FREQUENT QUESTIONS
Where is The Shaker Shoppe Located?
The Shaker Shoppe, Inc. is located in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania in the Heart of Amish Country.
We are quite proud to call the Historic Town of Lititz our home.
Our physical address is;
THE SHAKER SHOPPE, INC.
616 OWL HILL ROAD
LITITZ, PA 17543
PHONE - 717-626-9461 FAX - 717-626-8511
EMAIL - shakershoppe@dejazzd.com
Lititz, Lancaster County Pennsylvania is located in Southeastern Pennsylvania approximately 1 hour West of the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
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What are the Showroom Hours?
Tuesday through Friday, 12pm - 5pm EST
Saturday, 10am - 3pm EST
We are Closed on Sundays, Mondays & Major Holidays
Appointments are possible during other hours, please contact us if you would like to schedule one.
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Can You Give me Driving Directions to Your Showroom?
DIRECTIONS FROM LANCASTER & ROUTE 30
- Travel Route 501 North for 6 miles to the traffic light at the Pizza Hut / Burger King, which is just north of the Lancaster Airport
- Turn right onto Owl Hill Road.
- Travel Owl Hill Road for 2 miles to The Shaker Shoppe at 616 Owl Hill Road. (About 1 Mile in on Owl Hill Road there is a tricky intersection where you need to keep to the right at a 4-way Stop Sign to Stay on Owl Hill Road.)
DIRECTIONS FROM THE PA TURNPIKE
- Take Exit 286 (US 222 /READING / LANCASTER)
- After Exiting Toll Booths, proceed app. 1/10 mile,and then make a left on 222 South
- Travel 222 South app. 5 miles to the 2nd Exit ,which is for Brownstown/Rothsville/772.
- At the bottom of the ramp turn right onto Route 772 West and travel for app. 6 miles to the Square in the Town of Lititz
- Turn Left onto Route 501.
- Travel 501 for app. 1 mile (stay on 501, do not make the right back onto 772 that comes up.)
- Turn Left at the Burger King / Pizza Hut traffic light onto Owl Hill Road.
- Travel Owl Hill Road 2 miles to The Shaker Shoppe at 616 Owl Hill Road. (About 1 Mile in on Owl Hill Road there is a tricky intersection where you need to keep to the right at a 4-way Stop Sign to Stay on Owl Hill Road.)
CONVENIENT GOOGLE MAPS LINK FOR DIRECTIONS FROM YOUR LOCATION
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What is Shaker Furniture?
Shaker Furniture is a style of furniture that was created by group of Early American Settlers known as The Shakers. The Shakers emigrated from England in the late 1700's and became known for the highly functional, yet simplistic furniture form that they created.
You can read more about the Shakers HERE.
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Is The Shaker Shoppe of Lititz a franchise? Who started this business?
The Shaker Shoppe of Lititz is a family owned, and family run business that was conceived and started by it's husband and wife founders, Tom & Sue Rossman.
During a trip to Winterthur in Delaware in the mid-seventies, when this couple was dating, a seed that would become The Shaker Shoppe was planted.
Today the company has grown to employ a dozen, and includes a second generation, as Tom & Sue's oldest son Lee oversees the manufacturing end of things in the workshop.
Today Tom & Sue continue to work in & on the The Shaker Shoppe of Lititz to further the vision that they shared some 35 years ago.
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Where is our Furniture Made?
All of the Furniture that we have on display in our showroom and offer for sale through our website is handcrafted by our own cabinetmakers and finishers right here in our workshop in Lititz Pennsylvania. Our workshop adjoins our showroom and we often provide workshop tours to visitors that make prior arrangements to do so.
The Fine Furniture that we Hand-Craft is about as AMERICAN MADE as you can get.
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Is our Furniture Made of Solid Wood?
Yes, all of our Furniture is crafted of the finest wood that is available to us. We use select grades of solid Pennsylvania Cherry, Tiger Maple, and Sugar Pine to craft heirloom pieces that will last for many generations.
You will never find any particle-board, vinyl, or flake-board in anything that we craft...only boards from real trees.
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Do we do Custom Work?
Many of the pieces that we craft are customized in one way or another, often requests will be made to change the heights, widths and depths of our standard pieces which is easily accomplished and done on a regular basis. In addition, various elements such as door panels, molding profiles, foot cut-outs and options such as glass doors are often interchanged between pieces to create very personal selections for our clients.
It is also quite common for us to craft custom pieces for clients from photos or magazine clippings that they bring in.
If you are interested in a custom piece please email us the details or stop in our showroom to discuss your needs.
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Do we work in other Furniture Styles?
While Shaker furniture and Shaker reproductions are our forte, we often craft pieces in other styles. Lately we have been crafting a fair amount of Mission and Arts & Crafts style furniture for clients. Past projects that we have completed have contained design influences reminiscent of Pennsylvania German, Stickley and Frank Lloyd Wright furniture forms.
Our cabinetmakers are quite accomplished and always on the lookout for a challenge...if you have something that you would like in mind please plan a visit soon to discuss it with us.
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What Woods do we use and where do we get them?
Only select hardwoods & softwoods indigenous to North America are used to craft the Furniture that we offer.
Primarily Appalachian Cherry from Pennsylvania, Tiger Maple from New York State, and Sugar Pine from Northern California are the woods that we craft in. In addition we also work with species such as Black Walnut, Red Oak, Quarter-Sawn White Oak & Tulip Poplar to name just a few.
The wood that we craft our Furniture with has all been properly seasoned and Kiln-Dried to guard against excess seasonal movement and unwanted insect pests.
All of the wood that we work with is procured through suppliers and means utilizing sustainable forestry and conservation methods.
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How do I place an order?
Orders can be placed over the phone by calling us at 717-626-9461, by visiting our Showroom & Workshop in Lititz, PA, or through our Website's secure Shopping Cart feature.
Just compile the specifics such as the piece, wood specie & color that you are looking for and we will gladly help with the rest. We are pretty thorough with our order taking and will often phone with questions to be sure that we get it right the way you want it.
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Is Your Website Secure?.....What is your Privacy Policy?
This website is owned and maintained by The Shaker Shoppe, Inc. This company is located at the following address and operates the manufacturing facility and showroom for the firms products at this same location. If you need to reach us, you can.
The Shaker Shoppe, Inc.
616 Owl Hill Road
Lititz, PA 17543
Phone - 717-626-9461
Fax - 717-626-8511
email - shakershoppe@dejazzd.com
Primary Contact - Tom Rossman
THIS WEBSITE HAS BEEN FORMATTED WITH YOUR SECURITY IN MIND, ALL INFORMATION GATHERED IN OUR CHECKOUT AREA IS PROTECTED USING 256-BIT SECURE SOCKETS LAYER ENCRYPTION. CLICK ON THE SSL SEALS THAT ARE LOCATED ON EVERY PAGE OF OUR WEBSITE TO VIEW OUR CERTIFICATES.
All information that is submitted by you when making a purchase or requesting to be added to our mailing list is used for said purposes only. We do not sell or share our email addresses or demographic information that is obtained through our website to any other business, organization or individual for any reason at any time.
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After I order a piece of furniture how long does it take until it is ready?
If you place an order for an item that is listed as being a "Sale" item that is on our showroom floor it will be crated and shipped within 7-10 days of when we receive your order. If the piece or item that you are ordering will need to be crafted, you can expect delivery within a 6-9 week time frame. We are pretty good about keeping in touch with you as to when your order will be ready and will give you a very good idea as to when you can expect delivery at the time that you place your order.
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What makes your furniture different from what we see in the larger furniture stores?
Aside from the over-all pleasing look that is present in Shaker Furniture, I would have to say materials & workmanship. Our furniture is made from the beauty of trees and the hands of talented craftsmen.......not from plywood factories and automated machines sent over on a ship in a cardboard box.
Our furniture incorporates traditional woodworking joinery such as mortise & tenons and dovetails.....not staples, glue and metal brackets.
One of the most obvious aspects about our furniture is that it will be in use long after it is paid for and will increase in value. All of our pieces are signed and dated by the craftsman that created it, pieces like ours will become heirlooms within the family of the purchaser. Our furniture is crafted to last as long as the antiques that we have studied to create them.......not just until the 36 month interest-free deal is up.
Point blank......our furniture is not of the disposable variety that is being offered these days in the big box stores.
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What is the best way to take care of and clean the wood furniture that you make?
Our furniture has all been protected with a very durable varnish that can easily be kept looking nice with just a damp cloth to dust with or wipe up any spills. If you feel that more is needed or a dusting agent is desired our recommendation would be to use GUARDSMAN WAX FREE FURNITURE POLISH@ This is a product that is made by VALSPAR which is the same company that mixes the varnishes that we protect our furniture with. ( www.guardsman.com )
The main thing you want to keep from doing is introducing any cleaners that contain wax or silicone, as these type products can cause the appearance of those infamous "WHITE RINGS" that are caused from wet glasses and the like. Products that contain Wax will eventually cause a wax build-up.....when a wet glass is placed on a surface that has a wax build-up moisture will work it's way under the wax and create the "WHITE RING." Products that contain silicone can cause problems with any future repairs or refinishes that may be required.....it can cause a condition known as "FISH-EYE" if it is present when the piece is being refinished or repaired.
Unlike a "WAX " finish that is being offered by many furniture crafters these days, our furniture does not require periodic re-waxing, or additional coats to be applied to keep the furniture looking good.
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Do you offer quantity discounts if I am purchasing more than one piece?
Yes, we do offer set discounts if you are purchasing a few pieces of furniture. Orders placed for non-sale priced pieces that total $5,000 will de discounted 6%, orders over $10,000 will be discounted 12% Please note that these discounts will not be applied towards any shipping or delivery costs that me be needed. Purchases made that include sale priced pieces will not be eligible for this quantity discount. Just contact us when you have your order compiled and we will provide you with the discounted total.
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Do you offer custom colors & finishes?
Yes we do! Our finishing department is quite capable of matching or blending to just about any finish under the sun. If you have a piece of furniture or a kitchen that you would like us to match....just provide us with a sample and we will utilize the skills that we have developed over the past 30 years to get it just right!
We mix all of our own paint & stain colors in house and are capable of attaining just about any hue or tone that you can envision.
We will always provide you with samples for approval before applying the final finish to any special finish request.
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Do you ever have sales?
For the most part, furniture that is on display in our showroom is always discounted 20% - 30% Off of the standard pricing...if you can make a trip to visit, and like the wood and color of a particular piece that we have displayed it is a great way to save.
In addition, we hold periodic specials and sales on floor models & special orders. These sale specials are always announced through our newsletter, "THE PEG RAIL," sign up here if you would like to be placed on our email list to receive your own copy.
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Did I hear that you built chairs for a Hollywood Movie?
Yes you did, in 2004 we crafted close to 100 of our Shawl-Back chairs for M. Night Shyamalan's thriller, "The Village." It was quite a project to pull off in the time frame that was alloted...but we all became chairmakers for a few weeks and got the job done in record time. It was tough crafting these chairs not knowing what would become of them in the movie...we were all very relieved to see that none were destroyed or abused when we viewed the movie upon it's completion!
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Will you repair or refinish some old furniture that I have? Will you re-glue my loose chairs?
While we do offer repair services to our clients, we limit it to only furniture that was originally crafted by The Shaker Shoppe, Inc. If you have purchased a piece from us in years past and it is in need of some attention for one reason or another we will gladly work with you to bring it back to like new for you.
We do not offer repair or refinishing work on any furniture or chairs that were not crafted by us here in Lititz, PA
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Can you paint a piece of furniture that I stripped, or can you paint a piece of unfinished furniture that I purchased elsewhere?
We are unable to provide any painting, staining, or spraying of any furniture that was not made by us here in our Lititz workshop.
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Tell me more about your Painted finishes....what do you mean by "Museum Finish?"
To start.....our painted finishes have evolved over the past twenty years into what we feel are some of the finest available. We have invested many thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours perfecting them.
Our colors are pleasing, they blend with each other and look good with just about anything that you put them with. We sometimes refer to them as being based upon "muted-earth tones," not too bright, not too bold, but just right.
Our intense study of antique pieces and actual Shaker artifacts has provided us with a base to shoot for...we feel that our painted finishes are pretty convincing.....thus the "Museum Finish" denotation.
Many other makers try to achieve the look that we create with multiple layers that never seem to feel completely dry, or appear contrived. Our painted finishes are expertly executed, convincing in appearance, and will not wipe off when you dust or lean against them in light colored clothes. They are all affixed permantly to the piece of furniture they have been applied to, and safely sealed in place with an easy to care for satin finish that will look good for many years.
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What do you mean by Hand-Planed?
When we say "Hand-Planed," we are referring to the means in which the board or piece of wood we are working is tooled. In this instance, we are smoothing, or "planing" the wood with a tool that is called a plane. We use a 14" Leigh-Nielson Jack Plane to prepare most of our larger surfaces. This is a hand-held tool that has been used for centuries by craftsmen worldwide.
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