For the Real WV section of the Fall 2014 issue of West Virginia Executive magazine, production assistant Maggie Matsko chose to highlight state crafters in a Holiday gift guide story.
One of the six items featured was made by Stony Bottom resident Angie Wilfong. Matsko featured Wilfong’s big seller, a crocheted hat styled to look like a football, complete with white laces.
“They wanted to do something for the holiday season and write about items that were actually made in our state to advertise the talent of our state,” Wilfong said. “They actually saw [the hat] on Etsy. Maggie contacted me and asked me if they were all made in West Virginia. I said, ‘yes’ and she said, ‘cool.’ It’s pretty neat.”
Wilfong started her Etsy.com website in 2007, featuring crocheted hats, scarves, baby booties, ornaments and jewelry. Along with the website, Wilfong sells her wares at craft shows in Pocahontas County and surrounding areas.
Ironically, the Kountry Kreations site owes its success to the hat featured by Matsko.
“It all started with a football hat,” Wilfong said. “I started the Etsy site and I had some different things on it. Then someone contacted me and asked if I could do a football hat. I came up with one and mailed it to her. That is where the picture came from – the one on the Etsy site. It is one of the biggest sellers there is.”
To date, Wilfong has sold approximately 1,300 football hats.
The website opened doors that have led to many more opportunities, including celebrity customers.
“There was a lady that messaged me and she actually bought some stuff for a country musician,” Wilfong said. “I can’t remember which one it was. It was neat. You never know who someone might be or who they’re buying for.”
Wilfong has also sold to people in nearly every country in the world, a feat she never thought possible.
“Can you imagine?” she asked. “Not bad for someone from rural West Virginia. There are people out there that still think we are part of Virginia. It’s funny.”
While she has made a name for herself and her brand, Wilfong – a 911 dispatcher – doesn’t plan to make a career out of her craft. She is content with the way things are now.
“With the website, it can go from a couple sales a day to fifty or twenty,” she said. “It just depends. I never really thought about opening a store, but it’s nice to know you can make money doing something you enjoy.”
For more information on Wilfong’s products, visit www.etsy.com/shop/KountryKreations2008
To view the story in WV Executive, visit www.wvexecutive.com
Suzanne Stewart may be contacted at sastewart@pocahontastimes.com
