Lancaster County, like many places, has experienced a great deal of growth in the last several decades. New factories, housing developments, and shopping centers continue to materialize. One thing not growing in the country is farmland. Every year more of it disappears to feed the demand for housing and commerce. At the same time the Amish population is rapidly growing. Put these two trends together and you have a real crisis for the Amish.

Traditionally they've always been farmers, yet this shortage of farmland leaves the younger generation only two choices: leave Lancaster County in search of farmland, or find another way to make a living. Amish are very family oriented so few have elected to move away from their extended families. The solution for many Amish was to start their own businesses. This provided many of the same advantages that farming did. It allowed them to work at home, to still involve their whole family in the operation, and gave them a trade they can teach and pass on to their children.

As a result, Amish micro-businesses started popping up all over the county. Throughout the area you'll now find wood workers, rug weavers, wrought iron workers, and a variety of other businesses all making products that they sell to support their way of life. You'll find many of these crafts at our show along with crafts made by Mennonites and other Lancaster County craft people. Here are some of our more popular items:

Almost all of our furniture is oak or pine. Along with coffee tables, end tables, console tables, trunks and other accent pieces, we also carry some unusual pieces. One of our most fascinating is our three-way ironing board. Set up one way, it's a chair, set up another way, it's a step stool, set up the third way, it's an ironing board. We also have a small cabinet with an ironing board that pulls up behind it.

One of our most popular items is our oak and bent hickory rocker. Many people say it is the most comfortable rocker they have ever sat in. Because of space considerations, we normally only have a couple at each show so if you want one, come early and grab it fast. The most popular piece of furniture we sell is our drying rack. It's larger and much sturdier than ones usually found elsewhere. We bring dozens of them to every show and sell out virtually every time.

If you're planning on buying some furniture, try to come as early as possible for the best selection. When you find something you want, we will gladly hold it behind the check out area until your finished shopping.

We carry two kinds of pottery, salt glazed and redware. Our salt glazed pottery is made by Eldreth Pottery a nationally known pottery maker from southern Lancaster County. Salt glazing is a process that fires and glazes the pottery at the same time. In this process, salt is added to a kiln heated above 2000 degrees. At this temperature, the salt vaporizes and the vapor sticks to the clay forming its glaze.

Redware is a traditional pottery made from red clay. This pottery is made by Marilyn Stoltzfus who not only signs and dates her pieces, she also includes a report on the weather the day it was made. As an added bonus, she includes a recipe for shoo-fly pie (a Lancaster County favorite) with her pie plates.


We sell a wide variety of dolls including traditional faceless Amish dolls. These dolls are faceless because most Amish literally interpret a bible passage that prohibits the making of graven imaging. These dolls are dressed in the same plain garb that the Amish wear.


We sell a vast array of wooden crafts from butter churns and
buckets to toys and knickknacks. Perhaps the most popular
items are our shaker boxes. Made by an Amish family in eastern Lancaster County, these round or oval lidded wooden boxes come in a wide range of stackable sizes. Originally designed to store cheese, theyare now being used in a variety of different ways.

Most of the wrought iron we sell is made by Norman and Emanuel Bieler, two Amish brothers from eastern Lancaster County. Probably the most intriguing piece is the courting candle holder. This candle holder could be used by parents as a rudimentary visitation timer for their daughter's suitors. When the candle burned past a certain point,
it was time for the boy to go home. What made it particularly ingenious was that the candle base could be raised or lowered depending on how the parents felt about the boy. You may have seen similar candle holders in magazines. We think ours are better made and less expensive.

Among other things, the Bielers also make book holders, plate holders and a wide variety of votive candle holders. We also sell glass votive cups to go in the holders. Although they're not made by Amish, we do get them from an Amish supplier. We also have a broad selection of handmade taper and votive candles which are made in Lancaster County.

We sell a variety of very popular throw rugs. Probably our best-known rugs are made by Moses Stoltzfus, an Amish man from eastern Lancaster County. Mose's rugs are made from 100% cotton and come in a variety of colors. He also makes similar place mats and table runners. Mose's rugs are machine washable in cold water.

Another rug maker is Christ Stoltzfus, another Amish man form eastern Lancaster County. Christ is wheel chair bound and weaves his rugs at a specially modified rug loom. Because his rugs are made from cotton/polyester fabric, they can be machine washed and dried.

We also sell Amish made hooked rugs. A hooked rug starts with a burlap bag (or some other porous fabric) which is then stretched and mounted on a frame. A scene or pattern is then outlined on the bag. These scenes can be as simple as a single pig or cow or as complex as an entire village. Next, using colored yarn, thread or strips of cloth, the scene is filled in by pulling the strips through each space between the burlap threads of the bag. This is a long slow process and can take as long as making a quilt.

Since the end result is some thing very functional, hooked rugs (like quilts) have become a form of art that the Amish church tolerates. Many people feel that hooked rugs are too beautiful to be thrown on the floor and instead hang them on their walls as they would any piece of art.

We have a massive selection of wall hangings in many styles, sizes, and price ranges. We also have a variety of ways for you to display your wall hangings. We sell both wood and wrought iron quilt holders in a wide range of sizes.

We have an excellent selection of pillows in both traditional and contemporary styles. Usually you will find the pillows near the quilt area. We also sell a unique item called a quillow. Folded up, it's a pillow; unfolded it's a small quilt.

We sell prints by a variety of artist. Our most intriguing artist is Eric Mohn. Eric is a quadriplegic who paints holding a brush in his mouth. He lives in northern Maryland and uses Lancaster County and the Amish as an inspiration for much of his work. Most of his prints are limited edition. You may find some of his prints at your local art shop, but you probably won't find the wide selection we offer.

This is one of our largest and most popular sections. Here you'll find place mats, potholders, and spice mats that look like small quilts. You'll also find authentic Amish hats and bonnets, aprons, quilt themed tee shirts and sweat shirts plus much more.

Although we don't sell any fresh foods such as pies or cheese, we do have an extensive selection of non-perishable foods such as jams, jellies, mustards and noodles. We sell a variety of Lancaster County delicacies including bacon dressing (usually served hot on spinach or lettuce) reds beets, apple butter, chow chow, and Amish peanut butter (sweeter and smother than most other peanut butters). We also have mixes for making soft pretzels, funnel cakes, and shoofly pie (a sweet molasses-based pie that is very popular in Lancaster County).

We carry a wide variety of cookbooks, quilt books, and books on the Amish. Many of the books were written or published in Lancaster County. Among the authors, you'll see the name Rachel Pellman showing up frequently. Rachel is a nationally known authority on Amish quilts. She is a Lancaster County Mennonite mother of two. In addition to being a prolific author, she also makes very popular wall hanging kits. You'll find these kits near the book area.

Although hex signs are associated with the Amish, they were actually used by the non- Amish Germans who also settled in Pennsylvania. Because we received so many requests for them over the years, we now carry them.

If you're buying a hex sign, choose carefully. They may be more powerful then you think. We know of one couple who were told by medical experts that they could not conceive without expensive medical procedures. The husband, who sold hex signs, placed a fertility hex sign under their bed as a test. Three months later they were pregnant, and eight months after that, their triplets were born.