Handcrafting and perfecting fine solid wood office furniture since 2000, Lavern Beechy and his wife Mary recently visited our headquarters to share their story. __ Back in 2000, Lavern was working for a trailer company when a friend invited him to take over his business that specialized in solid wood desks. The timing was just right as Lavern had been thinking about starting a woodworking business but wasn’t sure what to make. He and Mary set up shop… Meet the Woodworker: Elkhart Office Furniture Collection
This blog post was originally written on May 26, 2017. In March of 2021, Keystone Collections was acquired by Canal Dover. — “One of the first projects Dad ever did was build heavy duty quilting frames for my mom,” Marvin Martin, co-owner of Keystone Collections, says with a grin. “Mom jokingly said it looked like it was built to hold an elephant.” Seated in a chair on a late afternoon in one of the sprawling… Meet the Woodworker: Keystone Collections
Martin Yoder of our Middlebury Furniture Collection makes beautiful Amish furniture with the wants and needs of every customer in mind. His workshop, located in Middlebury, Indiana, holds a team of 15 who contribute to his solid wood masterpieces. Martin recently visited our DutchCrafters Furniture Store to explain some features of his solid wood furniture and to share a little history as well as what motivates him in the furniture business. Having recently doubled the size of… Meet the Woodworker: Middlebury Furniture Collection
In 2008 Herman Miller was building tables for the RV industry when two things happened that changed the course of his life: His wife Emma suffered kidney failure, and the RV industry began to struggle due to the economy. After Emma received a kidney transplant, the Millers sold their farm in Topeka, IN and moved to town. Herman had not been working as much to help take care of his wife, but once she was doing… Meet the Woodworker: Innovative Designs Collection
March 19 is National Quilting Day. It celebrates quilts and those who make them, which means it is an important day for us at DutchCrafters since the Amish are well known for their quilt making. I grew up with a quilt frame in the dining room, where my mother would applique pieces of the Tree of Life quilt pattern during brief moments of free time. Every year, the women at the Mennonite church we attended… Amish Quilt Making
Sometimes customers ask us how a company selling Amish furniture ended up in Sarasota, Florida. Though the furniture we sell is not made here (it’s made by Amish woodworkers in Pennsylvania, Indiana, and Ohio), Sarasota has a thriving Amish and Mennonite community. That’s one of the reasons why we’re here. During the winter months, the Sarasota enclave of Pinecraft busts at the seams with Amish taking breaks from austere winters up north. Tricycles (the mode… Meet the Amish Woodworkers: Albert Barkman
On January 6th, the Amish get an extra dose of Old Christmas cheer. So what is this Amish Holiday Tradition all about? Related Posts What Language do the Amish Speak? This post was originally published on July 25th, 2013. It was updated on January 30th, 2025. If you have spoken Read more Cherry Wood Furniture-The Lowdown You Put Cherries On Top For A Reason! Why cherry wood? There are so many wood choices, is there really… Amish Holiday Tradition: Epiphany or Old Christmas
In the Amish community, talking about “the Yoder brothers” is a bit like us English folk (as they refer to us) talking about “the Jones boys” or “the Smith sisters.” Related Posts What Language do the Amish Speak? This post was originally published on July 25th, 2013. It was updated on January 30th, 2025. If you have spoken Read more Cherry Wood Furniture-The Lowdown You Put Cherries On Top For A Reason! Why cherry wood?… Amish Furniture Makers: Meet the The Yoder Brothers
By Erik Wesner, author of Success Made Simple: An Inside Look at Why Amish Businesses Thrive, Where do the Amish come from? How did they find their way from Europe to America? We take a brief look at Amish history below, dating back to their roots in 16th-century Europe. Anabaptist Beginnings In the first decades of the 1500s, religious reformers in Europe began to challenge the Catholic church, balking at certain practices and mores of the… Everything You Want to Know About: Amish History
Erik Wesner, author of Success Made Simple: An Inside Look at Why Amish Businesses Thrive, guest blogs for us today, all about: Amish Businesses If you’ve traveled through an Amish community lately, you may have noticed any number of roadside stands, small shops and signs advertising food and other goods for sale. Amish entrepreneurs can be found in nearly every Amish community, and in some places have surpassed farmers in number. Today, Amish run thousands… Everything You Want to Know About: Amish Businesses
Happy Monday, everyone! Say hello again to our friend Erik Wesner, author of Success Made Simple: An Inside Look at Why Amish Businesses Thrive, who is here to tell us more about the lives of Amish children. *This post was edited on 05/29/2025. Take it away Erik! To be sure, the Amish have one blessing in abundance: children. To the Amish, children are the future of the church and, as one mother put it, “the only… Everything You Want to Know About: Amish Children
We get lots of questions regarding Amish transportation. Today, we dig into how the Amish travel and what their options are when choosing a means of conveyance. Since the Amish do not own cars, many people are left wondering how these folks get around. Some of you have seen Amish people riding in cars and might be wondering “Why can Amish people ride in cars but not drive them?“ That’s a great question! We have… Everything You Want to Know About: Amish Transportation
What happens at an Amish church service? It’s one of the most unique worship experiences in the U.S., shaped by centuries of tradition. In this article, guest writer Erik Wesner explains how the Amish worship, what they believe, and how their church communities are organized. “The Amish are widely recognized as a devout people. God—and by extension the church—is the center of Amish life. Not just something they do on Sunday, the church is very much… Everything You Want to Know About: Amish Church
Say hello to Erik Wesner, author of Success Made Simple: An Inside Look at Why Amish Businesses Thrive. He will join us again to explain a facet of Amish life that most English folk find curious: Amish Clothing. Welcome back & take it away, Erik! Plain Amish Clothing Male Clothing Female Clothing Clothing Differences Another good example is found in the three main Amish groups found in Kishacoquillas Valley in Pennsylvania, who have three different ways… Everything You Want to Know About: Amish Clothing
We’re welcoming Erik Wesner, author of Success Made Simple: An Inside Look at Why Amish Businesses Thrive, back to the blog to explain another aspect of Amish life that . . . confuses outsiders, to say the least. What, exactly, is the relationship between the Amish and technology? An Introduction to The Amish and Technology At first glance, one of the more puzzling aspects of Amish life is their relationship to technology. Some of the ways… Everything You Want to Know About: The Amish and Technology
