Kentucky Coal Crafters

Kentucky Coal Crafters Figurines and jewelry handcrafted with coal. Selling both wholesale and retail. After buying the business I relocated it to Pikeville, Ky.

Kentucky Coal Crafters began as Midwest Crafts in Whitley City, Ky from 1975-2002. Alvin Powell and Buddy Wilson decided to buy the mold and mixing secrets and open as Kentucky Crafters and moved to Stearns Ky next to the Big South Fork Scenic Railway. Along the way, Buddy left and two new partners, Rosetta and Milton joined Alvin and continued coal crafting until September 2023 when they approached me about buying their business. Alvin who was there from the beginning has trained me in the art of coal crafting and making the molds for the figurines. Coal crafting is a process of mixing coal dust with resin and pouring the mixture into molds that are made on site. I am also able to make custom pieces as long as there is something I can use to form the mold. I am also bringing jewelry back to the catalog and website. I sell both retail and wholesale to businesses with a resell certificate. There are several places nearby selling our items. As I get the chance I will add those to this page. A few place where you can by KCC figurines: Jenny Wiley State Park, Prestonsburg, Ky; Breaks Interstate Park, Breaks, Va; Southwest Virginia Museum Historical State Park, Big Stone Gap, Va; Kentucky Coal Museum, Benham, Ky; Anthracite Heritage Museum, Scranton, Pa; Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine, Beckley, Wv and Honeysuckle Vine, Berea, Ky.

This is an online order from my website and it's heading to North Carolina. A bison, Kentucky desk set and a state of Ke...
09/17/2026

This is an online order from my website and it's heading to North Carolina. A bison, Kentucky desk set and a state of Kentucky with a red heart placed for Harlan.

If you had told me 30 years ago, 40 years ago, heck, even 10 years ago or even four years ago that one day I’d be making...
09/17/2026

If you had told me 30 years ago, 40 years ago, heck, even 10 years ago or even four years ago that one day I’d be making jewelry for a living, I’d have told you that you were crazier than Gary Busey and Jack Nicholson in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.

I’d have been right in there between the two of them, just sitting there making a little Mike sandwich.

But somehow, here I am.

Today, I’m making Kentucky outline pierced ear rings, handcrafted from coal. And I’m not just making a couple of them either. I’m over here killing it, one little piece of coal jewelry at a time.

Tomorrow I’ll be moving on to necklaces. I’ll be posting shortly about where these are going and how many they’re getting.

So that’s what I’m doing with my Thursday afternoon.

I’m a jewelry guy now.

A jeweler.

A coal jewelry craftsman.

A professional piece of coal putter togetherer.

I don’t know exactly what you call somebody who makes jewelry, but apparently that’s me.

After 30 some years of running a home and garden store, I guess it’s never too late to completely change careers without actually changing jobs.

Hard hats on!These little guys look like they are suited up and ready to go turtle mining!Each figurine is handcrafted ...
09/17/2026

Hard hats on!
These little guys look like they are suited up and ready to go turtle mining!
Each figurine is handcrafted from coal. They will be arriving in the gift shop at the Kentucky Coal Museum in Benham, Kentucky, in the near future.
Stop by the gift shop during your next visit to take home a unique piece of local craft.

Four of these moonshine stills, handcrafted from coal, should be making their way into the gift shop at the Kentucky Coa...
09/17/2026

Four of these moonshine stills, handcrafted from coal, should be making their way into the gift shop at the Kentucky Coal Museum in Benham, Kentucky, any day now.

And if you happen to stop by the museum, you can actually see a replica of a real moonshine still on the second floor.

So you can look at the real thing and then look at one of these little moonshine stills handcrafted from coal. Kind of a side-by-side comparison.

A big part of the history and heritage of Eastern Kentucky is coal mining, but there’s another part of our history that folks around here know pretty well too: moonshine.

The Kentucky Coal Museum does a great job of telling the story of the people, the work and the way of life that helped shape this part of Kentucky.

So if you’re ever in the Benham area, stop in and check it out. It’s a pretty cool place, and there’s a whole lot of Eastern Kentucky history under one roof.

And before you leave, be sure to check the gift shop. You just might find a little piece of Eastern Kentucky history handcrafted from coal.

What bigger staple is there in any company store, coal camp grocery, or mom‑and‑pop shop than a miner grabbing a snack o...
09/16/2026

What bigger staple is there in any company store, coal camp grocery, or mom‑and‑pop shop than a miner grabbing a snack on the way to or from work. Used to be a six‑pack. Now it’s two RC Colas and four Moon Pies.

RC Cola came out of Tennessee in 1905 and quickly became the working man’s drink across the South. Cheap, cold, and always stocked in company stores. Moon Pies followed in 1917 after a Kentucky coal miner asked for a snack “big as the moon.” They were filling, affordable, and easy to carry underground.

That combo stuck because it tasted like home, hard work, and the Appalachian way of life. Folks still grab it because some traditions never lose their shine.

The Kentucky Coal Museum in Benham, Kentucky, just ordered three of these adorable handcrafted coal beavers for their gi...
09/16/2026

The Kentucky Coal Museum in Benham, Kentucky, just ordered three of these adorable handcrafted coal beavers for their gift shop. If you find yourself in that neck of the woods—whether you are stopping through Benham, Lynch, or Cumberland—be sure to swing by and check them out.
I deeply appreciate their support for my small business, and I hope you'll show them some love and support as well!

One of the blessings of my job, and one of the things I enjoy most about being self-employed, is the people I get to mee...
09/16/2026

One of the blessings of my job, and one of the things I enjoy most about being self-employed, is the people I get to meet and the stories I get to hear.

The other day, an old retired coal miner came into the store. I had never met him before, and he stayed about 30 minutes talking with me. He never called me by my first name. All he called me was “Johnson,” because he knew that was the name on the front of the store.

He told me about the years he spent underground and how, when he first started mining, he worked in a seam of coal that was only 28 inches thick.

Now stop and think about that for a minute.

Twenty-eight inches.

He was basically laying on his stomach all day, swinging tools back and forth, doing that day after day. He told me about what it was like working in a position like that, and even the difficulties of having to use the restroom when you’re working in a coal seam that short.

It really makes you appreciate what those old coal miners went through before some of the modern machinery came along and made certain parts of the job a little easier.

Later on, he went to another mine where they had continuous miners and some of the newer equipment. He was new to that mine, and of course, the other miners didn’t know him and he didn’t know them yet.

He had his dinner bucket with him one day, and apparently somebody opened it up and helped themselves to his coffee.

Well, if you’re like most of us, you don’t mind sharing your food, but you’d kind of like to be asked first.

He said he looked at those boys and told them, “Boys, I want to tell you something. You can have all my food when I’m finished with it. All you have to do is ask me. But never touch my food again.”

He put that dinner bucket right back beside him and kept it with him for the rest of the day.

And he said, “I never drank any more of my coffee because I didn’t know who had their lips on it.”

Then he added, “The only person I drink after is my wife. But if she’s sick, I kind of avoid that too.”

Now that’s just one of the many stories you get to hear when you sit around and listen to these old coal miners talk.

That’s one of the real jewels of my business. I get to meet people I probably would have never crossed paths with otherwise, and sometimes they’ll sit down and tell me a little piece of their life.

And I especially enjoy hearing the stories from the coal miners.

Coal mining was a huge part of what built this community, this part of Eastern Kentucky and the state as a whole. It provided jobs, supported families, built communities and became a part of the history and identity of this region.

Those old miners went through a lot to make a living, and every one of them has probably got a story that you could sit and listen to all day.

I sure enjoyed meeting this gentleman, and I wish him continued good health. He seemed to be doing pretty good, especially considering all those years he spent underground.

Sometimes the best part of owning a little business isn’t what you sell. It’s the people who walk through the door and the stories they leave behind.

Just finished up a special delivery! These two pairs of handcrafted coal rabbits are officially headed to the Kentucky C...
09/16/2026

Just finished up a special delivery! These two pairs of handcrafted coal rabbits are officially headed to the Kentucky Coal Museum in Benham, Kentucky. They placed an order for two full sets, so keep an eye out they will be available in the museum gift shop very soon.
If you are ever in the area, make sure to stop by the Kentucky Coal Museum. It is a fantastic place to visit, highly educational, and packed with an unbelievable amount of local history.

Address

130 Power Drive
Pikeville, KY
41501

Opening Hours

Monday 8:30am - 5pm
Tuesday 8:30am - 5pm
Wednesday 8:30am - 5pm
Thursday 8:30am - 5pm
Friday 8:30am - 5pm
Saturday 8:30pm - 12pm

Telephone

+16063767535

Website

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