Artisan Profile

BY DEBORAH PADDISON

>>> CMS Commercial Furniture, Mesa, Arizona

When you meet Jeannie Flynn, you get the impression that she is not the type who sits down very often. So it's a bit ironic that her company, CMS Commercial Furniture in Mesa, Arizona, specializes in cutting-edge chaises, sofas, chairs, ottomans and other outdoor furnishings that beckon you to sit and relax.

In just six years, Flynn has built her company into a leading provider of modern outdoor furniture in the West. CMS' elegant, contemporary pieces grace some of the hottest and hippest boutique hotels, restaurants and residential communities.

But her early ambitions couldn't have been further from the design industry. An Arizona native, Flynn grew up in Goodyear, west of Phoenix. Intending to become a pilot, she took a course in aeronautics. Then she met her first husband, who had an art studio. Helping with his pottery and sculpture awakened a latent interest in art, design and architecture.

After the marriage ended, Flynn was a single mother who needed to support twin boys, Chris and Mike. She took a job with Paddock Pools selling patio furniture. That lasted a year ("I'm not a retail person," she says with a smile), but it did lead to an important contact: Bill Heacox, who was a rep for Tropitone and later manager of the Inside/Out to-the-trade showroom at the Arizona Design Center. Eventually Heacox hired Flynn to work for the showroom in outside sales.

In 1994 she started her own firm, J. Flynn Contract Sales, and became a manufacturer's rep. "That's where I learned the ropes of calling on hotels and apartment complexes—the commercial end of it," she says. In 1996 she designed her own piece of outdoor furniture, a sunbed with a canopy, which she named Cabane De Soleil. "It took the Furniture, Fixtures and Equipment award at the International Hotel/Motel & Restaurant Show in New York, which was a shock," she says. "Here I was this woman from Goodyear, Arizona, which was barely even a spot on the map, coming to the Big Apple and making good."

Jeannie Flynn's award-winning Cabane De Soleil sunbed with folding canopy.

The Hyatt Regency Scottsdale Resort at Gainey Ranch was one of the first sites to install the Cabane De Soleil pieces. Unbeknownst to Flynn, a young man named Mario Lopez was working there at the time, and the new sunbed had not escaped his notice. In fact, it inspired the budding designer to create some outdoor furniture pieces of his own.

While at a furniture factory a few years later, Flynn noticed they were fabricating a modular sofa/chaise combination. She fell in love with it and was determined to meet the designer. His name: Mario Lopez. "From that one piece I could see that he had a real eye for design," Flynn says of Lopez, who would soon became a valued collaborator.

Jeannie Flynn and Mario Lopez at the Hotel Valley Ho.

In 2001, married for the second time, Flynn gave birth twice: first to her daughter, Stormy, and a few months later to CMS Commercial Furniture (named for Chris, Mike and Stormy). Flynn designs many of the company's pieces herself, working with Mario Lopez Design, California designer Chris Panichella and other designers who create signature, one-of-a-kind pieces for CMS. Another collaborator, Richard Straughter, is a Phoenix-area furniture manufacturer and designer who designed CMS' Retro Collection, which will debut this fall. In addition, Flynn remains a rep for other outdoor furniture lines, including Tuuci and Kingsley-Bate.

In 2005 Flynn and Lopez exhibited at the Hospitality Design Expo in Las Vegas, showing Lopez' modular "Scottsdale" sofa and chaise line, Flynn's Neo Contour Double Chaise and some pieces by another designer. The Neo Contour became Flynn's second award-winning piece, and Lopez' product was very well received. They decided that Flynn would help Lopez sell his line, but the name "Scottsdale" had to go-not exotic enough. She renamed it "MOF," for "modern outdoor furniture."

Built for two, the award-winning Neo Contour Double Chaise, designed by Jeannie Flynn, features a special woven vinyl that conforms to the body. Photography by Andreas Seibold.

Working with Cole Martinez Curtis, the California interior design firm that did the retro look of the redesigned Hotel Valley Ho, Flynn designed "Rikki" chairs and installed Lopez' sofas and chaises at the hotel's Oh Pool Bar & Cabanas to create inviting and intimate conversation areas. Straughter's circular OH ottomans provide the exclamation point. "We're adding more and more pieces to our OH Collection and hope to have some new ones out this spring," Flynn says.

Designed by Jeannie Flynn for Cole Martinez Curtis, the sleek "Rikki" chair adds panache to the pool at the Hotel Valley Ho.

One of the company's recent successes was edging out Tropitone for a contract to provide patio seating for the guest rooms at the Arizona Biltmore Resort. Flynn had seen Panichella's "Rio" sling chair and thought it would be perfect for this project.

"We needed something very 'now,' so I called him and asked him to redesign it slightly" to complement the Frank Lloyd Wright–inspired property, Flynn says. They won the contract; about 1,500 of the chairs were delivered at the end of February. "It was a great honor to work on that project and be involved with the Arizona Biltmore," she says.

CMS recently installed the "Rio" chair, by California designer Chris Panichella, at the Arizona Biltmore Resort; it also can be found at the Trillium residential development in north Phoenix.

Hip outdoor furniture is not limited to high-end hotels and resorts, however; luxury apartment communities are getting into the act as well. For example, the new Grigio residential development on Arizona's Tempe Town Lake sports CMS furniture on its rooftop deck, and the Trillium property in the Deer Valley area of Phoenix also has installed CMS' pieces.

Last year was the firm's best ever. Flynn attributes the success to many things, including the designers she works with and the ability to stay cutting edge in the extremely competitive hospitality market.

"We don't just keep on top of the latest colors, fabrics and styles for outdoor living," she says, "we try to stay two steps ahead. I'm always looking for new things." She welcomes ideas for new pieces from designers; if a piece is fabricated and added to the company's offerings, she will compensate the designer and always give full credit.

CMS' emphasis on custom work and high level of customer service set it apart, Flynn notes. "We specialize in custom-designed outdoor furniture built to your specifications. We work with excellent fabricators who can build just about anything. Plus, our lead times are short and our prices are competitive," she adds.

To reach this level of success in such a short time is very rewarding, Flynn says, but she never forgets the importance of family and taking time to savor life along the way. Single again, she enjoys spending time with daughter Stormy and taking cross-country trips with her boyfriend, Mark, on his Harley. "Being with my family inspires my creativity," Flynn says.

Living what she calls her "dream life," Flynn hopes to inspire other single mothers to achieve success in their business and personal lives as well. "Life has so much to offer-you just have to know how to keep your heart and mind open to it."

CMS Commercial Furniture, Mesa, AZ; (480) 892-3212, (877) 644-4267 or www.cmsfurniture.com.

A study in urban chic, the modular "Scottsdale," renamed "MOF" (Modern Outdoor Furniture) sofa and chaise by Mario Lopez is featured at the Oh Pool Bar & Cabanas at the Hotel Valley Ho in Scottsdale, with CMS' specially designed OH circular ottomans by Richard Straughter. Photography by David Tevis, Tevis Photographic.