Black Buggy Furniture

Three years after dipping his toe into the world of entrepreneurship, Reo McBride of Rainier can acknowledge to himself that he’s a darn good businessman. Black Buggy Furniture is a unique endeavor to this area. McBride sells high-end, custom-built furniture made from the hands of Amish craftsmen who live on the other side of the country. He credits his Amish friends and suppliers for guiding him along as his business has grown. Since he opened in February 2006, McBride has sold well over $1 million worth of furniture, he said. If things continue to go well, he’s considering opening another Amish furniture store. This month, he expects to launch his Web site (www.blackbuggyfurniture.com), taking Black Buggy Furniture to the Internet and, potentially, far outside Oregon and Washington. The Web site eventually will feature some 200 catalogs, giving customers a multitude of selections. Just a couple of months later, McBride, speaking with his sister who lives in Ohio, learned an Amish man and successful furniture maker was looking for a way to distribute his popular products in Oregon. The two men were introduced and McBride began considering a new idea for his empty shop. In September 2005, he went to visit this furniture maker in Holmes County in central Ohio, the center of the largest Amish and Mennonite population in the world. Amish furniture is big business in Holmes County, providing thousands of jobs there. The Amish, a Christian people, are perhaps best known for their simple living, plain dress and resistance to using many modern conveniences. The Amish people are often known for the horse-drawn black buggies many use for transportation. McBride found he could relate well to the Amish people and their way of life. He’s even had a lifelong dream of owning a team of workhorses. “I feel I was born 100 years too late in some cases,” said McBride, a humble, 55-year-old man. “It just became a fit because I’m an old-timer in a new-timer body.” And, more importantly, he was sold on the idea of selling a product of the highest quality to his future customers. “We can beat (competitors) on quality and workmanship and detail all the time,” he said of the furniture in his showroom.