Aline Lepsis is one of the co-owners of Amish Furniture Showcase.[/caption]

You do not have to drive out of state or even out of the city to find quality, custom-made furniture.

Amish Furniture Showcase in Frisco offers hand-built furniture from “carefully selected North American hardwoods” made by skilled craftsmen. Items purchased at the Amish Furniture Showcase generally do not wind up in estate or garage sales—they are often passed down from generation to generation.

Amish Furniture Showcase opened in 2002 and is owned by the Lepsis family. Originally from Frisco, the family was living in Denver when they were introduced to the craftsmanship of Amish furniture. Pete Lepsis and his parents, Bob and Aline, run the store.

“We fell in love with the furniture and we just don’t think there’s a better quality of furniture that’s available,” Pete said. “You can tell when you open a drawer to one of these cabinets. The craftsmanship makes the fit and how it works perfect.

“And there’s a misconception that Amish furniture is very plain, but they make beautiful furniture. It’s their livelihood, so they want to build what sells.”

Amish furniture is made from solid wood using mortise and tenon joints.[/caption]

The Amish and Mennonite wood workers live in Ohio and Indiana. They employ the mortise and tenon joint that has been used by woodworkers for centuries. The simple but sturdy joint connects pieces at 90-degree angles.

“There have been advances in the glue used to hold wood together, and the varnishes have also increased the longevity of the furniture,” Pete said. “The Amish use the mortise and tenon, and they apply some glue to just seal the joint.”

The showroom has 6,800 square feet of display space, though the furniture displayed may be different from what customers actually order. The display pieces give customers an idea of what they want, then the finished product is built to specifications.

“A customer can choose the style and the type of wood, plus there are 21 different stains for each wood,” Pete said. “The options are basically endless. And we’ve got hundreds of catalogs customers can look [through] if we don’t have what they want here.”

The store’s furniture is made by Amish and Mennonite wood workers in Ohio and Indiana.[/caption]

When the store opened, the construction boom in Frisco was just beginning, so Amish Furniture Showcase has benefited from the growth, Pete said.

“We have customers come from all over the Metroplex,” Pete said. “We even have customers from southern Oklahoma. When Toyota moved its corporate headquarters, we had a lot of those people come in to shop, and they told their co-workers.

The business delivers furniture throughout Texas and throughout the country.

“We have an unbelievable number of repeat customers,” Pete said.