DutchCrafters Amish Furniture Celebrates Ten Distinguished Years of Business

2013 marks the 10-year anniversary for the world's leader in online Amish furniture. DutchCrafters.com celebrates the anniversary as the only Amish-related company to be recognized among the Gulf Coast 500 (three years in a row), the illustrious Inc. 5000, and Internet Retail Magazine's top 1000 list.

DutchCrafters is the global leader in online Amish furniture. The company sells solid hardwood, heirloom-quality furniture, handcrafted in America by the Amish. A product which holds no mystery as to its high quality, Amish bedroom furniture has long been recognized for its integrity in both materials used and in craftsmanship.

While founder and CEO James Miller refers to the conception of DutchCrafters as a prime example of the American dream, he acknowledges that his dream was not realized without challenges. DutchCrafters has not only beat the odds by selling a product that many argued could not be sold online (high-end furniture), but the company has also pioneered the integration of Amish-made products with online sales, a second feat which many saw as highly improbable when founders Jim and Linse first set out through the back roads of Lancaster, Pennsylvania in 2003.

Today, the conception of online Amish outdoor furniture has made this very special cottage-industry product available to new markets and new customers across the United States and the world, and DutchCrafters is recognized by many as having been integral in the growing availability. The furniture and crafts found on DutchCrafters are made by more than 115 Amish shops primarily located throughout Holmes County, Ohio; Lancaster County, Pennsylvania; and near Shipshewana, Indiana. It is estimated that more than 15,000 American workers have been directly involved in producing, finishing and shipping DutchCrafters products over the last decade. DutchCrafters has always maintained a commitment to American-made products, and advocates that an investment in American-made furniture is a simple, patriotic act that ultimately benefits thousands of American workers.

But the challenges faced in the conception were not the only trials DutchCrafters would face in their first ten years of business. DutchCrafters remarkably survived the financial crisis of 2008 nearly unscathed, excelling even in a time when the jobless rate doubled, climbing from 5% at the start of the downturn to a 26-year high 10.1% in October of 2009.

Through ten years of business, DutchCrafters.com has now been visited by over four million unique visitors, and the number of total monthly visitors is still on the rise. DutchCrafters has served customers in every state of the country, including both Alaska and Hawaii, and every continent except for Antarctica.

While CEO James Miller largely attributes the success of DutchCrafters to the quality and authenticity of his product, heirloom Amish made furniture, he commonly sites yet another element of business when asked how he grew DutchCrafters into the only Amish-related business in the Inc. 5000.

"The other big factor in our success was a simple one," Miller explains, "We believe in offering a high level of value to our customers through superior products and service. It sounds so cliché, but at DutchCrafters we put our customers first. I don't know how to quantify this. It's an art more than a science, a way of being more than a way of doing, a spirit more than a to do list, an intangible more than a concrete."

DutchCrafters celebrates their 10th Anniversary this year with an ongoing promotion throughout the year for 10% off their top 10 all-time bestselling products – a promotion clearly oriented around the number 10. DutchCrafters offers $199 shipping on entire orders, regardless of size. The company also staffs a live furniture specialist, sends free stain samples, and finances purchases of over $1,000 in either two or three payments over the course of the build to make buying easy.

About DutchCrafters
Established in 2003, DutchCrafters was the first business to successfully sell high-end Amish furniture on the Internet. The company, based near the Amish and Mennonite community of Pinecraft in Sarasota, Florida, holds an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau. For additional information please visit, www.dutchcrafters.com.