We’ve all been there. You see some gorgeous corner sheds in a perfectly manicured lawn and know that it didn’t come from a big box hardware store. Corner sheds like this are made with expert craftsmanship by hand; they don’t come off of an assembly line with a thousand other corner sheds that look identical to it. You ask the owner where they got beautiful corner sheds even though you already know the answer. They are Amish buildings.
There is a reason that Amish built sheds (and all Amish furniture for that matter) are held in such reverence. The craftsmanship of Amish made goods is superior to any factory-made goods. Always and every time. Having strong work ethic and demanding perfection from themselves is among their core beliefs.
The customs and beliefs of the Amish people is a bit of a mystery to the rest of us “English” (as we are called by Amish folk), because they are a reclusive culture. Some of the misconceptions we have about Amish communities prevent us from accessing their incredible furniture and outbuildings that our hearts desire. Let’s get to the bottom of these myths:
Four Things You Have Wrong About Amish Goods
- MYTH: Amish-made Goods Look Like They Belong in the Last Century
Some people are hesitant about commissioning an Amish-made piece of furniture or building because they don’t want their home to look like an outdated cabin from the 1800’s. The truth is, Amish-made goods are often associated with those older styles because the Amish furniture and building that were built a hundred years ago are still in gorgeous shape today. However, Amish craftsman are just as capable of creating sleek, contemporary furniture as they are older-looking goods. And your modern-looking piece of Amish furniture will still be here in a hundred years, to make your great-grand kids assume that that’s Amish furniture looks like. - MYTH: Amish Don’t Use Power Tools in Their Furniture
Every Amish community takes its own stance on technology but many Amish people shun most electricity. However that doesn’t mean they are restricted from tools they need to create the custom sheds or pool houses of your dreams. In fact, without electricity, Amish craftsmen are pretty scrappy with getting the work done. They use hydraulic-powered tools and sometimes gas-powered generators or other technological advancements to create pieces that uphold the superior level of quality that only comes from an Amish workshop, but without the manual labor that word make it unaffordable to you. - MYTH: Only People in Driving Distance of an Amish Community Have Access to Amish-made Buildings or Furniture.
One reason why we choose shoddy-made furniture or outbuildings that were built in quantities of thousands in a factory overseas is that it is so accessible to us. You just hit up the big box store down the street or even hit “Buy Now” on Amazon Prime and never leave your couch. It’s easy to assume that since Amish craftsman don’t use the world wide web, you can only access their craftsmanship if you live in driving distance of them.
However, there are many businesses dedicated to acting as a liaison between the Amish craftsman and the rest of the world. You can use a service like this to contact an Amish craftsman, design your custom piece, and arrange for it to be delivered to you. Still not leaving your couch, but offering you the opportunity to create a custom piece that you’ll feel proud to hand down to your children and their children! - MYTH: Amish-made Goods Cost Too Much
There are about a hundred arguments we could make as to why Amish-made goods are worth more than assembly-line furniture made out of particle board. It lasts ten times longer. It’s prettier. You love it a hundred times more.
However, Amish-made goods don’t really cost much more than their counterparts anyways. One core belief among Amish craftsmen is to waste nothing. This means that the materials and supplies used in their furniture stretch much further, costing you less. Additionally, their goods are made with locally-sourced raw materials, so you aren’t paying to ship trees from South America to China to the U.S. These savings roll down to the consumer, which prices Amish-made goods pretty close to what their contemporaries charge.
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