Simply Amish

by LesLIe A. westbrook

Perhaps you’re familiar with Amish communities from the remarkable, Academy Award-winning 1985 movie “Witness.” Or maybe images of their traditional lifestyle come to mind, images of folks traveling by horse and buggy or helping neighbors at barn raisings. Many generations after they arrived in the U.S., the Amish still live in religious communities and practice simple living, wear plain dress and have a reluctance to adopt many conveniences of modern technology.

Pennsylvania is probably best known for hosting Amish homesteads, but the Midwest also boasts a number of Amish communities that carry on the tradition of creating beautifully handcrafted wooden furniture. Functional pieces are hand-built with clean lines in Mission and Shaker styles – designs that work beautifully in Craftsman and California bungalow style homes or even mixed with contemporary pieces. But not everyone resonates to those styles, and while many consumers may appreciate the quality of hand-built Amish furniture, few realize that a wide array of designs, which can even be customized, are being produced.

Simply Amish is a 35-year-old Illinois-based company that acts as the bridge between the Amish and the rest of the world. They keep on top of design trends, do all the design work, and work directly with the craftsmen who create the pieces.

The company’s roots can be traced to Kenneth Kauffman, an Amish furniture maker who still builds furniture at home in a small woodworking shop he started 10 years before his son, Simply Amish co-founder and president Kevin Kauffman, came up with the idea of creating the company based on the principles of the Amish community where he grew up. Simply Amish currently works with over 50 Amish woodworking shops like the patriarch’s. Most are located in his Illinois community.

The pieces are made from high quality hardwoods—cherry, maple, oak, hickory, walnut, and quarter-sawn white oak—sourced from well-managed North American forests, located within a 500-mile range in Iowa, Wisconsin, Indiana, and Michigan. Simply Amish designs and oversees the making of pieces, which, when ready to be sold, are wrapped in reusable cloth blankets and shipped in company trucks across the country, where their products have been applauded for their quality, sustainability, and careful attention to detail.

“Not all Amish furniture is created equal,” Kauffman told me. “Everybody assumes that it all must be fabulous, but there are different levels of quality of workmanship and not all are held to the same standard we adhere to. Our basic philosophy is to do it well.”

Simply Amish furniture is a green product valued for its sustainability. The company, a founding member of the Sustainable Furnishings Council that sets standards, is committed to making products that are going to be around for a long time and not clog landfills.

“This is definitely not your grandma’s furniture!” noted Kauffman, “But it’s not super trendy, either, or something that you will get tired of next year. We found the sweet spot that works in multiple lifestyles: Nice clean lines with a modern flair, but not over-the-top modern.”

Each one-of-a-kind furniture piece is crafted in small, individually owned cottage industry spaces at each woodworker’s homestead. Women do some of the finer detailed work, like sanding and staining—or keep the books. Great attention is paid to the hand-selected wood for each piece and its unique grain, often highlighted in the finished product.

“These are dedicated builders who know what we expect and meet our standards,” Kauffman said. (continued)

Because Amish beliefs prevent the use of electricity, many woodworking tools in Amish shops operate on hydraulic and pneumatic power run on diesel compressors. This method still exists and electricity is rarely used.

“Old Order Amish shops still do not use electricity unless it’s in a safety area, like a paint room,” Kauffman said. “They still use stationary diesel and convert bigger tools to hydraulic or pneumatic.”

One way the company keeps track of design trends is through their distributors. In our region, For Your Home furniture in downtown Ventura has been carrying the line that includes Mission, Classic, Traditional, Shaker, Country, Contemporary, and Transitional styles for a decade. Showroom owner Kevin Seelos has been on the retail side of the furniture business for 40 years and notes that customers can also have a hand in the process.

“The ‘Build Your Own Dining Table’ concept is our most popular program with Simply Amish,” Seelos said. “Customers choose the size and shape of the table, the pedestal or legs, the shape of the edges, number of leaves, type of wood and the finish.”

The custom-order display also includes dozens of dining chair styles with similar design options, including seat choices in wood or fabric, including leather cushions.

Amish woodworkers take great pride in their craftsmanship and consider each effort a functional art piece to be used and passed along for generations. In fact, early 18th century Amish pieces are on display in the Smithsonian Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, so today’s purchases could become tomorrow’s treasured heirlooms.

Seelos feels the customization possibilities of Simply Amish pieces (which come with a lifetime warrantee) harmonize well with the California lifestyle.

“Custom houses, custom cars—why not custom furniture? Why compromise? Get exactly what you want and be assured that it will be the finest quality product available,” he said.

As more and more people appreciate American-made products, as well as timeless designs, they might want to check out Amish furniture made with love and care.

For Your Home furniture, 443 E. Main Street, Ventura, 805-641-1919 www. fyhfurn.com