Chinese counterfeit Amish furniture factories destroy Amish economy and community

In my travels through the Amish land speaking to my Amish builders who make this wonderful dining room, bedroom, office furniture and much more for all of us to use and enjoy. I heard a lot of things and one piece of news was just incredible.

I’m not really a person to get involved with conspiracy theories or other unexplained phenomena, but this is something I heard and must share. One must understand that the Amish are very religious people and they live their life according to the Bible and its established values ​​that they have established since the 16th century. One thing they don’t do is lie or talk about something that isn’t true. What they say is a fact or they do not say it or discuss it. They don’t really make jokes as we know them and even jokes are not welcome. Therefore, I must be careful when talking to them to keep the same rules as in practice every day.

I was visiting a good Amish friend who is also a leader as a deacon or bishop within an Amish community. He is a jovial guy who laughs quickly at a funny comment, but who on the other hand can and is very serious when talking about certain things in particular those that affect the life, community and way of life of the Amish.

Our discussion reached out to Amish communities in Pennsylvania that have been decimated a few years ago by lack of sales and I asked why this event occurred. Pennsylvania is the largest area for Amish furniture manufacturing in the country, but now Ohio may now be the largest, due to this event. He told me that some Chinese came to the city and bought a lot of furniture and left and the next thing they knew was a clear hit of their furniture, but with different woods and a lot and cheap. They went ahead with the strange event and discovered to their dismay that the furniture that was bought by these Chinese was brought to a ship near the shore, copied, reproduced, and sold in their market while the ship was just over the boundary.

You also have to understand that the Amish don’t sue people. This is also against their religion, so they were left with copied furniture, the counterfeit furniture was sold directly in their front yard. The Amish community suffered greatly that year because there was little left to feed their families and they do not believe in handouts or government rights. They take care of their own. That’s why I really like these people.

Tragedy hit them, but there is a good side, indeed a great side to this tragedy. They had to reinvent themselves and make new products, come up with fresh new ideas, and make even better furniture, and that has reaped rewards for them. Many think that Amish furniture is old-fashioned and simple. That has changed and when interior designers discover this, there will be a new beginning for their furniture. I have seen some pieces that are not only modern but very exclusive and will be even more profitable for them in the long run. They look at who buys your furniture and if you are not their customer, suspicions may arise.

I have seen this elegant new furniture and it is wonderful. Some have hired designers to create new products for them and we may be seeing new furniture designs that one would not believe were made by the Amish except for one thing, craftsmanship and quality are very prevalent.

If you put two identical pieces of furniture, one made by the Chinese and one made by the Amish and they tell you to choose the Amish, this is not a challenge, because the Chinese would lose without a doubt. This is the main reason I chose Amish products to sell on my site and in my next store.