Many people have asked me how on earth did I {a midwest girl} attain an Amish friend?! Well, that Amish friend of ours started as a business partner of Life Verse Design. He is a framer and contacted me to see if I would partner with him to frame my art & sell it to Christian bookstores, gift shops & furniture shops.
I love the above 2 photos of the frame shop,
Beechdale Frames, as it shows the heart of the business: family. It is run by the Millers and is definitely a family affair! They work hard together & play together.
The showroom is filled with my art and the reason we went was that they had an open house to meet the artist and allow buyers into their showroom.
Meet Mr. Miller! He has a heart of gold: wanting to encourage others with the beauty of art, the truth of the Word of God, and always keep family first.
Our work is currently featured in the
Christianbook.com catalog that arrived in the mailbox the other day! {Funny God story: I normally flip through the first few pages to see what's "hot" in the book industry since I design books for Tyndale House Publishers, but this day I kept flipping & ta-da! I got to see my artwork! What a blessing to see my little nephew's feet featured in a catalog}
At the open house, they offered free lunch & fresh lemonade! Their oldest son {who is all of 14} manned the grill all by himself!!!! He is also able to create a frame & plaque from start to finish all by himself!!!! What a mature & responsible young man. And so humble also.
If you are ever in Bird in Hand, Pennsylvania during the summer & meander down Beechdale Road, you will come upon the sweetest bunch of kids selling THE BEST fresh squeezed lemonade you have ever sipped. Trust me, you'll go back for more.
The other fun little surprise I got while at the Beechdale Frames open house was that I got to meet author
Ira Wagler who drove a half hour just to see me! Turns out Mr. Miller is friends with Ira! Ira wrote his memoir
"Growing Up Amish" a few years back and
Tyndale published it!
My best friend at Tyndale designed the book and he claims she has "sold him many copies" {as he knows people pick up books often due to their covers... music to a designer's ears!}
I JUST finished
the memoir the other night & I highly recommend it. If you love auto biographies as I do, you will love to get a glimpse into Ira's world as he grows up Amish & struggles with the desire for freedom in the "outside" world, yet constantly feels pulls back to the safe & secure world he knows. It is a story of identity struggle, yearning for freedom, and finding the truth that alone can set our hearts free.
Grace & Peace,
Julie
p.s. Only store retailers can buy directly from Beechdale Frames {not individual customers} If you want to buy our beautifully framed art, go to
www.christianbooks.com
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