Local Business Actually Benefits from Global Economic Crisis

The order arrived by email and it was exceptionally large. But what was most interesting was the shipping address – Bungendore, NSW, Australia. As the owners of Amish Workbench Furniture’s three retail stores and website, Carol and Jay Titsworth were used to shipping furniture all across the country, but international sales were rare, especially of this magnitude.

The customers, Margaret Coaldrake and Gary Tamsitt, had fallen in love with a handmade Mission sofa that they’d seen at Amish Workbench Furniture’s Troutdale showroom while visiting the States last October. Margaret, a business consultant specializing in governance risk compliance, and Gary, who directs the legal workshop department at Australia’s National University in Canberra, had visited the Northwest to see their daughter, a student at the University of Washington.

After returning home to Australia, Margaret began watching the exchange rate between the Australian and US dollars. Because the global financial crisis was felt more mildly in Australia than in the US, the value of Australian currency began climbing rapidly. In fact, by the time Margaret and Gary placed their furniture order, the Australian dollar was worth about 30% more than it had been when they first considered the purchase. That more than paid for the additional shipping costs of transporting the furniture from Ohio, where it was handcrafted; to Tualatin, where it was thoroughly inspected by the Amish Workbench Furniture staff; to Long Beach, CA, where it was packed onto a container ship; to Sydney, Australia, the port where it will arrive; and finally to Margaret and Gary’s home outside the village of Bungendore, about 50 kilometers from Canberra, the Australian capital.

With the last of their four children recently off to college, Margaret and Gary had decided to celebrate their new found status as “empty nesters” with new furniture (their old furniture was passed on to the children). Using the Amish Workbench Furniture website, they ordered two sofas, an end table, coffee table, TV stand, sofa table, dining table, six side chairs, two arm chairs and a separate pedestal table, all handmade in the Mission style by Amish craftsmen using solid quarter sawn white oak with a fabric reminiscent of Frank Lloyd Wright designs. Gary praises the “simple dignity” of the Mission style and the “outstanding craftsmanship” of the Amish artisans. The couple had searched extensively for similar furniture in Australia, but had not found the quality or “unity of design” they were looking for.

Returning to the Northwest this week to visit their daughter and attend some academic conferences, Margaret and Gary traveled to Amish Workbench Furniture’s Tualatin headquarters and visited Carol and Jay, who they now consider friends. They’re excited about their new furniture (which is slated to arrive in Australia in early May) and already considering additional pieces and Amish crafts. “We’re planning several dinner parties to show off our new furniture,” commented Margaret. “I told Carol and Jay to expect more orders from Australia, we think our friends will fall in love with Amish made furniture just like we did.”

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Photo Caption: Margaret Coaldrake and Gary Tamsitt of Bungendore, NSW, Australia visiting Amish Workbench Furniture’s Tualatin showroom. Because of highly favorable exchange rates, the couple had recently placed a large order of handmade Mission style furniture to be shipped to their Australian home.