Kevin Kauffman made a tough decision as a teen: to break away from the Amish community he had grown up in.

Today, you probably wouldn’t connect the Illinois businessman to his strict Mennonite past — unless he handed you his card.

Kauffman is a founder and owner of Simply Amish, a furniture distributor that works with Amish craftsmen to supply retailers across North America. One of those dealers is Classic Furnishings in Innisfail, which Kauffman and his family visited last Thursday.

Based in Arcola, Ill., Simply Amish co-ordinates the production of more than 50 Amish shops. Ranging in size from several craftsmen to more than 30, they manufacture a broad range of furniture, including dining room, living room, bedroom and office pieces.

Output occurs with factory-like efficiency but the process differs from most other manufacturers.

“They don’t use electricity,” pointed out Kauffman, adding that air and hydraulic power is available, thanks to diesel generators.

There is a greater emphasis on manual labour, including a final hand-sanding of each piece.

And because the furniture is built individually, each piece is unique; a customer who fails to order leaves for a table is unlikely to later find any that will fit or match, said Kauffman.

The shops are located in farm settings, due in part to the Amish’s dependence on livestock.

“They use a horse and buggy for travel,” said Kauffman, adding that conservative clothing is another earmark of Amish life.

The 1985 movie Witness, in which a wounded police officer — played by Harrison Ford — is nursed back to health in an Amish community, provided a reasonable depiction, said Kauffman.

“But it is Pennsylvania Amish, which is slightly different than in Illinois.”

Kauffman was born into an old order Amish community in Illinois. But he decided at a young age that he didn’t want to be subject to the Amish lifestyle.

His father accepted that decision — as long as Kauffman committed to a church somewhere — and he was also able to remain on good terms with others in the community.

“I didn’t join and then defect,” he said, explaining that if he’d embraced the Amish way of life and then turned his back to it, the reaction might have been different.

Kauffman and an uncle started Simply Amish in 1987, initially obtaining furniture from five Amish shops, including one operated by Kauffman’s father. Those craftsmen had previously relied on customers coming to them, and Simply Amish provided them with a vehicle to get their products to market.

The resulting dealer network has grown to include nearly 250 in the United States and Canada. Classic Furnishings became the first north of the border about four years ago, after owner Conrad Hollinger moved to Alberta from his native Pennsylvania and recognized the market opportunity here.

“It was very good from the start,” he said. “Everybody associates Amish with quality.”

In addition to distributing their furniture, Simply Amish provides its craftsmen with designs and specifications to follow. Implementing new ideas and techniques can be a challenge, said Kauffman, because the Amish are production partners rather than employees.

“We have to get them to buy in,” he said, describing how Simply Amish recently decided to upgrade the drawer slides in its products.

“It took a little bit of effort to get everybody on the same page and agree that this is the way we’re going to do it.”

His Amish roots helps, said Kauffman.

“There’s definitely a trust there. Having been raised Amish I know and I have those values that they have.”

Despite the recent downturn in the housing market, 2008 was a record year for Simply Amish — thanks in large part to growth in its dealer network. The company has even talked to prospective distributors in Europe.

“When we first started this I never dreamed it would be something this big,” reflected Kauffman, who then added, “I guess I could say I dreamed.”

hrichards@reddeeradvocate.com