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Made In Chicago: Artist Chris Knight

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Chris Knight was trying to make his living as a photographer until almost a year ago. And then came the flags.

"And then came the flags. It just steamrolled, honestly. Every flag I made was selling better than the flag before."

He started making flags out of distressed wood.

"The first flag I made was the Chicago flag... You know, being from Chicago. And I have more variations of the Chicago flag than any other flag.

"I have Chicago flags with skylines on the top. I have Chicago flags with skylines on the actual flag... And I've sold more overall with all those different styles, I've sold more of Chicago than anything else.

"But you'd be surprised that other places love their flag. Maryland is the second most popular flag."

Knight also makes signs for businesses, but the flags are his bread and butter.

Made In Chicago: Artist Chris Knight

We arrived when a woman was waiting in his West Side studio for him to finish a flag she'd ordered.

"This is for the lady upstairs. This is going to be the Canadian flag."

Knight says the flags really made his business take off - and in the past several months, he's hired three assistants, more or less full time, to help him keep up.

"It's amazing. Honestly, I could never imagine in a million years that it would have taken off like this. And I couldn't imagine in a million years that my life would be this a year ago."

For more information on Chris Knight, visit chrisknightcreations.com.

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