Expansion is
enough to make any business owner smile. When John Stoltzfus looks back to
when his business began, he says it’s hard to express his feelings on
what it has become today. A simple request from his sister to make her a
hutch led Stoltzfus to become one of the premiere hand-crafted, solid-oak
furniture businesses in Amish Country and the East Coast.
The year 2000
seemed like a good time to reflect on the humble
beginning of the business in 1985 in a barn just behind the current location. At the time, furniture wasn’t even a part of the plans.
Stoltzfus started in pine crafts, such as breadboxes and potato bins and
would sell them to a farmer’s market in New Jersey.
"We started
with a couple of pieces of equipment in an old barn," recalled
Stoltzfus. Through the years, Stoltzfus worked on crafts and moved from
the barn to a shop in Intercourse as furniture requests increased.
"We had outgrown our home territory, so we moved to Intercourse and
then an opportunity came up for us to come to our current location,"
he said. "We decided to come, and since then we’ve been expanding
every year. When we started here, we had one-fourth of what we have now.
Two years later, we took over half the building and last summer, we took
over the rest."
The new showroom
features Traditional, Shaker and Mission style furniture. The unique
aspect of Leacock Furniture is that it offers customers the chance to
place their order to their liking. Leacock Furniture offers six different
door styles, a wide variety of hardware and a range of finishes from
natural and oak, to dark walnut and cherry. "That is something you
can’t find anywhere else. We can pretty much give the customer what they
want in a color," Stoltzfus said.
Bedroom, dining
room sets and entertainment centers are a bulk of the business. However,
the showroom reveals other hand-crafted items for the home including
roll-top desks, shelves, jewelry boxes, snack trays, computer desks and
children’s furniture such as cradles, rocking chairs and high chairs.
Stoltzfus also recently expanded his furniture line to offer upholstered
furniture.
"We had
people come in and look at some pieces, look at the price and then tell us
they could get it for $200 less, but when they realize cheaper furniture
is made largely from veneers, they come back and pay the extra for solid
oak wood," Stoltzfus said. "We are the only manufacturer that
uses solids to the extent that we do; solid wood and the finishes are what
make our product special. We spend more time hand sanding and with the
finishing process, so obviously it is going to cost more. We want to give
a good product."
The businessman
never imagined that a simple request from his sister would have led him to
where he is today. "We want to continue to do a good job," he
said. "I don’t see myself expanding in the near future, but you
never know."
