The Amish Furniture Podcast

Where do Amish woodworkers go to sell their furniture? Believe it or not, just like other industries, a trade show! This week on The Amish Furniture Podcast, we'll hear all about the shows from two people who have attended these Amish furniture shows: Milca and Natalie.

Milca and Natalie fill you in on all the juicy details: the furniture, the conversation, and, of course, the tasty treats. Listen now for Natalie and Milca's favorite furniture at the shows and behind-the-scenes stories from their trips. We'll take you through what it's like to visit an Amish furniture market.

What makes Amish Businesses so successful? Why have Amish communities left farming for other businesses? And how did Amish entrepreneurs get started in woodworking? For help answering these questions, we turned to Dr. Steven Nolt of the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania.

The Amish have a long history of entrepreneurial pursuits, but it wasn't until the 1980s that they started to leave farming behind and focus on alternative businesses. But now the failure rate of Amish businesses in their first 5 years is just 10% compared to 50% among small business startups nationally! Listen to the full episode to understand what makes Amish businesses so successful.

Some of the books Nolt has written include “A History of the Amish,” which is in its third edition, and “The Amish: A Concise Introduction.” He notably co-authored “Amish Grace: How Forgiveness Transcended Tragedy” about the Amish schoolhouse shooting in the village of Nickel Mines in Lancaster County. A few other co-authorships include the books, “Amish Micro-Enterprises: Models for Rural Development,” “Amish Enterprise: From Plows to Profits,” and a paper titled “Amish Enterprise: The Collective Power of Ethnic Entrepreneurship” that appeared in the Global Business and Economics Review.

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Buying Amish furniture is very different from buying furniture in a big box store. There’s a lot more involved in the building of the furniture, and customers are offered a lot more options than what you’d find in store. Exactly how does it work? What goes into the building of Amish furniture that makes it so special? That’s what we’re covering on today’s episode:  How Amish Furniture is Made.

The Amish Furniture Podcast is back! After a short holiday break, Beth and Milca return to bring you episode 5: Do Amish Women Work in Furniture Woodshops?

There's a lot of interest in this question, and we're happy to tackle it in Episode 5. Though we can't make generalizations about every family and community, in this episode Beth and Milca discuss the roles we've seen women play in the Amish Furniture world. You may be surprised by some of the roles women play in Amish woodshops, ranging from office work to sanding table legs to running the whole operation! Listen now and subscribe to catch all our upcoming weekly episodes!

Hello, Amish furniture fans! This is Beth Rice, co-host of the Amish Furniture Podcast. We’ve enjoyed sharing all things Amish furniture with you. We’re taking a break right now to work on new episodes and enjoy the holidays, but we won’t make you wait long. In the meantime, here’s a mini-episode about how Amish furniture is finished. We’ll be back in the New Year with new full-length episodes. Thank you for listening and happy holidays!

Ever wondered whether you're asking the right questions? Whether you're being taken advantage of by a manipulative salesperson? With Amish furniture, you no longer have to stay in the dark because we're giving you the insider perspective on shopping for Amish furniture. In Episode 3 of The Amish Furniture Podcast, Milca and Beth welcome Shannon to the show. Shannon is a Furniture Specialist at DutchCrafters, where she helps shoppers custom order Amish Furniture every day. 

In Episode 2 of the Amish Furniture podcast, Milca and Beth invite DutchCrafters employees into the podcast to tell stories from their experiences with Amish woodworkers. From a 4-course breakfast to a buggy ride through the ice cream drive-thru, here are 6 funny, surprising, and sweet stories from Amish country that might teach you a thing or two along the way. 

In Episode 1 of the Amish Furniture podcast, Milca and Beth list The Top 5 Misconceptions About Amish Furniture. This inaugural episode reveals the truth about these misconceptions, which Milca and Beth have learned while working at DutchCrafters Amish Furniture. Whatever your experience with Amish furniture, and wherever you shop, we hope we can help you learn something new about Amish furniture. 

Welcome to The Amish Furniture Podcast, a mini-series for the Amish furniture fan. Whether you're actively shopping for furniture, have Amish made furniture in your home, or are simply curious about the Amish, this is the podcast for you. 

We'll bring you behind-the-scenes stories about what it's like to work with the Amish, tips about shopping for Amish furniture, and much more. Hosts Beth and Milca bring experience from their work at DutchCrafters, the largest Amish furniture website. Subscribe and stay tuned for Episode 1.