subscribe!Michael Wollaeger writes about his visit to Sub-Zero/Wolf on June 25-27, 2008
If you’ve never seen how a high-end refrigerator is made, the Sub-Zero/Wolf plant outside Madison, Wisconsin, is the place to go. I rendezvoused there recently with Publisher Jennifer Matthews and Regional Manager Kate Sollitt to meet with Michele Bedard, Director of Marketing, and Christopher Parr, Consumer Marketing Manager, to see what was new at Sub-Zero/Wolf. What struck us first was the new Sub-Zero/Wolf headquarters themselves. The structure is designed to be extremely energy-efficient and also very open, contemporary and dramatic inside. After bringing each other up to date with our respective companies over coffee, Chris Parr walked us through a display of the company’s history (or companies’ histories, actually, since Sub-Zero and Wolf only joined forces in 2001). It was fascinating to see photos of the early Sub-Zero models created by company founder Westye F. Bakke (they still have a very cool retro-chic look!) and the advertising campaigns from the 1940s through today. Before being acquired by Sub-Zero, Wolf was a Southern California company that made industrial ovens for restaurants and other commercial concerns. It’s interesting to trace how these small, entrepreneurial businesses survived, thrived and have now become international luxury brands–chic, must-have products for the modern kitchen.
Chris then took us on a tour through the actual manufacturing plant. Sub-Zero has ultra-modern assembly-line equipment, of course, and remarkable quality-control testing at every stage of the production process. There’s even a room that fills up with helium so that any microscopic leaks in a refrigerator can more easily be detected (I may have garbled the technical facts about that, but trust me, it’s impressive!). There’s also a lot of pride evident on the floor in that plant, and for good reason. When you see what actually goes into producing each refrigerator unit, you gain a much better perspective on the Sub-Zero/Wolf brand.
I’m curious about these things for several reasons, professional and personal. My great-grandfather Franz Wollaeger had a furniture company in Milwaukee, the Wollaeger Manufacturing Company, from the 1870s until 1918, when it vanished into history. And my great-great-grandfather John Pritzlaff started a large hardware company in Milwaukee in 1850, which eventually disappeared in the 1950s. Both companies were fairly large and successful in their day, but it takes real visionary leadership to take any company to a Sub-Zero/Wolf level of success.
We said goodbye to Michele and Chris (they had to get back to their real work!) and took the opportunity to drive into Madison for lunch. Jennifer was excited to be back in Madison, as she spent part of her early youth there when her father was a professor of literature at the University of Wisconsin. My father graduated from UW-Madison, and my son, Ryan, is just entering his junior year there, so the town has a special place in my heart as well. We parked near the student union on campus and then strolled down State Street and had lunch at Joe’s. After lunch, Jennifer and Kate were heading back down to Chicago (Kate and her family are moving there from Jackson Hole) and the airport, and I was going to visit my sister Anne’s family in nearby Oconomowoc (love those Wisconsin town names!) before heading back to Los Angeles the next morning. But it was nice to be able to enjoy a summer afternoon in a place that had such deep ties for us all.
Michael Wollaeger writes about La Fete de la Musique, June 18th, at the Exquisite Surfaces showroom in Los Angeles
On a warm evening in Los Angeles, most of the Los Angeles design community turned out for La Fete de la Musique, a summer party Western Interiors & Design hosted at the new Exquisite Surfaces showroom on Robertson Boulevard. The new space, showcasing an amazing selection of the finest stone, wood and tile from around the world, is incredible, located in a beautiful brick building that had been nearly derelict for years before Exquisite Surfaces acquired it and did a complete renovation. I arrived at 6:00pm sharp, and was able to sip some wine with owner Paula Nataf , her sons Franck and Alexis Nataf, and marketing czar Gavin Carey before the inevitable crush. Paula started the business in 1997, and she’s steadily built Exquisite Surfaces into an internationally known design resource. Impressive!
There were busy bars and lively musical groups both on the first floor and up on the fabulous rooftop deck, and wonderful hors d’oeuvres were being passed continuously. As the sun lowered and the heat outside subsided, I made my way up to the roof deck and into one of those glowing Los Angeles evenings that make living here so alluring. Who was there? The trim and fashionable Luis Ortega; the debonair Tim Clarke; the impeccable Douglas Marsceill; the glamorous Jaime Rummerfield and Ron Woodson; the talented Robert Zamora; the cinematic Tom Boland (he designed the wildly popular interiors for Something’s Gotta Give and Holiday); the peripatetic Barclay Butera; the architectural Jim House; the lighting impresario Kevin Kolanowski; the ethereal Katerina Tana; the aesthetic Richard Johnson; the San Franciscan Michael Booth; the earthy Art Luna; the sparkling James Magni with his lovely associate Penelope Francis; the Design Mart’s Jeff Sampson; the innovative Steven Bryer; the influential Nancy Joseph; the charming Brendan Butera; the accomplished Mark Cutler; the stylish Bryan van Thun; the inventive Hanson Hsu; the delightful Tina Wakino; the Western Interiors editorial wizards Laura Mauk, Caren Kurlander and Brittany Kaplan; our own artistic Carly Hebert and advertising-savvy Debra House; and many more (there were at least 200!) too glamorous to mention.
Exquisite Surfaces is a new partner of Western Interiors, and La Fete de la Musique was a wonderful way to kick off our relationship. Paula, Franck, Alexis and Gavin put so much creative energy into the evening that it was assured of being a resounding success. And it was gratifying to have such a strong turnout from our friends in the design community as well.
To see pictures from the Exquisite Surface party go to http://www.westerninteriors.com/events/index.htm