The Amish Furniture Podcast

What does Amish furniture cost? Is the value worth the price? With the high price tag on Amish furniture, we understand why you'd have these questions about Amish made furniture. And in the final episode of Season 1 of the Amish Furniture Podcast, brought to you by https://www.dutchcrafters.com/, we address them with the help of some new and old friends. 

In this episode, Beth and Milca welcome back Shannon and Jim to help answer this question. Then they're joined by Kari-Jo, Marina, and Debra, who all contribute their thoughts and stories on the value of Amish furniture. 

The value of Amish furniture goes beyond the initial price; when you order furniture you can feel good about that's customizable, heirloom-quality, and a joy to own, that's a purchase that's worth the price. So listen now to our stories from wood shops, homes, and stores from Beth, Milca, and their guests. 

Watch DutchCrafters CEO Jim Miller cut solid wood and particle board furniture in half with a chainsaw: https://www.dutchcrafters.com/video/video/particle-board-vs-solid-wood-furniture/ 

And read more in these posts from the Timber to Table blog: 

And please email us your questions or comments at [email protected]. Thanks for listening!

In a first for our podcast, we're joined today by an Amish woodworker: Joe Schwartz. Schwartz lives in Indiana where he owns and manages his small furniture woodshop with the help of his wife Ruby, three sons, and two daughters. His shop makes all the living room furniture in the Star Mill Furniture Collection on DutchCrafters: https://www.dutchcrafters.com/collection/1078/Star-Mill-Furniture-Collection 

On the podcast, Joe tells us the story of how he got started in woodworking. Then, he discusses his kids' roles in the business and the shop's success. We also get into his favorite furniture designs, what he enjoys about his work, and what makes his furniture unique in the world of Amish made furniture. 

Shop Joe's furniture and much more at https://www.dutchcrafters.com

Find the home of DutchCrafters podcasts at https://www.dutchcrafters.com/content/podcast/ and reach out to us at [email protected]. Hope to hear from you soon!

Where do Amish woodworkers go to sell their furniture? Believe it or not, just like other industries, a trade show! This week on The Amish Furniture Podcast, we'll hear all about the shows from two people who have attended these Amish furniture shows: Milca and Natalie.

Milca and Natalie fill you in on all the juicy details: the furniture, the conversation, and, of course, the tasty treats. Listen now for Natalie and Milca's favorite furniture at the shows and behind-the-scenes stories from their trips. We'll take you through what it's like to visit an Amish furniture market.

See pictures and read more from Milca's trip on the blog Inspiration from the NIWA Expo: https://www.dutchcrafters.com/blog/inspiration-from-northern-indiana-woodcrafters-association-expo/

Furniture Collections mentioned in this episode include:

Bontrager Dining Collection: https://www.dutchcrafters.com/collection/901/Bontrager-Dining-Collection and specifically their Normandy Pedestal Table: https://www.dutchcrafters.com/Amish-Normandy-Pedestal-Dining-Table/p/57422

American Gun Cabinet Collection: https://www.dutchcrafters.com/collection/881/American-Gun-Cabinet-Collection

Berlin Office Collection: https://www.dutchcrafters.com/collection/836/amish-office-furniture-berlin

What makes Amish Businesses so successful? Why have Amish communities left farming for other businesses? And how did Amish entrepreneurs get started in woodworking? For help answering these questions, we turned to Dr. Steven Nolt of the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania.

The Amish have a long history of entrepreneurial pursuits, but it wasn't until the 1980s that they started to leave farming behind and focus on alternative businesses. But now the failure rate of Amish businesses in their first 5 years is just 10% compared to 50% among small business startups nationally! Listen to the full episode to understand what makes Amish businesses so successful.

Some of the books Nolt has written include “A History of the Amish,” which is in its third edition, and “The Amish: A Concise Introduction.” He notably co-authored “Amish Grace: How Forgiveness Transcended Tragedy” about the Amish schoolhouse shooting in the village of Nickel Mines in Lancaster County. A few other co-authorships include the books, “Amish Micro-Enterprises: Models for Rural Development,” “Amish Enterprise: From Plows to Profits,” and a paper titled “Amish Enterprise: The Collective Power of Ethnic Entrepreneurship” that appeared in the Global Business and Economics Review.

More Resources:

Learn more about the American Amish population at http://groups.etown.edu/amishstudies/

Dr. Nolt also recommends the publication Plain Communities Business Exchange for a glimpse at the Amish business world. Subscribe or learn more at https://www.plaincommunities.com/

For more reading on the topic, check out Erik Wesner's book Success Made Simple: An Inside Look at Why Amish Businesses Thrive: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/success-made-simple-erik-wesner/1100298464

Or the paper Amish enterprise: the collective power of ethnic entrepreneurship, by Donald Kraybill, Steven Nolt, and Erik Wesner in 2010: https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/5f83/f08e613d01d64378e142537a58e77e0e8f41.pdf

This podcast is brought to you by DutchCrafters: https://www.dutchcrafters.com/

Buying Amish furniture is very different from buying furniture in a big box store. There’s a lot more involved in the building of the furniture, and customers are offered a lot more options than what you’d find in store. Exactly how does it work? What goes into the building of Amish furniture that makes it so special? That’s what we’re covering on today’s episode:  How Amish Furniture is Made.

When you've decided on your options and finally place your order, that's when the Building Process begins! Typically when you buy Amish furniture online it not pre-fabricated and sitting in a warehouse waiting for your order. It’s made when you order and that’s why you will see countless numbers of options to choose from for one piece of furniture. Check out the Amish Ziglar Pedestal Dining Table for just one example: https://www.dutchcrafters.com/Amish-Ziglar-Dining-Table/p/53226.

Once you've placed your order, it's in the woodworkers' hands as they process your order, begin crafting your furniture pieces, assemble the furniture, finish it, and hand it off for delivery! It can feel like a long wait, but considering all that goes into a new piece of custom, solid wood furniture, it's impressive that they get it done as quickly as they do!

Want to learn more?

You heard about Windsor chair construction in this episode. Learn much more in The Windsor Chair blog series, starting with part 1: https://www.dutchcrafters.com/blog/windsor-chair-series-types-features/

See some of this process in Beth's blog posts, My First Walk Through an Amish Woodshop: https://www.dutchcrafters.com/blog/walk-through-an-amish-woodshop/ and Highlights from Ohio Amish Country: https://www.dutchcrafters.com/blog/highlights-ohio-amish-country/

And, watch a woodshop tour video in The Millcraft Tour: https://www.dutchcrafters.com/video/video/inside-millcraft-tour-an-amish-furniture-shop/

The Amish Furniture Podcast is back! After a short holiday break, Beth and Milca return to bring you episode 5: Do Amish Women Work in Furniture Woodshops?

There's a lot of interest in this question, and we're happy to tackle it in Episode 5. Though we can't make generalizations about every family and community, in this episode Beth and Milca discuss the roles we've seen women play in the Amish Furniture world. You may be surprised by some of the roles women play in Amish woodshops, ranging from office work to sanding table legs to running the whole operation! Listen now and subscribe to catch all our upcoming weekly episodes!

To see pictures from Beth's trip to Amish woodshops, read our blog, Where the Women Are in Amish Woodshops: https://www.dutchcrafters.com/blog/women-in-amish-woodshops/

Milca's guest blog post on Amish America is also loaded with photos, at Amish Women in Furniture Making: https://amishamerica.com/amish-women-furniture-making/

If you enjoyed this podcast topic, Erik Wesner's blog post, 5 Jobs Done by Amish Women on Amish America may also be interesting to you: https://amishamerica.com/5-jobs-amish-women-do/

Hello, Amish furniture fans! This is Beth Rice, co-host of the Amish Furniture Podcast. We’ve enjoyed sharing all things Amish furniture with you. We’re taking a break right now to work on new episodes and enjoy the holidays, but we won’t make you wait long. In the meantime, here’s a mini-episode about how Amish furniture is finished. We’ll be back in the New Year with new full-length episodes. Thank you for listening and happy holidays!

It's been said that the Finish "makes or breaks" a furniture design. And it's often true! This is an episode for anyone curious about what goes into finishing solid wood furniture. We really stress the importance of working with stain samples to pick your finish color, so if you want to work with DutchCrafters, pick your favorite wood type and order samples at https://www.dutchcrafters.com/Sample-Kits/cat/780

Want to learn more about paints, stains, distressing, and varnish? Find more on our blog: 

Facts About Finishing https://www.dutchcrafters.com/blog/protection-to-solid-wood-furniture-facts-about-finishing/

What is Catalyzed Conversion Varnish? https://www.dutchcrafters.com/blog/what-is-catalyzed-conversion-varnish/ 

Wood Furniture Distressed Finishes https://www.dutchcrafters.com/blog/wood-furniture-distressed-finishes/

Ever wondered how Amish Furniture came to be sold online? Well, in Episode 4 of the Amish furniture podcast, we're here to bring that story. Beth and Milca invite on Jim Miller, one of the pioneers in bringing Amish furniture to the internet. Jim is CEO of DutchCrafters, the largest Amish furniture store online, at dutchcrafters.com. 

The conversation begins with the early days, driving through Pennsylvania to meet woodworkers in 2003. But it carries through the twists and turns of the ensuing 17 years and right up to today, as Jim reveals what it's like behind the scenes as he continues to lead the company through the COVID-19 pandemic. 

If you'd like to read the blog Beth mentioned at 7:30 in the episode, you can find it here: 5 Ways to Use Wagons, Wheelbarrows, and Windmills for Outdoor Decor. The first Amish products Jim and Linse sold online were Amish Made Lighthouses for outdoor decor, still available today.

Ever wondered whether you're asking the right questions? Whether you're being taken advantage of by a manipulative salesperson? With Amish furniture, you no longer have to stay in the dark because we're giving you the insider perspective on shopping for Amish furniture. In Episode 3 of The Amish Furniture Podcast, Milca and Beth welcome Shannon to the show. Shannon is a Furniture Specialist at DutchCrafters, where she helps shoppers custom order Amish Furniture every day. 

These Insider Tips include recommendations on ordering stain samples, how to approach customizing, and the value of doing your own research. A simple Google search might help with your decisions, but DutchCrafters also provides over 400 blog posts at https://www.dutchcrafters.com/blog/ and nearly 200 videos at https://www.dutchcrafters.com/video/ to help you find what you're looking for. Prefer to read your Insider Tips rather than listen to them? Read more here: https://www.dutchcrafters.com/blog/insider-tips-for-buying-amish-furniture-from-dutchcrafters-furniture-specialists/

The Build Time video Milca mentioned at 14:45 can be found here: https://www.dutchcrafters.com/video/video/dutchcrafters-amish-furniture-build-time-infographic-animation/

At 20:15, Beth discussed the importance of measuring your home for your furniture and highlighted DutchCrafters' Furniture Delivery Tips & Tricks video: https://www.dutchcrafters.com/video/video/furniture-delivery-tips-tricks/ 

You can learn more related to Beth's tip about customizing at https://www.dutchcrafters.com/blog/custom-furniture-what-does-that-mean/ 

In Episode 2 of the Amish Furniture podcast, Milca and Beth invite DutchCrafters employees into the podcast to tell stories from their experiences with Amish woodworkers. From a 4-course breakfast to a buggy ride through the ice cream drive-thru, here are 6 funny, surprising, and sweet stories from Amish country that might teach you a thing or two along the way. 

Visit https://amishamerica.com/ for "a wealth of information about the Amish," as Beth describes it in this podcast. Or, for more details about Amish furniture specifically, take a look at the Timber to Table blog: https://www.dutchcrafters.com/blog. 

Beth and Milca also quoted from the blog articles "Traveling Amish Country" & "Woodworking and Whoopie Pies" in this episode. Read them here: https://www.dutchcrafters.com/blog/traveling-amish-country-scenes-behind-the-solid-furniture/ and https://www.dutchcrafters.com/blog/highlights-ohio-amish-country/