BUY AMERICAN? IF YOU LOVE THE U.S.A., QUALITY, AND YOUR CHILDREN, YOU WILL.

The new year is here and with it many of us often make new resolutions and commitments to something we believe in or a goal that we would like to meet. As the new year becomes not so new, we often drop that ambition because of various reasons that distracts us. Everyone has done it, including yours truly. This year I am more passionate than ever about supporting American owned companies that are making products in America and building them to last. This is truly the philosophy that built this great country of ours and one that we had better learn to adopt again or I am afraid that our best days are behind us.  

Owning an antique and vintage fan company has given me new perspective on what made in America and made well in America means. Every fan we work on in our shop in Fort Worth, Texas was made in America and built to last for generations. Many of those that we work on are 100-110 years old and it truly is a testament to our ancestor's commitment to making their products the very best in the world.  In days of old  this was a way of life in the U.S.A, as consumers expected value for their dollar, which didn't always mean the cheapest price on the market. They looked at how things were made, the engineering involved and why that product was the one to purchase in their mind's eye. In those days most manufacturers pursued excellence in manufacturing. They simply did not survive long as their reputation would we well earned and learned by the marketplace.  We have always said of the early American fan manufacturers that they believed in "honest engineering" giving the customer the very best product that could be built at the time. Today, planned obsolescence has slowly eroded the ability to compare because much of the consumer market is flooded with cheap Asian made products. Blue chip American companies with once proud brands have been pushed into or have eagerly pursued offshore locations to manufacture their products. The consumer has dictated this, because of the "Box store" mentality that cheaper is always better. In the end, this means America looses its manufacturing base (and the jobs that go along with it),and  the consumer increasingly looses the ability to purchase an American made product. The largest threat and a result from hyper offshore manufacturing is that your very freedom is questionable as we loose the ability to defend the freedom from countries who would spread tyranny throughout the world if possible. Gearing up for a full blown conventional war was a difficult task in World War II and at that time all of our manufacturing was in place. And if we can still manufacture the tanks, planes and ships here, can we manufacture all of electronics involved quickly enough to defend the freedom?  Think about all of the ipods, cell phones and computers that you purchased over the last 20 years. How many of those were made in the U.S.A.? As the communist continue to subsidize their manufacturers to get the American contracts the only ones we are truly helping are the communist. Its made them wealthy. In fact, wealthy enough to own American debt and this is an outrage that every American should deeply concerned about. In reality they slowly take us down without firing a shot. Until the end that is, like putting an old dog out of its misery.

Recently we needed to shop for some new easy chairs. It was not a task that I eagerly anticipated and one reason for this is that I knew what awaited me. I knew much of the furniture industry had moved manufacturing to Asia. Some are manufacturing the pieces offshore and they ship them back to the states for assembly. They may have a label that reads "Assembled in America" or "American owned", but don't let that fool you into believing it is made here. The only reason the manufacturers use this wording is to try to fill a void that questions their quality and patriotism. Why not boldy state PROUDLY ASSEMBLED IN AMERICA OF CHINESE PARTS or we are proud to PARTNER WITH CHINA in producing our product. It's the truth after all and the truth will set you free.


 As we arrived at a famous local furniture store near Southlake, Texas and I talked with the salesman that greeted us, I looked at the various recliners asking about how they were made and the materials involved. The salesman was quite helpful, but he tended to only show us the typical "brand" names that we see advertised in newspapers, TV ads and periodicals. As I continued to pursue the purchase, I looked at the construction and I felt the weight of nearly all of the famous brand names. The premium levels of their chairs did not impress me and greatly it disappointed me after asking about the origin of manufacture, which seemed to be a question not easily answered. Finally, I asked " Do you have anything that is made in America of very high quality", he answered, "Yes sir, but I didn't think you would be interested in those because they are much higher in price" which I quickly replied, " You are not aware of the business that I am in" meaning that we produced extremely high quality American made products at VintageFans.com. He quickly took us to the other side of the store where the Smith Brothers of Berne upholstered chairs and sofas were located. I immediately recognized an exposed frame beside the style of upholstered chairs that we were looking at. I asked him is this the frame that is Incorporated in this model, which brought the reply "yes, sir", look at the construction. We went on to learn that for 80 years Smith Brothers of Berne, Indiana had made quality products right here in the U.S.A. The quality was evident throughout the construction and the final decision to purchase was made when I tried to lift the back of the chair. It was heavy. We sat down and my wife and I picked out the fabric and ordered the chairs. I explained to the salesman that I owned VintageFans.com and the nature of our business. I also discussed some of my beliefs with him about Chinese made anythings and he quickly learned that he probably should have showed us the American made furniture first. As we have owned the chairs for a month or so, we could not be more pleased with the purchase. Its nice to know that one company in Indiana is building it right and building it in America. We greatly encourage you to consider Smith Brothers furniture http://www.smithbrosfurn.com/ for your next major furniture purchase. Don't expect to purchase one of their chairs for the same price as famous name brands, but if that is what you want, you have a large selection to choose from and you can donate your purchase to the local landfill in a few years when the frame wears out. As with our fans, with Smith Brother's furniture, you get what you pay for and more.