After spending several years at a furniture dealership, The Mell Group was formed in November, 1993 by Mell Gage Smith with the focus of providing libraries with innovative furniture that fit their functional and budgetary needs. On December 1, 2016 TMG changed hands and Chris Pizzuto acquired the group bringing with him an additional 13 years of creating solutions for libraries (public, k-12 and higher education) keeping them at the cutting edge and providing for the changing needs of the patrons of today. After the disaster of Katrina, he worked hand in hand with library directors, branch managers, architects, interior designers and general contractors from the damage estimation stage through the planning and the installation process. The goal was not only replace what had been broken, but to also make these spaces the epitome of the information distribution points that the libraries of today have become. In some cases the finished products resulted in a new wave of interest from the children of the area, giving them additional reasons to visit their local libraries where they would be immersed in spaces where the wonderland of stories came to life in a Disney quality reality.
The focus of The Mell Group is simple. We listen to our customers’ functional, aesthetic and budgetary needs and then bring them solutions that address all those needs. We are fortunate to not represent one manufacturer, but hundreds of them. This strategic ability allows us to pick the most appropriate items from all our partners’ offerings and then present them in a cohesive package that fits our client’s needs. We plan our clients’ projects from the ground up using the best that technology has to offer in the form of AutoCad spaceplans, 3D renderings and good old fashioned product knowledge. “We are finished only after all our customers needs have been addressed and when everything is in place, perfectly as planned.”