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Shake Hands on a Brighter World
Remember when things were built to last? When a handshake was a promise to stand behind your work? What if we told you that lost world still exists—if you just know where to look?
Among the "plain people," countless small businesses still deliver every day on this vision of a simpler, more trusting way of life. But many of them have been impossible to find online—until now. Welcome to the world of Plain Places.
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A Business Culture You Thought Was History
Find unique products and services backed by straightforward, old-fashioned support.
Timeless Craftsmanship
Carpenters, metalworkers, and other artisans making things the old way—with patience, skill, and materials chosen to last generations.
Fresh Local Flavor
Produce farms, bakeries, and butcher shops supplying clean foods that taste better than anything in the supermarket.
Trustworthy Services
Builders, roofers, masons, and painters who keep their appointments, look you in the eye, and do the job right the first time.
Small-Batch Products
Handmade tools, housewares, clothing, and specialty items mass-production can never copy.
A Living Heritage
For centuries, Amish, Mennonites, and other "plain" communities have preserved a distinctive way of life. The details of practice vary, but most are known for their shared values of simplicity, community, diligence, and peaceableness toward neighbors.
In this culture, families pass down practical skills from generation to generation—whether furniture crafting, food production and prep, or the building of homes and outbuildings. Many limit their use of modern technology—not from superstition, but to protect the spiritual, social, and economic patterns that hold their communities together.
The businesses who qualify for Plain Places tend to be refreshingly out of step with the global throwaway economy. Each time you choose to reward them with your business, you're taking a concrete action to build a brighter world.