MR. ED, THE HORSE, OF COURSE

Name the Horse Contest has come to a close. The winner of a $50 Gift Certificate to Amish Workbench Furniture is Barbara Sumner of Portland who suggested Amish Apple Andy. Many good names were contributed to the entries. Hard to choose. The horse, who comes from Berlin, OH in Amish Country, pulls the velveteen lined, steel wheeled family carriage of the Ray Yoder, Jr. family. It was heated with a propane heater. The rear sports an orange fluorescent triangle, the front and sides have lights, providing safety at night along the unlit roads of Holmes County, OH. Amish Workbench Furniture buys gliders from “Junior”. The most comfortable block of wood you ever sat in.

Arrow back glider by L & J Woodworking

Ten Years!

“That’d make a cute country store.” Those were the words, ten years ago, said in unison, by Jay and Carol Titsworth, when they first saw the building to become The Mohler House 1865 in Aurora, OR. Jay was one week into retirement and already bored. After several trips to craft shows and antique outlets, the merchandise started coming. Priced and put on the shelves with help from family members, The Mohler House 1865 opened Labor Day weekend in 1999. Stonewall Kitchen jams, Annie Harlin bears and hooked rugs, Paul Rung Shaker furniture, scherenschnitte, Rock Riffle Run pottery, Trapp Private Garden and Sunshine candles, Arawjo hand woven baskets, Rebecca Esh handmade quilts, placemats, hot pads, wall hangings, hand embroidered flour sack dish towels, antiques from Hearts of Ohio and Our Country Home, metal sculptures, embroidered art, original oil and watercolor pictures, note cards, books, everything Amish. Soon new Amish made furniture could be ordered. Historic moments in Aurora were the installation of a sewer line and the fire destroying Impressions Antiques. The business grew, moving to 3rd and Main in Aurora, then a chain was established with a second store in Salem at the historic Reed Opera House. New employees, more buying trips, making new friends with Amish builders, trips to pick up furniture people ordered, and the chain grew to historic Troutdale. On a roll, a fourth store opened in Tualatin with a receiving dock and more show room space. Although Aurora has been consolidated into Tualatin, there’s no question of what to do with retirement time for Jay. Come see us at any of the stores and wish us happy anniversary.

KEEP IT SIMPLE

When you upgraded your TV, or computer recently, it was frustratingly complicated, wasn’t it? No simple, bring it home, take it out of the box, plug it in. Extra this and that were needed, at additional expense, to make it work just the way you wanted.

Aha! Amish Workbench Furniture is NOT complicated, but simple. You pick it up, or have it delivered, put together with no need to buy extra screws or attachments, no confusing assembly instructions, and voila, it’s ready to use. You ordered the wood, stain color, fabric you wanted, it matches your décor; what could be more simple? Well, you might want to order a table pad to protect your new table. Holiday dinners are coming up.

Dovetail Drawers

Dovetail describes how the drawers of a furniture piece are jointed together. The best quality furniture is manufactured using dovetail construction like in our Borkholder, Millcraft, Valley View and Manasses Henry hutches, buffets, servers, dressers and nightstands.

Dovetail construction consists of a series of small “V” shapes that are cut from one surface with the opposite surface consisting of “V” shaped cut outs of the opposite shape. These pieces are locked together in such a manner it is almost impossible to separate them.

By jointing the drawers at the very end of each board gives maximum storage capacity. In addition to increased drawer capacity, jointing construction adds to the strength and longevity of the drawer and in turn, the entire piece of furniture.

At Amish Workbench Furniture even our specialty cabinets (hoosiers, pie safes, jelly cupboards and desks) use dovetail construction.

Mixing It Up

Sharing decorating successes with furniture purchased from Amish Workbench Furniture are the pluses of our business. Note the photo at right. A table and chairs, purchased at a different time than the buffet/hutch, blend in this customer’s home. This is an example of mixing it up to have finishes and colors that compliment each other, not matching exactly.

Furniture is often purchased one piece at a time, causing fits to those who want every piece to match exactly. Remember, it’s okay to have variety. Other accessories can tie the room together. Find the focal point in the room, then work around it with cherished treasures. Rotate items from storage (a.k.a. the attic, garage, under your bed, junk closet) to your walls and tables. Decorate with what you have: trying a new arrangement of pictures on the wall; grouping items by color or similar theme. Imagination, let it rise. What a pleasant surprise awaits when mixing things away from the routine arrangements. Or adding a new piece to adorn your living area: a sign, hand hooked or quilt wall hanging, an original or framed print, ceramic or pottery vase, pitcher, pewter candlestick holder, braided rug, scherenschnitte, carved swan or loon, a number of special art choices are available at Amish Workbench Furniture.

Hangin' In There

Mother Nature has certainly let us know what she can do with the sun here in the Pacific Northwest. Did you find a drawer to stuff the heavy winter blankets? Wouldn’t a quilt rack be more attractive, let the items air out? Quilt racks are great for your table runners, table cloths, or ...the kitchen towel, instead of the refrig or oven doors. Available in a number of styles, solid oak or cherry wood. No, they aren’t good for hangin’ the wet beach towels or sleeping bags!

Also available are black metal hooks, heart or ram’s head shapes, strong enough for the kitchen towel, bathroom face cloth or the winter jacket you’re not wearing this season; three sizes.

For decorative plates, there are black metal single, double or triple plate hangers. Get those pretty dishes out of the cupboard and show them off now, wowing your friends.
Wood peg rails are super by the door, where kids come in, to hang backpacks, etc. In the bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, wherever you need a handy peg for hangin’. An umbrella, for those summer showers, an apron, hot pad, sweater, even a pencil on a string.

Room With a View

Some folks are fortunate to have a view of the majestic Cascade mountains. Others, a stream, lovely garden, or the neighbor’s yard. Whatever your view is, enjoy it with a gentle gliding Amish made porch glider. Available in oak (for protected outdoor areas) or treated pine. A gliding footstool completes your comfort. Gliders come in four and five foot lengths. Some have a center section that flips down to put your cups. Our grandchildren love to eat their lunch on ours, and the divider keeps Russell on his own side. Also matching gliding chairs, and end table. Perhaps you’d prefer a swing, picnic table, benches, or an Adirondack chair. Remember, 20% discount from Amish Workbench Furniture. A short turn around time from date of order. Our Amish manufacturer has no phone or fax so he receives his order from us via US mail. Then uses the public phone at the end of his road to call letting us know it’s ready for pickup. Imagine an evening, gentle breezes, your favorite crossword puzzles, happy sounds of children playing, chatting with the neighbors, finishing your dessert coffee, fighting off yellow jackets because you forgot to hang your yellow jacket trap. Sounds like an evening in Amish country. So get busy and make a space for this glider. You’ll be glad you did