Find Old Fashioned Vintage Products | New Reproduction Vintage Off Grid Products

Cottage Craft Works, www.cottagecraftworks.com is a unique online store specializing in USA made old fashioned products still manufactured and used within the Amish self sustaining communities. The Amish still use these old time human powered products that were being used at the turn of the century. 

Whether you’re looking to collect old fashioned products or you’re preparing for the potential of living off the grid you will find Cottage Craft Works online store is like taking an amazing trip back in time.

During the time leading up to Y-2K people fearing the potential for off grid survival were flocking to Amish communities in search of old fashioned vintage products just in case they did loose grid power.

During the Y-2K period online availability of these products was still in its infancy.  Resources like Cottage Craft Works was still pretty much all mail order with very limited selections.  Today shoppers don’t have to travel to an Amish community or wait for a catalog to have all these old time products available at their finger tips.

The founders at Cottage Craft Works have spent over 30 years combing the back roads of the Amish communities finding these of fashioned products and bringing them to the general market place.

Simply making a weekend visit to an Amish community store will likely never net the products that are listed online at Cottage Craft Works since they work with over 100 Amish cottage based shops all across the country. 

Off Grid Survival; a common sense approach

Off grid survival is still very much a concern today with the grid being so dependent on computers. This leaves us all very vulnerable to a simple computer glitch or leaving us wide open for intentional attacks by terrorist or hackers.  The potential for wide spread power outages for weeks and months due to unpredictable devastating storms or solar flare-ups is also fueling this concern.

There’s a smarter approach to prepare for off grid emergencies.  A lot of people let fear overrun common sense during the Y-2K scare purchasing so many items with a shelf life then later ending up throwing most it out over the years following Y-2K.

Many people are finding these old style products and gadgets much simpler and more dependable than the modern day electrical counterparts.  Instead of making an expensive purchase to just sit on a shelf, they are actually using these products day in and day out.   

The Amish also make things the old fashion way meaning they are made more durable and easier to use than the more modern day imported copies.

Yes, Amish products do tend to be much more expensive than the imported copies, but with good reason, they are also double and triple the quality.  Not having plastic parts and electric motors the Amish products will likely last a lifetime and well into the next generations.

Living more healthy, becoming more self-sufficient, and less dependent

Living a self-sustainable life style like the Amish means dependency at another level; having the quality tools and products to adequately produce, preserve and provide for a family.

With the ongoing concern of the safety of the food chain and GMO ingredients people are also going back to making and preserving food from scratch. Something the Amish practice daily in their self sustaining lifestyles using the same old time products used for generations.

People are turning back yard spaces and roof tops into vegetable gardens to avoid the toxins and GMO practices that have infiltrated the food chain.

Back yard chicken coops are also regaining the popularity once common during the turn of the century.  

Like most imported copies of old time products garden tools and livestock products have also been cheapened down.  A good garden tool keeps a sharp edge decreasing fatigue.  A heavy duty rollaway chicken nest box saves eggs from being stepped on or pecked and destroyed.

Cottage Craft Works also has the old fashioned farm and garden products to make living more self-sufficient much easier and more enjoyable.

Off Grid Survival | Living Off Grid

Finding old fashioned products for self-sufficient off grid survival is easier than many may think.  You can find all kinds of vintage old fashioned products all online at the www.cottagecraftworks.com self-sufficient lifestyle general store.

Cottage Craft Works specializes in finding USA old fashioned non-electric products still being manufactured and used with the Amish self sustaining communities. 

The Amish still use the same simple human powered gadgets and appliances that were being used at the turn of the century before electricity was commonly available. 

The Amish build things to last for a lifetime and many are finding that the Amish products are actually easier to use and maintain than the newer complex electric appliances.

This is an important factor when considering the investment into something that might sit on the shelf for years just in case there’s a major grid outage.

The hand crank Little Dutch Maid mixer is a good example. Considering the initial investment for something to have as a backup is a bit hard to comprehend. Compared to the equivalent electric mixer many have found that the Little Dutch Maid Mixer is actually more user friendly and end up using it daily in place of their cumbersome electric mixer.

Life expectancy also needs to be considered.  Let’s face it an electric mixer these days comes with planned obsolesces built in. With motor brushes, plastic housings, and manufactures making it more difficult to find replacement parts down the road a person might be looking at needing to replace it within 8- 10 years depending on usage.

The Little Dutch Maid mixer base uses no plastic parts and is built like a tank for heavy long term use.  It was designed by an Amish gentleman for large batch cooking and cranking out bread dough on a daily basis.

Many non-Amish ladies are rediscovering the old fashioned treadle sewing machine.  Yes Janome makes the 712-T treadle brand new for the Amish communities.  Many non-Amish claim they find it easier to control than their electric sewing machines.

Many other Amish products are less expensive like the Country Egg Beater.  It’s a reproduction of the popular egg beaters once used in every kitchen before the larger mixers were invented.  It is still triple the price of a cheap imported copy but a side by side comparison will soon reveal why.  The Country Egg Beater cranks smoothly while the imported model is hard to turn.

This brings up another important consideration.  There’s a huge quality time gap from what was once made compared to the cheap imported copies of those products of today.  

As products have been copied over the years the quality just hasn’t been maintained the same. Imported copies use cheaper metals that just will not hold a cutting edge. Even though the product may look the same as the one that granddad used, people using a cheaply made import copies quickly become fatigued and just give up.

In contrast the Amish products are made to be used by the people who still depend on them to grow food and process it for the family table.

So if you’re looking for basic durable products for the potential need to live or survive off grid consider these old time favorites shipped directly from the Amish featured at www.cottagecraftworks.com

Old Fashioned Quality Built Ice Cream Freezers | USA Immergood

Homemade ice cream lovers have been frustrated with the lack of a quality built ice cream freezer like they remember growing up with. 

Ice Cream Freezers are a prime example of the discount store squeeze to produce competitive products at rock bottom prices  and still make a handsome profit for share holders.

For those who grew up in the 1950s and even up into the 1970s making ice cream in a hand crank freezer was the highlight of many summer Sunday afternoons.

As people now try to find the type of quality freezers to make a new family tradition they are finding a very much water down version made of thin materials and plastic parts. 

Manufactures have also reduced the capacity because the cheaply made gear frames just will not handle large batches of ice cream.

Immergood introduced their original 6 qt freezer and it became almost an overnight sensation for those who have been craving this level of quality being reproduced much like ice cream freezers manufactured at the turn of the century.

Immergood just recently introduced an 8 qt model to fill a huge void since White Mountain stopped making an 8 qt option years ago.

Why is Immergood bucking the trend?  Well Immergood is an Amish company that started up from the same frustrations of finding a long lasting quality ice cream freezer.

Immergood is not new to the Ice Cream Freezer business and is well positioned to take the company well into the future.  The parent company has been dealing in ice cream freezers and parts for a number of decades replacing the imported gears with USA made gears for the Amish communities.

The Amish view products as functional long lasting products they use day in and day out to support their conservative back to basic lifestyle.

Before electrification of the rural areas most everyone had hand crank off grid products that were readily available. Products were just made to last longer during this time as well.

When the Amish are unable to no longer find those quality products they tend to begin making it for the large Amish communities across the country.

Immergood double wall insulated leak proof tubs, an all stainless steel positive tub latch system and then topped with a heavy duty gear frame places Immergood Ice Cream Freezers well ahead of the pack.

Immergood freezers will hold ice cream for several hours depending on the outside temperatures.

An optional tub cover is also available for the 6 qt and will soon be available for the 8 qt freezer.

Order Immergood Ice Cream Freezers from Cottagecraftworks.com