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A Kansas City flag store is seeing a surge in business this summer as the World Cup draws international visitors to the city.
All Nations Flag Company, located in the River Market area, has been making flags for more than 100 years — since 1924. Sean and Ryan Wald are the fourth generation of their family to run the business.
The World Cup has added an entirely new layer of demand to the store's usual summer workload, which already includes Fourth of July merchandise and the country's 250th anniversary.
"Not quite overwhelming demand, but when you do it at the same time as the 250th of our country, it's been a fair amount for us to keep up with," Ryan Wald said.
Orders that once took three to five days are now taking two to three weeks to complete, according to Ryan.
The store has been filling orders for restaurants, bars, and event venues across Kansas City.
"Anywhere you're going to be able to kind of go watch a game, or they're going to be hosting parties, we should have some flags up," Sean Wald said.
The surge includes international flags that the store rarely sells in large quantities. Curacao flags, for example, typically sell in small numbers each year.
"We usually sell a handful a year, maybe 2 to 6. But I mean this year we've already done dozens of them in all different sizes from 2 by 3 foot up to 5 by 8 foot and 3 by 5 and 4 by 6 in between," Sean Wald said.
That production falls to Phe, a seamstress who has worked at All Nations Flag Company for more than 40 years.
"I like my job. My boss is very nice," Phe said.
"She's been working here longer than I've been alive. So there's few people that know how to make a flag as well as she does," Ryan Wald said.
Sean Wald described the detailed, hands-on process behind even flags that appear simple.
"We'll pin it, and then she sews. And then she'll actually cut around the fabric after she's sewn the stars," Sean Wald said.
"She's our mainstay, and she's one of the few kinds of people around the country that still do that type of sewing that have perfected her craft and been doing it as long as she has," Sean Wald said.
The process involves precise measuring, sewing, pinning, and cutting — all done by hand.
"To know that it was completely manufactured and made here and that it's flying proudly kind of all over the city, all over the Midwest, especially for an event like this, is really cool," Sean Wald said.
For the Wald brothers, the moment carries meaning beyond the business boost.
"It's awesome," Sean said. "It's pretty cool to be able to supply and kind of help the city decorate and get ready to bring all these different international visitors here."
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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