of what we're doing.

JOHN:  Now you also have another gentleman that's involved in the business?

DALE:  Yeah.  Bill Milne from Milne Studios in Manhattan.  We became friends back 12 years ago and when Teresa and I decided to get out of the corporate world and chase this passion and dream that we have, Bill's first comment was I want to be involved.  Bill is a world renowned photographer that we have made in charge of all visuals and he's just doing an incredible job of showing people who we are and the quality that we stand for.

JOHN:  Now the products that you are creating are not only an investment of quality furniture, it's green consciousness.  You're also trying to get as much as you can made here in the U.S.  Is that true?

DALE:  That is true.  I used to travel back and forth to China, because the furniture that I've done to date has all been woven pieces, and when I used to travel back and forth to China, the world became smaller and smaller.  I kept running into people I know from other manufacturing plants.  And it just occurred to me one day that there are just too many people over in China doing business.  So we decided we were going to bring that business back home to the U.S.A., and we met up with a manufacturer that allows us the freedom to make only five of one piece.  For example, an Adirondack Chair I designed, we were going to make that out of the rain gutters from an old greenhouse.  The redwood is two inches thick just absolutely beautiful wood that is no longer obtainable, because it's protected, there will only be ten of these Adirondack Chairs so they are indeed going to be very special and very rare.

JOHN:  Now what are some of the other items that you're going to be designing and having in your retail outlet here in Traverse City, Michigan?

DALE:  Well we're starting out with items and the most popular item is chairs.  We are starting out with one that is a contemporary chair, but yet is very soft and natural feeling, because when you look at the chair it's like looking through marsh grass.  Another chair that I'm designing is very traditional with lattice sides and back all made out of Cypress from an old greenhouse and barn beams.  We also have a wonderful company in the Carolinas that is doing all of our custom upholstery and that ranges from soft contemporary to deco to very traditional and all of their furniture is also made out of hardwood in the U.S. and all the materials that go into the furniture are made in the U.S.  So we're very proud of that that, you know, we're on the forefront of bringing furniture back to the United States, and I really believe that people will understand that it's very generous in value because it's like the old saying, "You can't complain about the farmers with your mouth full".  You also have to support the jobs coming back to America, and yes, it may be a little more expensive, but when you're very green conscious and you want to be good stewards, you have to understand that that all comes at a price.

JOHN:  Well Dale we have come to the end of the program, but before I let you go, why don't you share your website address and contact information for our listening audience.

DALE:  Thank you.  The actual location of the store is 642 Railroad Place and the website is www.urban-diversions.com or .net.

JOHN:  Do you have a phone number?
DALE:  I certainly do.  The number is (231) 946-6600.

JOHN:  Well we have been in the studio with the president and designer of Urban Diversions, Dale Campbell.  I'm your host, John Bentley.  Thanks for listening to Urban Diversions Radio.

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.

 



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