Letter of Appreciation

Letter of Appreciation

Dear George’s Furniture

I am writing this appreciation letter to express the feelings of my wife, Linda, and I have regarding the bedroom furniture you have produced for us.

Some of our special moments involve all of you.  We got a good feeling from the first time we came to see your shop, June 6, 1995, our twenty-fifth wedding anniversary.  The brochure, we found at the Lancaster Visitor’s Center caused us to come see you that first time. Over a period of several years, we had been looking for something special in bedroom furniture.

Attention to detail

In June, we spent a lot of time looking at the showroom, taking the tour of the drying room and wood shop, reviewing virtually all the photographs, and making lots of notes on details of the furniture we saw. We knew then that if we ever got to the point that we could afford to have the bedroom furniture we really wanted; your shop would be given a lot of consideration.

Exploring furniture stores

In the summer of 2000, we took a drive tour of North Carolina, stopping at various furniture shops and outlets. Some were very nice, but none seemed to capture the feel for quality and detail that we knew existed in the furniture you had on display. None of the places we visited had the feel of friendliness and welcome we experienced from everyone we met in our visits to your shop. By the fall of 2000, improved finances brought us back to you.

Grateful for Design Team

Anthony was wonderful to deal with during entire time and the many times we had discussions by telephone since then. Georges was just where it seemed appropriate when we finished our discussion with Anthony that day –sitting in one of the reclining rockers, talking furniture with some folks.

 

Delivery with a smile

On Tuesday, February 6, we took delivery of the furniture. Roy and his wife were so nice. I imagine nearly everyone has had the experience of having a delivery made by individuals who are hard to get along with. It is hard to imagine George hiring anyone to make deliveries who would not fit the personality of George’s Furniture. I was very pleased to meet and work with Roy and his Wife.

Friendly craftsmanship atmosphere

Your craftsmanship is superb and having your furniture in our home had nothing to do with commercialism. The product you make results from treating a natural product with the skill held only by true craftsmen.

It is not just the furniture; it is the feeling that you all appreciate what you do and what you produce.

To me, craftsmanship of this kind produces a product that is so likely to survive for so many years. After that we hope to pass it onto others who will appreciate it, care for it and likewise pass it on through generations.

Sincerely,

Michael & Linda Burkey

Come and experience what Michael and Linda experience while working with George’s Furniture. From working with the design team to seeing the craftsmen work, you will understand the difference of quality, handcrafted furniture made by George’s craftsmen.

How to Spot Quality

To help you start the process to high quality, handcrafted furniture, we have created this handy checklist on how to spot high-quality furniture.  Download the checklist here so you know what to avoid in your furniture shopping.  When you are ready to design your own custom furniture, call and our designers will be eager to assist you in creating that one of a kind cherished piece of quality furniture.

 

 

Download your Guide to High-Quality Furniture
3 Things You Need to Know about this Solid Wood Kitchen Table

3 Things You Need to Know about this Solid Wood Kitchen Table

“I love that this table belonged to my grandparents!” Can you believe this solid wood kitchen table was actually created for her grandparents?! Now Karly gets to gather her family around this same table! And it is in amazing condition! 

A Custom Kitchen Table Just for Them

In 1978, Cyrus and Florence Keefer were designing their new house in Middletown, PA. They dreamed of a joyful home making memories with their children. That’s when they realized they really wanted a solid wood kitchen table as the centerpiece for family meals, homework, board games & late-night chats. Their next obstacle? Finding a table that could meet their needs. 

As Cyrus & Florence considered their needs, they knew they could not just pick up a kitchen table from a furniture outlet store. They really needed a customized solid wood kitchen table just for them & their family.

Enter George’s Furniture, Lancaster, PA. When Cyrus & Florence reached out to George, they knew they definitely wanted a kitchen table made from black walnut wood. Lucky for them, George’s Furniture specializes in black walnut wood. When they visited George, they shared their vision for the kitchen & even saw George’s woodshop in action. That is when they decided on a trestle table & chairs to fit their eat-in kitchen space. 

1st thing to know about this solid wood kitchen table: It is completely custom designed for Cyrus & Florence’s kitchen & made out of beautiful black walnut wood.

Black Walnut Wood: Perfect for this Kitchen Table

Once the gorgeous solid wood kitchen table was installed in their home, it quickly became the gathering point for their family. In fact, Cyrus started a Sunday night tradition of preparing sandwiches, his specialty, for the whole family & any of their guests who visited too. 

Sadly, Cyrus passed in 1980. But in their loss, his family appreciated the memories they had with their father gathered around that beautiful kitchen table. In time, Cyrus’s daughter Lori & son-in-law Kurt Siffin inherited the solid wood trestle table & chairs set.

“The table was a sentimental piece of furniture… a pleasant reminder of our father and family home,” recalls Lori. “The table has aged well. The memory marks have added character to the table. It is a piece worthy to be passed on.” 

In the Siffin home, the kitchen table again brought the family together for meals, games, & memories. Even through several moves, this family heirloom witnessed birthday parties & celebrations, soup nights in the winter, & lunches in the summer. 

When Lori & Kurt Siffin finally downsized to their current home in Long Neck, Delaware, the solid wood trestle table & chairs went into storage, but not for long.

2nd thing to know about this solid wood kitchen table: Using the black walnut wood for this kitchen table meant it kept its beauty & strength through the 2nd generation of the family. Trestle table made at Georges Furniture in lancaster county pa

Solid Wood Kitchen Table Lasts Generations

Because of the sentimental value of the table as well as the high quality of the black walnut wood, the Siffins thoughtfully stored the table properly to preserve its quality.

After 2 years in storage, Karly Siffin, granddaughter of Cyrus & daughter of Lori, gave the trestle table new life in her home. From Philadelphia, PA, Karly moved from her small apartment into a townhome in Manayunk, PA. Now this family heirloom can again serve family & friends in Karly’s kitchen. “I love that this table belonged to my grandparents. It is very special to me,” says Karly.

3rd thing to know about this solid wood kitchen table: When you work with George’s Furniture to custom build your dream furniture, you can trust that the quality will truly last your family for generations. It is well worth the investment.

Each customer of George’s Furniture enjoys the ability to pass their heirlooms from one generation to another. The exceptional, high-quality construction and strong, protective finishes allow George’s furniture to survive decades. Join the many satisfied customers and begin your family traditions of gathering around a table and enjoy the beauty of handcrafted solid wood furniture.

Raw lumber source, stackable chair

Raw lumber source, stackable chair

Lumber meets finished furniture

Chris Bingaman first met George by working for his father’s lumber business, Bingaman & Sons Lumber. For many years, George would purchase raw lumber used to make the high-quality solid hardwood furniture at George’s Woodcrafts. George worked with Max, Chris’ father, to identify the group of logs that were cut to George’s particular order.  Black walnut was a favor of George and is still in high demand, especially as a recently developed technique, using both the natural heartwood and sapwood of black walnut wood called Walnut Blend was made available.

no water marks durable finish dining room table furniture store in lancaster

Walnut Blend on Table with clear water resistant finish repelling water.

The coveted Pennsylvania cherry and red oak are in high demand, harvested by Bingaman & Sons from the ever-expanding forests of Pennsylvania. Over the years, Chris enjoyed sharing his love for natural wood and the harvest of timber. He also appreciates the quality of craftsmanship exhibited by George’s craftsmen.

Gifts for employees

As a special gift to their retiring employees, the company purchases George’s famous non- tip rocking chair. Several times, George’s employees have toured the lumber saw mill and wood drying kilns. A great way to integrate of raw lumber and finished product. 

Designed to space requirements

Chris upgraded his sales office by specially ordering a large executive desk. He worked with our designers to bring his ideas and unique space needs to reality. Delivering the desk presented another challenge. The hallways were narrow with tight corners. Up the stairs and around a hairpin curve. We designed the desk with the office layout in mind. Now Chris enjoys helping customers surrounded with natural cherry grain of his executive desk.

George’s designer came and measured the space I had to use and worked with me to create a design that served all the functions I hoped for. When the desk arrived, it exceeded my expectations! It is a beautiful piece that brings a “wow” response to everyone who visits my office and it is the most enjoyable work station I have ever experienced. I am an extremely satisfied customer!!!  – Chris Bingaman

Stackable Chair designstackable chairs

When Chris and his wife redecorated their home, they came with a unique style of dining chair. They worked with our designers to develop a new style of chair that continued the strength and comfort of George’s chairs. Another challenge of long tables is where to store all the chairs between dinner parties. A design for sturdy, stackable chairs emerged and now stands in their closet awaiting the next large gathering. The stackable chairs are stacked in groups of 5 chairs taking the space of 32x21x42h. They are available in black walnut (pictured), cherry, red oak or maple hardwood. A number of different stain colors are available.

Can’t keep it quiet

The quality and natural grain of solid wood is hard to keep quiet. Customers like Chris are sharing their love for wood and superb craftsmanship with the guest at home and the customers they meet. Come see our two showrooms and woodworking shop to see what the talk is all about. You will be amazed and see firsthand why quality speaks for itself.

Furniture Store Expands

Furniture Store Expands

George realized his natural gift and talent for making quality wood products and wanted to spread the word. The challenge with spreading the word about quality of hand-crafted products is finding customers who appreciate handcrafted items.

Craft shows

George first displayed his wood items at Springs Festival, Springs, PA. He skillfully created live edge furniture such as stools, benches, tables, and bookends. Thin, woven wood-strip baskets and lamp shades characterized his unique, woodworking styles. Throughout the show day, wooden woven basket plaque engravingGeorge engraved custom plaques ready in one hour. Other larger wood items like rockers, dry sinks, trestle table and benches were available for purchase. Customers also used the furniture to explore the different furniture style options for placing custom orders. For many years, the order placed at the craft show supplied work for the next 12 months. George not only went to Springs festival but also displayed his crafts at the Dutch Family Festival in Lancaster, PA during the summer tourist season.

First Showroom

In 1973, he rented a small showroom at 4 Center Square, Elizabethtown, PA. Later that winter he moved his furniture store to 20 S. Market Street, Elizabethtown, where he sold furniture for thirteen years. This furniture store was quite small but allowed customers to see the quality of craftsmanship made by George and his craftsmen. On Friday and Saturdays, he also had a stand at Meadowbrook Farmer’s Market, Leola, PA. George purchased a 12-acre farm where he moved his wood working shop into the dairy barn.

Showroom and wood shop tours

One added benefit our customers enjoy is touring the wood shop. George moved the showroom to the same location as the wood shop.  Allowing customer to view the furniture manufacturing shows everyone the time and attention to detail given to each piece of furniture. The larger showrooms wood shop tours showroom storepresent a visual display of completed furniture. Larger furniture-dining room sets, bedroom suites, living room tables, entertainment centers are displayed.

Visit Today

Our two large showrooms are located 9 Reichs Church Road, Marietta, PA, Monday through Saturday. The wood-shop tour exhibits the manufacturing process from raw lumber to finished furniture. Take a trip to our location and enjoy the quality furniture and talk to our design team about a new piece of custom-made furniture. We also display our furniture at craftshows in the Eastern United States. Check our website for updated schedule.

Broken rocker leads to discovery

Broken rocker leads to discovery

Rocking chairs are cherished for their comfortable, gentle rocking ability that calms the nerves of a hard day.  Mothers enjoy their newborn babies as they rock them to sleep.  This is the story of how the Dubiel family discovered George’s Rocker Recliner.

Rocker’s Lost battle

Dick and Lori Dubiel purchased a rocking chair their home.  An unfortunate experience happened to their rocker.  Their uncle was rocking comfortably, when the rocking chair lost its battle and broke. Looking through the phone book, Lori found George’s Woodcrafts (presently George’s Furniture) and visited the store in Elizabethtown, PA, Lancaster County.

Customer Remembers

“My uncle rocked in my not so great rocking chair and as he pushed on the arms to get up, they broke off.  I had seen George’s store in Elizabethtown so I went in to ask if he could reattach the arms.  As I looked at George’s quality of work, I realized that I did not want him to see my broken chair.  Instead, I went and ordered one of his rockers to replace the broken rocker. I wanted a good quality chair that would survive my two boys and George’s non tipping rocker was perfect.  I purchased a rocker that George had on the floor.” -Lori Dubiel.

Quality Discovered

As a result of Dick and Lori’s rocking experience, they discovered George’s quality furniture.  Their first furniture purchase was a walnut oval pedestal table set, dry sink and a crosscut stool.  Once placing the order, the couple made small payments.  However, as a surprise for his wife, Dick secretly placed additional money on their order.  Lori’s mother joined into the fun and purchased her own rocking chair which she past unto her grandson.  Five years later a corner hutch joined their collection.

Individual Attention to Detail

George loved to delivery his own furniture. The Dubiel’s remember their corner hutch delivery.  Once the hutch was carefully placed in their room, George proceeded to checked all his furniture to be sure that no damage occurred during the Dubiel’s recent move.  Years later, the Dubiels moved to South Carolina but remain in contact through George’s monthly newsletter.  Discover George’s solid wood furniture in Lancaster County PA today.