Amish Woodworking

Amish storage shed shop

We check in with Tom again today, with some photos from a shop owned by Noah, a New York Amishman.  Noah’s business is a classic example of an Amish-English partnership.  Most of his buildings are sold to an English dealer who picks them up and delivers them to customers. The shed and storage building sector is one with many Amish manufacturers.  You’ll often see rows…

Inside an Amish Toy Shop (Conewango Valley, NY)

Inside an Amish Toy Shop (Conewango Valley, NY)

Raber Family Toy Shop 11363 Pope Rd Randolph, NY 14772-9681 Have a look inside an Amish toy shop courtesy of Tom. This store is located in New York’s Conewango Valley, and as you can see below features a wide-array of Amish-made wooden toys.     I enjoy seeing the creativity that goes into some of these products. It makes me wonder what is the story…

Outdoor Amish Furniture

Outdoor Amish Furniture

Dusted off your lawn loungers yet?  Outdoor rockers, tables, and chairs are a big part of the Amish furniture repertoire.  Amish outdoor furniture shops have been gearing up across the land for sun-hungry customers ready to plop down some cash–and then plop down on the lawn for some much-needed rays. Today Tom shares photos of Amish lawn furniture pieces from Raymond’s shop in the Conewango…

A Look Inside An Amish Furniture Shop

A Look Inside An Amish Furniture Shop

This summer in Ashland County, Ohio, enticed by a sign advertising “Cashew Crunch Candy”, I paid a visit to a random Amish farm.  While, sadly, the candy seller was unavailable, the resident farmer and I ended up having a nice chat. The fellow had just moved on to his new property; the previous owner had left for an Amish settlement in New York.  Ashland County…

Do you own Amish furniture?

There are many hundreds if not thousands of Amish furniture craftsmen across America. They make bedroom sets, cabinets, children’s pieces, patio furniture, and on and on. I’ve been lucky to spend a good bit of time in and around their shops. This past trip, I visited everything from a one-man operation running on belt and pulley power, to a 180-man factory driven by automated CNC…

How are Amish dealing with the recession?

Technically, I believe we are not in a recession anymore (though try telling that to any of the 10%+ unemployed, or those that have simply given up looking for a job and are no longer counted in that statistic;  on that count it looks like the new buzzword to describe the current situation is “human recession”), but I just read a story about how Amish businesses…

The Amish Miracle Heater

Temperatures are dropping and that can mean only one thing: the return of the “Amish Miracle Heater”.  The device got worked-over pretty well in the press last season, but regardless (or perhaps in part due to all the attention), the sales campaign of the Canton, Ohio-based Heat Surge company was by all accounts wildly successful.  Which means the latest round of ads hawking the heater,…

The Heat Surge Amish Heater

Popped open a copy of USA Today in between flights yesterday, and what should I find but another full-page ad for the ‘Amish miracle heater’. I was hoping to avoid the heater issue as it’s been covered enough elsewhere, but looks like there is a lot of fresh reporting just out.  Good Amish heater analysis at consumeraffairs.com as well as a Philly Fox News report…

Amish Furniture Shop: Noise complaints

Those Amish are too darn loud. So say the neighbors. It seems the ‘peaceful people’ in one PA community are getting their share of noise complaints. No public power means the Amish have to find other ways to juice their woodworking equipment. The idyllic calm that many assume defines life in Amish America, is, in reality, often more like a deafening roar. If you’ve ever…