Meet the Woodworker: Elkhart Office Furniture Collection
Handcrafting and perfecting fine solid wood office furniture since 2000, Lavern Beechy and his wife Mary recently visited our headquarters to share their story.
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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 in an old hog barn in Indiana and the Elkhart Office Furniture Collection was born.
At their very first expo, Lavern and Mary received seven orders. After starting with just a shaker leg desk and mission filing cabinet they have created an exceptional collection of solid wood desks and executive office furniture by focusing on one piece at a time. They quickly outgrew the hog barn and moved into an old chicken barn which served them until their growth required an even larger space.
The Amish Nina L-Shaped Desk blends fine woodworking with beautiful features, supplying work space, storage, display room and classic style.
“Lavern and I think with desks you get more custom requests than with other pieces of furniture,” Mary said. “Custom requests can give us ideas and then we tweak them a little bit and put them in our line up.”
Their top-seller is the Amish Kingsman L Desk. The Beechys even have one in their home. The option to add a solid wood hutch takes the Berkley to a whole new dimension.
New styles by the woodshop include the Sterling and Kingsman writing desks.
Amish Sterling Writing Desk with One Drawer
Amish Kingsman Writing Desk with One Drawer
When asked where they see the business in five years, Lavern and Mary said that they hope to continue to grow and add more employees. They’ve already brought on new hires to help with organization and speeding up the production process. Initially hoping for enough work to support his family, Lavern’s expectations have been greatly surpassed, and he is training his two sons to take over the business one day.
After fielding questions from our staff, Lavern asked, “What can we do better?” Asking this question has helped to make the Elkhart Office Furniture Collection a top seller at DutchCrafters.
Click here to view the Elkhart Office Furniture Collection.
View the slideshow below for photos from a visit to Elkhart’s offices.
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Hi Beth,
My wife and I have been in search of a solid wood executive office desk and matching book cases for quite some time.
But we cannot find what we want and are hesitant to order from pictures in catalogs.
Do you know of any Amish workshops in or near Minneapolis, Minnesota or Rochester, Minnesota that we can visit to see and talk to Amish craftsmen in person?
Thank you very much!
Norman
Hi Norman,
Thank you for your question. I understand selecting new executive office furniture is a big decision. I’m sorry that I can’t direct you to an Amish wood shop in the areas you inquired about. All of our Amish furniture is made in Ohio, Indiana and Pennsylvania.
I can tell you that our exquisite Elkhart Office Furniture Collection is built in Indiana. They are one of our top office furniture vendors. Managers from our office have visited their wood shop, which was originally a chicken barn that they retrofitted to be their main wood shop! They offer very high quality and they’re great at customizing their furniture. They offer lots of matching sets that can be purchased together or as individual pieces.
Please feel free to contact one of our knowledgeable Amish Furniture Specialists by email or phone. They know our Amish furniture and can answer all your questions and make helpful suggestions. They can be reached by email at Questions@DutchCrafters.com or Toll-Free at 1-866-272-6773. Good luck with the search for your new office furniture and thank you for visiting us.
https://www.dutchcrafters.com/collection/983/Elkhart-Office-Furniture-Collection