Abe Yoder moved to the Canton area in 2019; the previous owner of his home had had a chair shop, so Abe took over the shop and built wooden dining chairs as well. Abe was no newcomer to the business, however. He had started working in a cabinet shop when he was 17.
In 2020, the furniture business slowed down during the pandemic. Abe knew he needed to add to his line to stay in business. After learning that Reuben of R & J Amish Furniture in Harmony was retiring, Abe decided to try making outdoor poly furniture like Reuben had been doing.
After a few chats with Reuben, Abe tried making the poly furniture on his own. Reuben had been getting his furniture out of Ohio precut on a CNC and assembling it; Abe decided to do all the cutting himself.
In the spring of 2021, he ordered a few pieces of the poly. When he first ordered, the company carried 22 colors; soon they cut down to the top five most popular due to COVID supply issues. Now they once again have around 22 colors available. Most of his customers stick with neutral colors, however.
While Abe originally planned to do both wood and poly furniture, by the spring of 2022, he had sold all of his wooden chair business to concentrate on the more profitable poly furniture. He had decided it was time to “sink or swim,” and has been “swimming” ever since!
Abe found he loves working with the poly; he never liked the dust of wood furniture production. He was able to sell his sanders and planers; other than that he uses the same tools as he did before. His saws, air compressor and other equipment are powered by a diesel engine.
Abe did learn a few tricks in working with poly. He found drilling in one continuous motion on poly resulted in long strands of poly wrapped around his drill bits; now he drills the holes with a series of short up and down motions which allow the shorter strands to easily fall away.
Abe was quick to point out the benefits of poly furniture – it’s maintenance free; doesn’t rot, warp or crack; doesn’t need restaining or painting since the rich colors go through the entire piece and have a UV protector to prevent fading. He uses stainless steel fasteners, aluminum brackets, and heavy stainless steel swivel rocker brackets. While the cost of the furniture is initially more, Abe feels it is worth the investment. He added that the poly is made with recycled plastic, which keeps the plastic out of landfills.
Currently, Abe makes tables and chairs, gliders (both swivel and bench), consoles, fire pits and custom bars with swivel chairs. He sells most of his furniture locally from his workshop, although he has shipped a few items to Arizona and Wisconsin.
This past year, his best sellers were high top tables with swivel chairs as well as swivel chairs with rockers in them for outdoor use. The previous summer, swivel gliders were the top sellers. Abe shared that one of his custom orders came when a woman stopped in looking for a garbage can. She found a bar and chair set while paging through a catalog at the shop and asked Abe if he could create it. After taking some time to price supplies, Abe gave her a quote and soon she had her custom furniture.
Abe is always willing to try making something new; customers are encouraged to come and discuss their ideas for custom projects. Abe and his wife are making colorful daisy lawn ornaments from scraps. He’s also made barn quilt stars. Abe tried making poly toboggans; they slid great on the snow, but didn’t become good sellers. His own children are still enjoying those sturdy toboggans, though!
Supplies for Abe’s business are manufactured near Green Bay for a company in Ohio. Abe hopes to be able to eventually purchase directly from the Green Bay manufacturer to save on shipping expenses.
During the winter, Abe works in construction to make ends meet. A & R Poly Furniture is Abe’s priority, however; he has some furniture orders for spring and will return full time to the shop as soon as business picks up in the spring. He would love to be able to work in his shop year round creating his poly furniture.
Stop in at A & R Poly Furniture located at 13603 385th Avenue, Canton, Minn., (just outside Lenora on Cty. Rd. 23) to check out Abe’s selection and to discuss your ideas for any custom furniture that you may want him to create; he loves the challenge!
Leave a Reply