About Illinois Amish Furniture
Arthur is a small town in Illinois that has a population of just a few thousand, but has an Amish community in the surrounding area with almost double the population of the town. In this area, as with most Amish areas, you can find well-crafted Amish furniture. Does this Spark an idea?
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Marriage Land
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Amish who marry receive land from their fathers to work. Most Amish families in the Arthur area have many children. When the children grow up and marry, the father of each family gives a portion of his land to the newly married couple from which to make their living.
Shrinking Land
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As area of inherited land is decreasing per child for the Amish, more are making furniture woodworking their livelihood. Because of the growing Amish population in the Arthur area, there is less and less land for each of the children to work when they marry. They are increasingly turning to other means of subsistence, one of which is furniture woodworking.
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Wood
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Amish woodworkers in the Arthur area make their furniture out of many different types of wood. Amish furniture is often crafted from oak wood, but maple, walnut, cherry and hickory are other common woods used. Each piece of Amish furniture is hand-crafted, strong and sturdy.
Furniture Care
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The varnish on Amish furniture needs approximately a month to fully cure to allow for its full protective properties. The varnish that is used on Amish furniture will help the wood to become "resistant to water and alcohol". However, it does need to "cure" for about a month, so keep anything that could scratch a surface away from the furniture for at least that long.
Heat and Water
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Keep water off of the wood finish to care for the furniture. Like other wood furniture, heat and water can be damaging to Amish furniture. Try to keep away spills and hot objects from the surface to keep the wood in good condition.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit amish travel image by Pix by Marti from Fotolia.com amish farm image by Tracy Horning from Fotolia.com furniture image by Luisafer from Fotolia.com wood image by Marvin Gerste from Fotolia.com wooden bench image by Christopher Dodge from Fotolia.com spilling water image by bluefern from Fotolia.com
