Blog

The Amana folks were fairly self-sufficient when they arrived in Iowa in the mid-1800s. They performed all the traditional crafts in each village - Crafts such as wood-working, rug-weaving, quilting, blacksmithing, and tinsmithing, among others. They also made brooms. Today the broom-maker still makes brooms at the Broom and Basket Shop in West Amana. Amana brooms are unique. The broom-maker makes different types of brooms for different tasks. People come from far and wide to buy Amana brooms. I enjoyed watching Peter Hoehnle make brooms. I made two videos so that you can enjoy watching the process.