Hometown: Pleasant Hope, Mo.
Family: Wife, Lacy; and two children
In Town: Dustin Stewart, from Pleasant Hope, Mo, owns and operates DG Stewart Hardgoods, a custom furnishings and commercial installment woodworking company with a modern industrial flair. Dustin was hired as a construction worker a few years ago, and discovered that he truly enjoyed woodworking. His job landed him in a “more creative” area that, he said, “led to more custom stuff.” He moved into a shop setting with two friends, and began doing custom pieces and projects for fun.
“Then I realized that I could do it full time if I had my own shop and all the tools,” said Dustin. In 2015, he opened his current shop on historic Commercial Street in Springfield, Mo., and his creations have been wowing his customers ever since. He said that some of his favorite projects have included tables and cabinets built for the Plaza Shoe Store, a reception desk at the Zenith Climbing Center, and 14 pecan wood tables for a venue called The Wine Dive, which feature locally grown and milled pecan slabs with an industrial style table base.”
In the Country: When he isn’t in his shop, Dustin helps his wife, Lacy, and their two children run their 48-acre farm, complete with hogs, Katahdin sheep, rabbits, chickens, goats, and a Great Pyrenees named Bella and a guard donkey named Connie for protection.
The hogs, sheep and rabbits are utilized as meat for the family’s consumption, the chickens provide meat and eggs, and the goats provide milk and are used as brush control around the farm.
On top of all the livestock and their garden, Dustin and Lacy also own and operate an on-farm wedding and event venue called The Co-Op Venue.
The Co-Op is an open-air pavilion complete with a groom and bridal suite, and a catering area all built from shipping containers.
The groom and bridal suites are also listed as Air BnB rentals, and many of the exterior and interior design aspects were built by Dustin in his woodshop.
