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Do IT this week: Layering
Furniture makers use Holmes County event to scrape up new buyers from U.S. and Canada
By Mary Beth Breckenridge
Beacon Journal
Published on Thursday, Feb 07, 2008
WALNUT CREEK TWP.: A normally reticent people is making an uncharacteristically bold marketing move.
A group of furniture makers, most of them Amish, is touting its members' wares at a two-day trade show at the Holmes County Expo Center, a recently converted section of the Holmes County Amish Flea Market. The purpose of the Ohio Hardwood Furniture Market, which began Wednesday and is not open to the general public, is to increase awareness of what's available, boost furniture sales and market to retailers from a wider area, said Shasta Mast, executive director of the Holmes County Chamber of Commerce.
The show is a first for the Hardwood Furniture Builders' Guild, which comprises about 250 furniture makers, mostly from Northeast and Central Ohio.
Originally, the guild was part of the Amish Country Furniture Association, a group of furniture retailers and wholesalers formed about two years ago within the chamber of commerce. The wholesalers later formed a separate group to concentrate on their own needs, Mast said.
The guild was organized at the urging of banks and other investors that wanted the companies to market their furniture more aggressively, said Roy Miller, the guild's president and co-owner of Country View Woodworking in Holmes County's Salt Creek Township.
Word of mouth used to suffice as a marketing tool, Miller said. ''We didn't have to (be more assertive). Everybody came to us.''
But with the economy slowing, he said, the furniture makers realized they needed a more forward approach. Their selling points include the value of their furniture and the services they can offer that bigger manufacturers and importers can't, such as customizing and fast turnaround, he said.
Unusual mix
The Holmes County trade show is a curious blend of old ways and new market realities. Wednesday, men in beards and suspenders and women in white bonnets staffed booths displaying computer desks, pop-up TV consoles and stylish kitchen islands. At one booth, a sleek LCD television on a contemporary TV stand showed a video of the quaint Amish way of life.
In many ways the show challenges stereotypes about the Amish, said Kurt Kleidon, director of public relations at Kleidon and Associations, the Akron firm promoting the show. These aren't backward craftsmen building just rocking chairs; they're savvy business people, some with exten
sive manufacturing facilities, producing high-end furniture in a variety of styles.
Having a local show allows them to market on their own modest terms, Kleidon said. Mast noted that it also supports their efforts to maintain their simple lifestyle as they shift away from an agrarian economy.
Many Amish people have turned to furniture making because high land costs and low crop prices have made it difficult for them to make a living from farming alone, she explained. Furniture making allows them to maintain a way of life that emphasizes family, faith and community.
Paul Nisley, who owns Penwood Manufacturing north of Coshocton, said he hoped the show would bring business from better retailers than he and his colleagues could attract individually.
''We would never show at High Point. We would never show at Vegas,'' he said, referring to the large furniture trade shows in North Carolina and Las Vegas. ''How else would I get out?''
Canada, most of U.S.
The show was attracting buyers from most of the United States and from Canada, organizers said.
Buyer Michael McMullen came from Ontario, and he liked what he was seeking.
McMullen, of Woodlawn Furniture Market in Guelph, said he was impressed by the professionalism of the furniture makers' brochures and catalogs. The marketing is more sophisticated than what he sees from the Mennonite furniture makers he often deals with in Canada, he said.
''The quality looks very good,'' McMullen said. ''Styles are nice.''
About 100 companies had exhibits at the trade show. Some 500 buyers had registered in advance, but Miller, the guild president, expected turnout to be double that.
The market had been in the works only since October, when the flea market announced it was opening exposition space.
Nevertheless, Mast said the timing was opportune. Concerns over the safety and quality of some imports have spurred a re-emergence of pride in U.S.-made goods, she said, creating an ideal atmosphere for a trade show touting American companies.
''This is really its time, I think,'' she said.
Mary Beth Breckenridge is the Beacon Journal home writer. She can be reached at 330-996-3756 or mbrecken@thebeaconjournal.com.
WALNUT CREEK TWP.: A normally reticent people is making an uncharacteristically bold marketing move.
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Posted 12:48 PM, 10/08/2008
When is the next show and where is it held?
