Made In America Furniture Tour 2026

Made In America Furniture Tour 2026

The Designers Collaborative (TDC) ‘s second annual TDC Trip to Pennsylvania’s Lancaster County for the Made-in-America Furniture Tour was a success!  Our little group enjoyed an intimate opportunity to forge closer bonds while learning and having fun.

The 3 day immersive tour explored the unsung heroes of furniture in America, the Amish and Mennonite furniture builders.  In this time of tariffs their work is especially important.  The quality of their work is undeniable, and their options are vast.

We stayed in historic Lititz, PA at The Wilbur, Tapestry (by Hilton), a converted chocolate factory that offered a picture perfect combination of contemporary and classic architecture with all the amenities. Walkable Lititz is full of boutique shops, fabulous restaurants, and lots of charm.  It was also central to all our other tours.

The keystone of our trip was the PA Furniture Builders Show, a trade show held each year in early spring, featuring quality made-in-America furniture.  Going in person to meet new local sources of made-to-order, solid wood furniture can’t be replicated.  Manufacturers in this region offer multiple solid wood species and incredible stain/finish options. The vendors that show at the PA Furniture Builders Show do not attend High Point or any other trade show, making our trip a unique opportunity to discover new vendors.  Additionally, many PA vendors are open to selling to interior designers directly without big open orders and yearly minimums. 

After wrapping up at the trade show, we headed to a nearby charming town to do some antiquing.  Later we had an amazing meal at one-of-a-kind Per Diem at Hotel Rock Lititz. 

On our last day together we toured a manufacturing facility and saw the furniture we love made from start to finish.  The good folks at longtime TDC vendor Zimmerman Chair immersed us in the smell of freshly cut wood, the sounds of machinery, and the step-by-step evolution of each piece- we left with a whole new perspective on how furniture is made.

The members who attended can now relay the texture of this firsthand experience and knowledge of new vendors to their clients and other TDC members.  It was an enriching and educational trip; we walked away a tighter community with some new friends.  Thank you to all for making it such a success!