This month, a reader from Findlay, OH asks Abe “Why does it take so long for furniture orders to come in to your store?”

We get this question a lot, and I will be more than happy to answer it for you. There are a number of reasons that an order may take a while for us to fill or may be delayed. The first thing you have to consider is that we Amish are somewhat isolated from the modern world. We don’t have telephones, fax machines, or e-mail. We can be very hard to get a hold of. You also have to take into account that your furniture is not mass-produced. Sure, we do put out a large amount of furniture, but it’s all handcrafted, no computerized factory or assembly line.
Most of The Granary’s furniture is finished at a separate stain shop located near most of the furniture shops. It takes a certain amount of time to transport the unfinished products to the stain shop. We don’t work on Sundays, we observe the Sabbath. We don’t work at night because we don’t have electricity, and we observe the Lord’s holidays.
Last but not least, we have very large families. As a matter of fact, some of us have 20 or more children. When your family is that large, there is always a wedding, funeral, birthday party, or some other function you need to attend. In addition to family gatherings, we always take time out to go hunting or fishing with our young ones. Some days we might take the afternoon off just to play a game of softball. All we ask is that you try to be patient when placing an order with us. Rest assured knowing everyone involved is working hard to get you your order as quickly as possible, without compromising the quality of the finished piece.

Do you have a question you’d like Abe to answer? Drop him a line at granaryabe@yahoo.com and we’ll forward it to him next month!