How the Journey Began
Amish1 is a small business that was started by Doug Stenberg from Ridgeway Ontario.
When Covid started to shut businesses and companies down, I was contracting for Bombardier Aerospace in Toronto. I was responsible for inspecting Corporate jets as I am a licensed Aircraft Maintenance Engineer. Eventually, the plant closed and I was out of work. Like most, I was struggling to pay my mortgage and CERB wasn’t enough to feed my family and pay the bills. I placed an add on Kijiji looking for any kind of work. I managed to get small handyman jobs until one day Doug messaged me saying he needed help moving sheds. From that point on I was able to learn and grow while working for Doug. Being at the right place at the right time, the business came up for sale and I became the new proud owner in 2020. As Amish1 is such a well respected business I decided to keep the name. There have been plenty of challenges along the way in the initial start up but over the last three years it’s proven to be a worthwhile adventure.
Being a business owner has allowed me to focus more time with my young son as in the past I was working long hours and commuting to Toronto. I am now able to coach his ice hockey team in the winter and ball hockey team in the spring.
The Amish Community
The construction and quality craftsmanship by the Amish families are pristine. They build their sheds from Hemlock trees, which is rare here in Ontario. They are located on the border of New York State and Pennsylvania State, where there is an abundance of Hemlock trees.
Amish1 sheds are constructed from Natural Hemlock wood. Hemlock wood is known for it’s durability and long lasting quality. Carpenter bees and other insects will not bore holes into the wood and horses will not gnaw on it. The cut logs are hand picked and brought to their mill where it is rough cut to size. When they cut a 2×4, its an actual 2×4. The wood is then air dried and when ready for construction the Amish finish the shed only using hand tools, no powered tools are used. Once assembled, the sheds are ready for staining.