by Juanita | Feb 27, 2021 | Ava Lee's History Corner, customer experience, Customization, Entertainment Centers, Gifts
Baby Cradle For New Arrival
A new baby was soon to enter into Doug and Shirley’s family. Their daughter announced the expected arrival of their new grandchild on March 15, 1989. An idea of a wooden cradle was on the top of the list and the search began. They didn’t want just any regular cradle. It had to be a unique and handcrafted. As they traveled around Lancaster County, they saw George’s hand-engraved road signs.
In the showroom a child’s cradle greeted them. They worked with George to design a special cradle perfect for their new grandchild. They were delighted when the cradle arrived just in time.
Mystery Tour Discovered
Years later, a friend wanted to take a group of their friends on a mystery tour. The tour guide was all excited to show some special places they had found. After about three stops on the mystery tour, Doug realized that they were traveling on roads close to George’s Furniture. Sure enough, their next stop was George’s Furniture. “Our daughters cradle came from George’s,” Doug proudly announced. The tour guide was a little disappointed that they had not surprise Doug and Shirley. However, the disappointment was soon forgotten while the group enjoyed a personalize wood shop tour.
Tall Bed Challenge Solved
Shirley always enjoyed a tall bed. She loved diving into her 36” high bed. The higher bed allowed for some extra storage under the bed. However, when she needed to have back surgery, her therapist said, “No more diving into your bed.” She came back to George and requested a bed stool to be made. It had one step and worked perfectly. Now she could slowly roll into bed without pain. Later a hand rail was added.
No Discontinued Styles
Well, another grand child is entering their family and it is time for another cradle. George’s Furniture maintained the design from the first cradle and made another cradle. These cradles will be cherished heirlooms for years to come.
Customer Shares Excitement
Doug and Shirley still talk about their experience with George’s furniture to all their friends and look forward to blessing their future grandchildren. Visit our showroom and image the unique designs for your next heirloom.
by Juanita | Feb 3, 2021 | 50th anniversary, Ava Lee's History Corner, Chair, Rocking Chairs, Tables
Legacy begins
George’s legacy began in 1970, in a 8×12 ft shed in the back yard. A small collection of hand and powered tools along with raw lumber started the foundation that turned a hobby into a thriving business. While he worked at a local sawmill, he collected his own raw lumber by cutting some trees at a neighbor’s property, taking the logs to a sawmill, and drying the wood in a neighbor’s barn. Once the wood was dried properly, George took his natural talent and blessed his wife with handmade furniture.
First legacy furniture style
The first style of furniture George made depended on the small number of tools that were in his tool collection. The louvered doors and live edge shelves permeated the first furniture crafted. George used a 2×2 ft table saw to cut the slats for the louvered door panels and fit them into the door frame. A hand-held drill served as a hole maker for the 8 sized rungs. The table saw helped him made the 8-sided rungs. By turning his hand held belt sander upside down and wedging it into a vice grip he created a way to sand a taper into each rung end.
First woods used
Walnut and butternut wood were the first species of wood that George used for his furniture. Walnut wood contains a natural dark and light sections to the wood grain. The first 15 years of new growth is blond in color before it turns into a dark brown color. This is known as the sapwood and heart wood of a tree. Since Butternut wood naturally looks blond like walnut sapwood, George chose to use butternut wood for the shelves and the live edge of walnut for the rest of the furniture.
First piece created
In 1970, George designed and built a live edge bookcase with open shelves and storage below. Without the equipment to make raised panel doors, he utilized the antique louvered construction for doors and the back. Two thin rungs behind the doors provided a place to store vinyl records. On the bottom of the bookcase, we noticed that George used a yellow lumber crayon (tough, non-fade, water resistant crayon used in the forestry industry.) for signing his signature along with the date and place of construction. His typical signature included his first two initials and ended with his last name. The place was Lancaster county, PA. The written year finished the personal identification of authenticity.
After a fruitless search for a high-chair, George shocked Ava Lee by announcing his plan to make a high-chair for his young daughter. Chairs are one of the most difficult pieces of furniture to design and create for durability and longevity. Making the rungs, contouring the seat, designing the tray, drilling the precise angles, and assembling all the parts is quite an engineering feat. Georges presented the new highchair to their first daughter upon its completion. Later each child did their best to escape the grips of the highchair tray. Some even fell asleep.
Additional items in legacy collection
For Christmas of 1972, George designed a stereo cabinet to house the record player and stereo unit that he gifted to his wife, Ava Lee as a wedding present. The cabinet held the record player, two large speakers, and media storage. On the record player lid, it is inscribed, “To My Beloved Family for Christmas of 1972.” GBMartin, Lancaster County, PA, in lead pencil, protected by a water-resistant finish. Several other items in the original collection are live edge end tables, coffee table, and a small bench.
Next came tables and chairs
Once a highchair design was complete, the next step was dining chairs. Continuing the 8-sided rungs and contours seat, George built his first dining chair for Ava Lee, Christmas of 1971. He enlisted the services of Ebersole’s chair shop for steam bending of the chair backs. As a result of one completed chair the rest of the chair set arrived for Ava Lee’s birthday in January 1972. While their first daughter enjoyed the handmade highchair, she was pushed out by a second child. However, this created a problem because she could not comfortably sit on a regular chair and eat at the table. No problem, dad to the rescue. Soon a child’s chair arrived that was an intermediate height between a highchair and regular chair.
The second child also brought another want; a rocking chair. Good to his promise of providing for his family, George met another engineering challenge head on. He created not only a comfortable rocking chair with all its unique angles but also a rocker that does not tip over. The first rocker showed up on Valentines day for Ava Lee, 1972. The second rocking chair with arms was signed “To my beloved family 1972, GBMartin, Lancaster County, PA.” 1974 brought the creation of the first table, a 42 inch square walnut 4 legged table. However when the family needed a larger table, George converted the table into an extension table and donated it to Heartsease Home, a girls home in New York City.
Explore the museum
Our second showroom displays many of the original furniture designed and created by George Martin. Meet our Founder, George Martin as he talks (videos) about the different processes of making furniture. Visit our furniture store and wood shop soon for a personal look at the quality and craftsmanship that George passed onto his craftsmen.
by Juanita | Sep 26, 2020 | Ava Lee's History Corner, customer experience, George's Furniture, Hutch
It all started when Bob and Rachel visited their friend’s home. They noticed beautiful furniture skillfully placed around the living space. Furniture of this quality is hard to find. However, after years of searching, they finally found it right in their friends home. When questioned where the beautiful furniture came from, their friends ecstatically shared the journey that ended at George’s Furniture, Marietta, PA.
Journey begins
Bob had a remodeling project scheduled. After four years the new addition neared completion. Subsequently, they planned a trip to Lancaster County. A beautiful drive from Vermont to Pennsylvania brought Bob and Rachel to George’s Furniture’s showrooms and the wood working shop. During a wood shop tour, Bob and Rachel saw the craftsmen skillfully creating quality heirlooms. Finally they knew this was the birthplace of their new dining room furniture.
Built your way
They met with Anthony and started the journey of designing their desired dining space. After the order was placed and the waiting began. As an added benefit, Anthony sent several pictures of their furniture progression through the wood shop in the different build stages.
Bob quotes,
“Anthony did a fantastic job of working with us patiently while we determined what we wanted even to the point of thinking outside the box of choices to design the legs of the hall tree to match the table legs.”
Careful Delivery
Upon completion, the delivery personnel carefully blanket wrapped the furniture and skillfully placed it in the van for its trip to Vermont. A warm and excited reception greeted Chris and Juanita after a long 8 hour trip in the delivery van. Several neighbors eagerly waited, ready with open arms to transport the table, chairs, table leaf storage, large hutch, buffet, hall tree and 2 non-tip rocking chairs into the house.
“We knew the kind of quality we could expect but when the dining room furniture arrived, we were blown away by the quality of each piece individually and how the whole room of furniture fit together.”
Quality on Display
Rachel’s excitement exploded as she shared their journey discovering George’s Furniture. She looks forward to gathering everyone around the same table in their newly remodeled dining room. Bob and Rachel joined the family of George’s satisfied customer that can’t contain their excitement and love for their furniture. Join the family and create you next new piece of furniture. Come and see where your furniture is built or contact us to started the journey.
by Juanita | May 20, 2020 | Ava Lee's History Corner, customer experience, Customization, Entertainment Centers, George's Furniture
Does real wood furniture even exist anymore?
Meet Charles. He was seeking real wood furniture, an entertainment center, in fact, made of real wood that was high quality, not just a particle board & plywood piece. His search led him to many furniture stores & small businesses around Lancaster, York & Harrisburg. While our area includes many amazing small businesses (there is seriously so much to do here in Lancaster), Charles was having a hard time finding what he wanted. The majority of pieces he found lacked any hardwood elements. Instead he kept finding particle board & plywood pieces, the exact materials he wanted to avoid. If he was going to make a solid investment in his furniture, he wanted to know it would be durable, strong & resistant to warping or breakage.
Then Charles found George
While shopping at Meadow Brook Farmer’s Market in Leola, PA (which has since closed), Charles discovered George’s Woodcrafts storefront. After seeing our display of high quality, solid, hardwood furniture, he picked up a business card and called us. In fact, Charles came to visit our wood shop and showroom located near Maytown, PA, just a short drive from his home. At George’s, Anthony, one of our designers, greeted Charles and gave him a tour of the factory. Charles knew this was the place to get real wood furniture.
The Beauty of Real Wood Furniture Customized to You
Now, time to dive into the George’s Furniture process!
After discussing various dimensions and designs, Charles used his drafting ability to draw up detailed sketches of his entertainment center. Anthony took the sketches, verified the construction integrity and prepared an estimate for final approval by Charles.
Once Charles approved the final plans, one of our skilled craftsmen got to work! Each piece created by George’s Furniture is signed by the creator. You can actually see some signatures of our craftsman right here. Plus the beauty of custom wood furniture is that you, as the customer, can select the wood, stain & design you want. Charles loved the fact that he could choose 100% solid oak hardwood. Since all of the hardwood used at George’s Woodcrafts is native to PA, Charles knew he found the quality he was searching for.
Real Wood Furniture: no going back now
Truth be told, once Charles had that real hardwood entertainment center in his home, he knew he wouldn’t be satisfied with anything less than the George’s Furniture quality for all his future furniture purchases.
In fact, over the many years, Charles did indeed return to George’s to purchase many furniture pieces. Of course, each piece was custom designed & handcrafted according to his desires & specifications. (He is not the only customer who got hooked on George’s custom real wood furniture.) George Martin, our founder, even surprised Charles a time or two by making personal deliveries of the furniture.
Real Wood Furniture: high quality that lasts for years
The amazing thing about high quality real wood furniture is how long it lasts, and when you find the high quality craftsmen that we have at George’s, you just can’t help but bring every project to them. Thirteen years after Charles purchased the original entertainment center, he desired to add three doors to the front. He worked with Chris on the exact dimensions and stain color to match the original entertainment center. The new doors now complete the entertainment center, keeping dust out and components securely stored.
The ability to design and choose the details allowed Charles to create his dream living space. Furniture built with Pennsylvania solid hardwood, made in America and above all will last for decades: That is what we do at George’s Furniture. Order your own built-to-order, custom made to your specifications piece of George’s furniture. Start here with our guide to spotting high quality furniture. Then you can come and see right where your furniture is built or simply contact us.
by Juanita | Jan 17, 2020 | Ava Lee's History Corner, Coffee End Table, Customization
Birth of quality furniture
George first began his business in 1972. He made furniture in an old dairy barn wood shop and marketed it at a small stand in Lancaster County. The Gurnsey Barn, was a local venue for country music and local theater nestled along the tourist stretch of Route 30. It was there that George met many tourists and his customer based expanded throughout the east coast.
Wood Shop Tour began
While the customers loved the quality they also wanted to watch the furniture building process. So, in the late 1980’s, George transformed on old 5 car garage, on the farm, into a showroom. The wood shop and showroom together invites the public to watch the craftsman building wooden heirlooms. Tour the wood shop and discover the thought and the skilled design each piece of furniture receives. The craftsman signs and dates his carefully created heirlooms.
Bus, motorcycle, airplane
Many people visiting Lancaster County enjoy the excursion through the rolling farmland of western Lancaster County. They tour the wood shop and purchase solid wood furniture created to their specifications. Although customers often come by car, motorcycle or tour bus, some more adventuresome ones have arrived by bike. They follow the many historical bike routes throughout the county. One couple even landed their small plane at a local airport 5 minutes from George’s Furniture to place their order for furniture.
So with access to the internet, Georgesfurniturepa.com contains videos about how our furniture
is made. Explore the many samples of quality furniture, to inspire new furniture design. Although the website contains a lot of pictures to view, it is only a small sampling of the furniture we make. Each piece of furniture is carefully designed, allowing for the natural wood to adjust to moisture changes. Then it is assigned a skilled craftsman to build. The final step is the application of the craftsman’s signature and dated. Bring in your own ideas and George’s craftsmen will bring those dreams to a reality.
