Made with Memories
Time-honored heirlooms for today’s home
As owners of home renovation company JKS & CO, Janelle Stoltzfus and her husband Jake are experts at creating beautiful living spaces, but Janelle realized that their own home was lacking items that felt meaningful to them.
“I started really looking around my home and seeing so little that had true value to me or my family, no beautiful heirlooms or pieces that had a story to us,” says Janelle. “I started to wonder if I could design my own heirlooms and have local Amish men and women craft them... and so began the journey of Millstream Home.” Janelle started driving all over Lancaster County, down hundreds of long driveways to unnamed sheds and barns, asking around until she found the right people to craft products for the Millstream Home collection.
“I’ve ‘happened’ upon the most beautiful items being crafted and still can't believe my eyes, seeing some of their humble work environments,” Janelle shares.
In fact, most of the Millstream Home products are made “off the grid” in Amish shops, sheds, and barns, where they don’t use electricity.
“Our environmental impact is next to nothing,” says Janelle. “I love how sustainable we are and love to think of our items being made without electricity!”
It’s no mistake that the products are primarily created by the Amish of Lancaster County. Millstream Home, named after their family’s home and “refuge” along the Mill Stream in Lancaster, is an ode to Jake and Janelle’s Amish heritage. Jake was born and raised Amish until he was 17. Janelle’s parents were also born and raised Amish for most of their early lives. The couple even collaborated with Bollman Hat Company and local leather-maker Liz Riden to create a hat and bag they call an “ode to the horse and buggy.”
It was important for both Jake and Janelle to honor the values of Lancaster County in each product created for the Millstream Home line. They combined their love for their heritage and community with a desire to see hand-crafted goodness come back to life.
“There’s a great level of trust among our community of people,” says Jake. “Its an area where integrity and hard work is honored and valued. I work with some of the best people I know.”
Sold entirely online, Millstream Home goods are unique because they’ve been made by a human, for a human. Products can be searched for by six core values that define Millstream Home: Amish Made, American Made, Heirloom, Sustainable, Family Owned, and Made by a Mom.
The pride and integrity with which the products are made, combined with “an almost obsessive attention to detail,” result in the highest quality outcome.
An example of that attention to detail is one of the products that Janelle is most excited about. She worked with her Amish toymaker and an architect to design a handmade dollhouse modeled after the farmhouse where she and her siblings grew up. The dollhouse, which will launch in November with the Holiday Collection, is just one example of the thought that goes into each piece.
“I have carefully and obsessively watched each stitch, rivet, seam, toy, and basket come to life,” Janelle says.
That standard of care applies to all the local men and women who are sharing their crafts for the Millstream Home line.
John Lapp, the Millstream Home toymaker, makes handmade wooden toys that are non-toxic. Although safety regulations can be stringent, he takes great care to stay in compliance. John takes pride in his craft, which has been passed down through the generations.
“I grew up on a farm but always loved building my own toys,” John shares. “When I was a young boy and my parents would go away, I would sneak into the barn and use their tools to make toys.”
John was 15 when he began helping his dad, who started the company. “I've been making toys now for 22 years,” John recounts. “It’s something I’ve always loved.”
John’s story of a lifelong passion passed down through family is one of many shared by the makers of the Millstream Home goods. It’s these stories, along with the rich heritage and careful quality, that make them stand apart as a line of treasured heirlooms made entirely in Lancaster County.
For more information, a complete list of products, and launch dates, go to millstreamhome.com
For product photos, sneak peeks, and pop-up shop dates, follow @millstreamhome on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest.
