Amish Kitchen Cabinet Builders

[CR500]

I've heard the Amish and Mennonite cabinet builders (in Pa) build great cabinets and are inexpensive (but haven't had a recommendation on a particular builder). Of course, the kitchen design I'm planning will require a few full custom pieces (supposedly everything from the Amish is full custom).

I'm sure not all of them are equal. Any idea how to find out which are the better builders, or do I just need to plan on visiting them all (in which case I'd probably just say screw it).

Another question, I like cabinets with inset doors / drawers (looks more like furniture). Now here's the big BUT, I'm pretty anal about things being straight and even. If the gap isn't uniform, I'll notice it and won't like it. For that reason I've been told not to go with inset as even the best manufacturers won't produce that kind of quality. If thats true, how do the furniture manufacturers do it?

Thanks!

[Mr T]

http://www.800padutch.com/mem-furn.shtml
This may be of help (yup, the official Amish website :D )

We have some amish furniture purchased through a non-amish dealer that deals directly with Ohio Amish (east-centralish ohio). They only sell Amish furniture. The quality of the furniture is great. The finish is very unique. I even purchased a can of their stain (the color is called S-2, comes in a blank can with 's-2' on it in marker) for matching some of my own woodwork. They only communication with the furniture companies is by letter. Takes 1-2 weeks to check on the status of custom work or for the store to send in a stock order.

Do not expect absolutly perfect furniture out of them(as you would with mass produced furniture). It is hand made, and in most of the Ohio Ordnungs modern electric tools are permitted. All screws in my furniture are square drive (common of air tools) I have found several imperfections (table tops not perfectly centered on the base, a screw driven in too far and poked out the other side). Neither of these were significant or noticable to someone not looking for them (i do woodworking). THese are just signs of a human building it and not a machine. We are plannning on getting more furniture from there when the budget allows. The other interesting thing, is all the Ohio Amish furniture makers refer to themselves as a number to their furniture resellers. The store I deal with has a list of their inventory, and who made each piece....as builder #xxx. (not sure if it was done by the store because half the names of the builders are "Yoder furniture :D ) I havent looked, but I think i remember seeing a 3 digit number written in marker under each piece I bought.

My inlaws lived in Amish country for a while. Their homebuilder (big chain) employs mostly amish builders. They had ultra-modern equipment--that gets locked up on the jobsite when they go home. They drove trucks, but only for business purposes and nothing more.

Not sure how its done in PA, but the website above did list alot of furniture 'companies'. If you go into any of them yourself, take a look at their shop. My father-in-law was in a few Ohio shops. THey had all modern equipment (some electric), but used all gas lights.

I would be carefull just driving around lookin for shops as Amish traditionaly dont like outsiders. I"m sure there are some out there who dislike the general public (may get a taste of Amish marksmanship if your cross someones lines the wrong way sniper_1 ). You may want to find a furniture dealer that specializes in Amish furniture. Let them know you want cabinets built and you arent side-stepping them. THey will probably be able to tell you the best where to go. You can often buy the hardware you want, and drop it off to the builder, and they will mount your drawers and doors with it. You may even be able to bring your own stain to them. Have a good set of plans drawn up and ready for them. Find out how you can contact them for status and updates. It may be by letter only.

THere may be non-Amish furniture/cabinet dealers in your area that deal with Amish builders that only deal with dealers. (thats a mouthfull) That may be something to consider if your plans are complex. It will give you access to some of the larger builders out there that dont deal with the direct public. However your cost will go up as you have to deal with a middleman now.

Hope this helps.

[CR500]

Thanks for the info, I'll check out the link.

I was wondering about their interaction with the "outside world". Didn't understand how they would advertise (certainly wouldn't have a web site), and figured the addition of a middle man would significantly increase the cost.

A coworker was just in that area of Pa. He got me the yellow pages directory. There were quite a few ads for "Amish" builders. I didn't know if the ads were for real or if it was just regular people trying to capitalize on the Amish reputation.

These yellow page ads would be the places I'd visit. Wouldn't think of just driving around the Pa country side looking for cabinet builders.

Thanks

[Mr T]

THe link i gave is from the official Amish website. Yup there is one. It is done and maintained by non-Amish. Alot of the info on it is directly from the Amish. They agreed to do that in order to help clarify some myths and questions concerning them and their lifestyle.

Many Amish Ordnungs (groups) do permit some modernization for business purposes only. This may include modern electric/electronic equipment (yup, some Amish use GPS systems), phones and public advertising. It's a simple thing called survival. They have 2 totally different and separate lifestyles. Their place of business in that case is separate from their home life so they can leave it all at closing time and go back home to their traditional lifestyle.

I'm sure theres plenty of fakes out there. Should be easy to spot though. Look under the furniture, any markings are usualy hand made, not often stamps, or other signs of mass production. If its over hyped, its probably too good to be true, or the store's marketing dept has got issues. As you suggested earlier, not all their work is custom. Alot of the store sold furniture is of a common design and the exact same stuff is available about anywhere that sells it. We found the exact same stuff, same builder numbers, ect on the furniture we bought in 2-3 stores in the area (1 other Amish specialty, and the other in the Amish dept of a normal furniture store).. Prices varied ALOT. I was happy enough with the service at the place we bought from, and the fact that they were a small family business that had a direct relationship with the Amish, price didnt matter at all to me.. THey got me sold for life.

I would visit the places in the yellow pages. A few minutes with the sales people should quickly tell you what kind of business they are. (if they wont custom order or modify something that they normally stock, move on...they arent what you are looking for.

Also check out the cabinet shops out in and around Amish country. Probably your best bet anywhere. They should be plenty.

Thanks for the info, I'll check out the link.

I was wondering about their interaction with the "outside world". Didn't understand how they would advertise (certainly wouldn't have a web site), and figured the addition of a middle man would significantly increase the cost.

A coworker was just in that area of Pa. He got me the yellow pages directory. There were quite a few ads for "Amish" builders. I didn't know if the ads were for real or if it was just regular people trying to capitalize on the Amish reputation.

These yellow page ads would be the places I'd visit. Wouldn't think of just driving around the Pa country side looking for cabinet builders.

If you are willing to go to Eastern Ohio (between Canton, and Wooster on US 30) let me know, I can recomend a few places

g'luck

Thanks