HANDMADE : Authentically Amish

IN THESE THROW-AWAY TIMES we tend to think of simple wooden toys and handmade quilts as charming relics from a long-gone era. But such decorative and functional items are still being made carefully by hand by the Amish in Pennsylvania. Lori Simpson, owner of Only Amish, has arrangements with Old Order Amish craftspersons to sell their cloth dolls and rag rugs ($10 to $45), quilts ($325 to $800) and furniture. “I have a deep appreciation for them,” says Simpson, a Pennsylvania native long fascinated with the “plain people.” “Much of what’s billed as Amish is not authentic. I want people to understand what they’re getting.”

Only Amish items are available at Antique Interiors, 41919 Moreno Road, Temecula, (714) 699-0461; Country Colonial, 19920 Superior St., Chatsworth, (818) 349-7494; or through Lori Simpson, (714) 590-0522.