{"id":2893,"date":"2016-03-09T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-03-09T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dutchcrafters.com\/blog\/?p=2893"},"modified":"2025-04-18T16:27:22","modified_gmt":"2025-04-18T20:27:22","slug":"meet-amish-woodworkers-albert-barkman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dutchcrafters.com\/blog\/meet-amish-woodworkers-albert-barkman\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet the Amish Woodworkers: Albert Barkman"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\u2019s made by Amish woodworkers in Pennsylvania, Indiana, and Ohio), Sarasota has a thriving Amish and Mennonite community. That\u2019s one of the reasons why we\u2019re 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 of transportation for Amish here) pack the bicycle lanes. Long lines of customers twist and turn outside of Der Dutchman and Yoder\u2019s restaurants.<\/p>\n

Barkman Furniture Collection<\/h2>\n

Albert Barkman, the owner of Barkman Furniture in Ohio, received a special gift from his employees this past Christmas: a vacation in sunny Sarasota. So he and his wife stepped into our store a couple weeks ago to check out how we\u2019ve displayed his pieces and talk about his furniture.<\/p>\n

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\"Albert<\/a><\/p>\n

Albert greeted the staff in our Sarasota, Florida store<\/a>, sitting\u00a0around\u00a0Barkman Furniture Collection<\/a> pieces.<\/p>\n

\"Barkman<\/p>\n

Albert Barkman rested his jacket and hat on one of his Ripple Back Bar Stools, paired here with the Ripple Back Pedestal Table<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Like most Amish folk, Albert was born and raised on a farm but didn\u2019t have an interest in farming\u00a0as he grew older. At age 16, he started learning the furniture business, working for a cousin for a couple years. After that experience, he spent about 15 years making armoires for big-name companies such as Arhaus. In 2004, he started his own business and has been building a catalog of unique furniture pieces\u00a0that he designs himself, along with his general manager. Like most businesses in the Amish community, this is a family affair. Two of his 11 children work for him, and his brother-in-law welds the tables’ steal bases.<\/p>\n

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\"Planked<\/a><\/p>\n

The Live Edge Bar Table<\/a> includes a steel base built by Albert\u2019s brother-in-law.<\/p>\n

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Style\u00a0Meets Function<\/h2>\n

Albert\u2019s beard, a must-have for married Amish men, is not the typical untrimmed beard covering his neck but clipped\u00a0like a goatee (less the mustache, of course). He is a man with a sense of style and that comes through in his furniture designs. They are contemporary with sleek lines and masterful curves. He is not satisfied to settle with forms\u00a0that everyone else is building. He listens to his customers and researches the furniture-design industry in publications such as Furniture Today<\/em> and Furniture World<\/em>. His goal, in his own words, is to “stay ahead of the trend.” But design is hardly his only concern. Part of his wood shop’s mission is to craft furniture “worthy of being handed down from one generation of your family to the next.”\u00a0When he designs a new piece, he creates the design, builds and tests the piece, and then finalizes the design to ensure the most durable construction. The dining room tables are finished on the bottom the same as they are on top. Every part of the furniture gets personal attention, ending with a hand-applied finish, never sprayed.<\/p>\n

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\"Amish<\/a><\/p>\n

Albert demonstrated the strength of the Christy Dining Chair<\/a> by tilting it over and standing on its base.<\/p>\n

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When I asked him what we liked best about furniture making, he said that is was getting out and talking to people about his furniture. \u201cI feel good about our product,\u201d he said. \u201cSo it is easy to sell.\u201d<\/p>\n

More to See<\/h2>\n

See all of the\u00a0products available from the Barkman Furniture Collection<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\"Amish<\/a><\/p>\n

The Amish Glen Arbor Rustic Six Piece Bedroom Set<\/a> is a wonderful illustration of Albert\u2019s furniture design skills, with a striking combination of brown maple and tiger maple wood. It\u2019s also a fun \u201clost in translation\u201d example. Albert\u2019s mother-tongue is Pennsylvania Dutch, a German dialect spoken by the Amish and some Mennonites. When he named this line of furniture, he spelled \u201cChesapeaka\u201d the way his ear heard it, later to discover it was misspelled.<\/p>\n

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