Now that it's harder than ever to make a living in the rural West, we locals have to tap into our inner entrepreneur to survive. Hard work is still important, but creativity and judicious copying help a lot, too. Just use your imagination....
For example, Samantha Fox of Twisp, Wash., grew up in a deer-hunting family before leaving her hometown in the North Cascades to pursue a degree in fashion. After graduating from college, Fox returned to Twisp, pop. 980, and started a business called Wild Things.
"There weren't any jobs, so I decided to make my own," said Fox. "Wild Things uses local deer hides, animal fur and feathers to make lingerie for the modern primitive -- it's sort of 'Victoria's Secret meets Clan of the Cave Bear.' "
During hunting season each year, Fox collects hides from hunters, tans them and turns them into sexy sleepwear that she sells on the Internet. Her women's lingerie collection -- made entirely of local deer hides -- has grown to include such items as her "Doe in Heat" panties, her "High Mountain Peaks" series of push-up bras and her "Get Along Little Thongs."
