My friend's furniture store here in Houston, The Amish Craftsmen, is having its Grand Opening this weekend and there will be two Amish craftsmen there to talk to. Their "soft opening" was the week before Thxgiving. Should be interesting. I've never met an Amish, much less one who is a highly-skilled furniture maker. Apparently, they got the OK to fly here from their "deacon" or whatever they call them. Feb 10-11. 10-6 on Sat and 12-5 on Sunday. Located on Washington near TC Jester. It's the anchor store in a new strip mall. I don't have the exact address and their website in still under construction. It is quite nice furniture. Pretty expensive...so if you are susceptible to impulse buying...you have been warned.
Hitchin' up the buggy Churnin' lots of butter Raised a barn on Monday Soon, I'll raise anudder... Think you're really righteous Think you're pure in heart Well I know I'm a million times as humble as thou art!
Not sure if "strip mall" is the correct term. it's just 3 stores. A restaurant, the huge furniture store and something else. In the Heights, too. not like strip malls along the freeway or anything like that. someone help me out. Is that considered a strip mall or ? hopefully the Amish craftsmen won't be offended for being a pea next to a carrot and tuna fish.
Dude, that is SO weird. The other day, someone dropped a postcard for the grand opening of this place through my mail slot and I joked with a friend that when I looked out the window, it was a normal couple that didn't look Amish and drove a truck, not a horse and buggy. Small world.
It's not really a strip mall. On the one hand, it is very close to a CVS. On the other hand, the restaurant it's next to is Catalan - which is very very hip right now. There is also a dry cleaner (strip mall-ish) and at the other end a Cova wine bar - also hip. It's also close to Wabash, which is a great fun feed, plant, animal store. The Amish store is really nice - beautiful amazing furniture, some of which will be in my master bedroom in a few months (that's the only sad part, you have to wait for them to actually make what you order and it takes a few months, but I was willing to wait for the craftsmanship). I've told my wife we can't buy anymore stuff there. In response, she got me some woodworking books (I'm handy enough and like making stuff, though I think its going to take me quite a while - years - before I'm able to come close to their type of craftsmanship....but I'm going to try for fun - just a matter of following some simple instructions, right?).
This store sounds like a way to relieve affluent people from their money. If you want to buy Amish, there are plenty of Amish Craftsmen along the roadside selling their wares near almost every Amish settlement (for less money and a much more scenic drive). "That's a great Pennsylvania pie safe, where ever did you get it?" "Washington at TC Jester. That there's Amish Country..."
I live in the middle of Amish country. It's pretty crazy. If you drive into the north part of my county, you are almost sure to see a cart and buggy. Apparently, Amish people love Walmart.
oh, jeeze man, don't be so jaded.. so, exactly why can't the Amish expand their selling base by using resellers. I don't get your point. firstly, Amish furniture is excellent quality. This is not just some ploy to overprice gimmick furniture. I think this might be the first reseller in Houston, if that gives you any idea of how this works. It's actually a big deal that the two craftsmen got the OK to fly on a plane to come to this opening. The Amish want this store to be successful...dude. Prospective resellers actually have to meet with the Amish and they have to agree to allow you to resell their stuff. You can't just buy it off the road and resale it in a shop. You also can't use the internet as more than just a marketing tool. Plus, as JayZ750 pointed out, the store is primarily a display for custom work. Most people can't fly to Amish country, shop around, and place a custom order, then fly back a month or two later to pick it up.
I was just up in Amish country during Christmas. Very interesting life they have, beautiful farms and countryside. They are allowed to break certain rules for certain situations was our conclusion.
and I said that I wasn't sure. Questioning your own knowledge is certainly a good way to have someone help state the fact. anyhoot, thx, my point was merely to state that you can't just decide you want to be an Amish reseller and start ordering furniture. They want to maintain a level of scrutiny and control over the resellers, which starts with not allowing too many of them.
