Five made-in-Missouri products, including a duster, vanilla, and jewelry.
Give It a Spin and Then Dust Again
At the Wool Shop in Grant City, the Andrews family believes, “You need to start with the best to produce the best.” In business since 1983, the Andrews use natural wool to create environmentally friendly dusting products. Unlike synthetic dusting products that are laced with chemicals, the natural fibers of the wool allow them to attract and collect dust exceptionally well. “It’s a renewable resource, sheep skins,” says Jeff Andrews, vice president of the company. “People take the animal and mainly it’s used for meat, but then you have a beautiful sheep skin that comes from that. So it’s renewable, and it’s natural, and it actually picks up the dust.” The Wool Shop’s dusters are easy to us—simply use it, shake it out, and it’s ready to use again. —Sydney Jones
For more information, visit WoolShop.com.
Practice Makes Pure-fect Vanilla
Dr. Krishna Bala began his journey with food science at the University of Missouri Columbia as a Food Science major with a special interest in flavor chemistry. After six decades researching, curing, and extracting pure vanilla in Fenton, owner Krishna Bala (also known as Dr. Vanilla) has mastered creating natural vanilla products. Many brands use vanillin flavoring instead of vanilla seed pods, which causes customers to lose out on the flavor experience. “Vanillin is the predominant flavor ingredient in vanilla, but vanillin alone is not vanilla,” Krishna explains. Krishna uses Cool Infusion Technology, a process that captures the flavor molecules and aroma of vanilla—not just the vanillin—and cuts out additives. “We don’t have any byproducts to throw away or waste because we process everything at the ambient temperature,” says Krishna. “We use a lot less energy than the other people.” Dr. Vanilla products are 100% natural, pure, sustainable, and kosher. —Sydney Jones and Andrea Kaneko
For more information, visit DrVanilla.com.
Enthralling Jewels Meets Ethical Sourcing
As a Fairmined-certified jeweler, Kent Jewelry values quality materials that are responsibly sourced. “Ensuring that all of our items are sustainable and ethical is a major concern of ours, and that starts with knowing the origins of the materials you are working with,” says Zach Woolsey, owner of Kent Jewelry in Rolla. “We decided to become a Fairmined-certified jeweler to give our clients an option that supported both an ethical and sustainable source of gold.” Kent Jewelry offers permanent jewelry, custom jewelry design with 3D renderings, pearl and bead restringing, engraving, and in-house repairs and restoration. The jewelry store also features local artists. “We place a lot of emphasis on local craftsmanship and educating our clients from how things are made to what they are made with,” says Zach. Shopping at Kent Jewelry ensures your jewelry will have beautiful stones and that they will be responsibly sourced. —Sydney Jones
For more information, visit KentJewelry.com.
A Dairy Offers Milk the Old-Fashioned Way
Mountain Grove is home to Ozark Mountain Creamery, a family-owned and operated dairy whose owners have been in the dairy business since 1957. At Ozark Mountain Creamery, things are done the old-fashioned way, from growing their own cow’s feed to the packaging of the milk in glass bottles. Ninety percent of what is fed to the cattle is farm-grown and harvested right on the family’s land. The creamery uses a low-temperature vat pasteurization process, which uses low heat and requires more pasteurization time. This encases flavor while eliminating bad bacteria. Once collected, the milk is processed and bottled within 48 hours to ensure quality taste and freshness. Shoppers can return the recyclable glass bottles to the store for a bottle deposit refund, which encourages people towards sustainability. “We still have some of our original bottles circulating through from when we started 14 years ago,” says Teresa Fry, co-owner of the company. —Sydney Jones
For more information, visit OzarkMtnCreamery.com/locations.
Worm Waste Works Wonders
Missouri Worm Supply in Jefferson City sells red wriggler and European nightcrawler castings—a combination of worm fecal matter and the liquid mixture that worms leave behind—to stimulate growth in gardens. The castings are made by feeding worms compost, and are “one of the best things that you can put into your garden, as far as the bacteria, the nematodes, and the fungi that your plants really need to thrive and survive,” says Robert Sterling, owner of the business. “The worm castings also have a natural pesticide and herbicide in them,” Robert explains. The worms release chitinase-producing bacteria which naturally deters insects. Missouri Worm Supply also sells worms for fishing or personal composting endeavors. —Andrea Kaneko
For more information, visit MissouriWormSupply.com.
This article was originally published in the January/February 2025 issue of Missouri Life.
