Solid Wood Manufacturer Redefines Amish Category

November 21, 2018  by Jane Chero in Business Strategy, Casegoods, Designer Weekly, Industry, Product   

Borkholder’s move to bring production in-house is unusual in a category where manufacturers typically employ networks of Amish workshops to produce their goods, but the gamble paid off this Fall as the company was recognized with its first Pinnacle Award win in the causal dining category.

The Pinnacle Awards, bestowed by the International Society of Furniture Designers (ISFD), promote design quality and encourage the recognition of furniture designers within the retail home furnishings industry. The non-profit organization is dedicated to advancing, improving and supporting the profession of furniture design and its positive impact in the marketplace.

In presenting the Pinnacle Award for Local Harvest—a collection rendered in solid red oak that reflects the growing enthusiasm for the farm to table movement in a crafted furniture experience for the home—the judges said, “We felt that the Local Harvest Table exhibited a rustic charm that is a fresh new look to farmhouse design that transcends modern and cottage. It is made of solid wood with mortise and tenon joinery. The double-leg design adds a nice architectural element that is quite beautiful and the doubled edge of the table in lieu of an apron was also a nice touch. The red oak grain offers warmth and depth to the finish of the collection.”

One of the key design themes that set Local Harvest apart is the use of round posts. “True round posts are rarely used in furniture design today simply because producing them and having them adhere to flat surfaces is technically challenging for a woodworker,” said Tom Halvorsen, VP, Borkholder. “Round posts require highly skilled craftspeople to execute properly and that’s one reason they are not usually seen in today’s mass-produced designs.”

This was the second nomination for Borkholder and designer Catina Suarez Roscoe whose Mid-Century-influenced Aero Collection was honored as a finalist in the casual dining category last year as well.

“Catina has been steadily helping us revamp our product line, expanding Borkholder beyond its traditional roots with fresh, transitional styles not typically associated with traditional Amish styling,” said Halvorsen. “Her enthusiasm for natural resources like solid wood and heirloom quality furniture handmade in the heartland makes her the ideal partner for the company.”

“The ability to produce our new collections in-house ensures that our proprietary designs remain exclusive to Borkholder,” he says. “That is not only helping retailers differentiate themselves in their marketplaces with products that they cannot not find anywhere else, it is changing perceptions about the capabilities of Amish craftspeople altogether.

Long known for time-honored construction techniques and exceptional quality, the operative words in Amish-made goods have always been authenticity, integrity and roots. Now, the key descriptors are modern, contemporary, clean-lined, sculptural and stylish.” 

Halvorsen reports that producing within the Kountry Wood complex is affording Borkholder’s craftspeople access to state-of-the art machinery and innovations that could only be made possible by the synergies and buying power of its larger parent company. He adds that the lean manufacturer, which produces an estimated 6,000 cabinets daily in a combined manufacturing space of 227,000-square-feet, is on its own path of continuous improvement, one that saw the unveiling of a brand-new events center—Sammlung Platz—German for “gathering place,” just prior to opening the newly designed Borkholder Furniture showroom in High Point.