Kaleen Long, Owner, is a practicing pediatrician. She grew up loving genealogy, Girl Scout arts and crafts, auctions, watching Trading Spaces and living in Springfield. Now she is getting to live out her daydreams. Her toy poodle, Texas Hold’em, is one of those dreams come true you are likely to see in the store.
Kelle Long, Owner, is a writer and reporter. Since moving back to the Ozarks to marry her hometown sweetheart, Dan, Kelle has reverted to all her high school hobbies including acting at Springfield Little Theatre and playing tennis. Photo Credit: Nicole Tieman Photography
Kevin, Store Manager, hails from NY. He is a film editor, voice over artist, avid reader, Simpsons nerd, Shiba wrangler, and an oxford comma enthusiast. I say "radical" - that’s my thing that I say!
Angi Griffee-Black, Sales Associate, is a dancer, singer, choreographer, and teacher of the arts with over 30 years experience. She teaches at Springfield Little Theatre and Missouri Stare University. Angi is a novelist and her debut comes out in 2024! She loves music, roadtrips, cooking, and of course, dancing! Angi studied dance, theatre , art, and creative writing at both MSU and LSU.
Good Skin Day: Courtney is a former beauty, health, and fitness editor for Jane and Marie Claire magazines, and contributor to Allure, Self, Women's Health, Harper's Bazaar, Real Simple, and more. After trying hundreds of skincare products over the years and not finding exactly what she wanted she finally created her own dream face mist and serum. Courtney is also the co-founder of beloved local wine brand Good Clean Wine.
Handsome Goat Soaps: Katie is a mom of 4, born and raised in Willard, MO. She believed that there was a better option for cleansing skin of all ages without having to sacrifice affordability and smelling good. This belief led her to create soap just the way she wanted, and Handsome Goat Soaps was born. All soaps and body care items are made in fresh, small batches using the finest skin loving products without adding harsh ingredients or chemicals.
CC Designs: Sales & Marketing Guru by day, jewelry maker by night! Micha works for a local company in promotional product sales and has been there for 25 years, but her real passion is all things beautiful with an emphasis on bracelets! Her passion started in 2000 when she was a sales rep for Silpada jewelry, but her love for bracelets increased seven years ago when she discovered she had an addiction to BEADS!!! Since then, she’s been making bracelets for friends, family, and clients for all occasions! “I LOVE finding beautiful, quality beads to mix and match for unique, one-of-a-kind pieces of art to treasure for a lifetime!” CC Designs bracelet creations are sold exclusively at JL Long Traders!
Maddy “Stoneware” Smith is a Missouri native and lover of the arts. Her art journey began in the 2D art world as an illustrator for the better part of a decade. Once discovering pottery, she began her migration into the 3D art world. Now she marries the two. Her work is whimsical and will bring a smile to your face. You can reach out for custom work, purchase her work in our store or order unique pieces online at smithstonewareco.com. She has other social media here: linktr.ee/smithstonewareco
Brooke Buehler, Sales Associate, is a BFA student at Missouri State University about to graduate with an emphasis in drawing. Although a drawing major, she is well versed in ceramics, making functional and decorative pieces. She enjoys the simple and beautiful things in life: music, coffee, local food and art, plants, animals, and human connection.
Sydney Johnson, Seamstress: Sydney was born and raised in Springfield and can’t imagine calling anywhere else home. She enjoys all kinds of handicrafts and you can frequently find her behind a sewing machine or knitting needles. Most of her materials are repurposed and the dress she’s wearing may have once been an old sheet. Sydney lives with her husband Duke, cat Jessica and dog Yuki.
Flyover Leather: Ryan Hunt is a Midwestern leather-worker wanting to make products and pieces that are equally attractive and functional. Most of these exist because he had purchased or seen things which just didn’t quite hit the mark. Most of his reasoning comes from talking with folks who express frustration with something they own. Those conversations are always a great spot to start hunting the creative inspiration that drives him in his designs. You will see a range from wallets to purses or belts to backpacks, it really just depends on what design problem Ryan feels like trying to tackle. You'll notice a lot of fly fishing themes around his work, but not everything is created with fishing as the end goal. Time on the river with his dog is just always on his mind, so it influences nearly every project he works on. Having grown up in central Missouri and moved to Springfield in 2009, Ryan has fallen in love with this city and the surrounding Ozarks.
Two Brothers: From childhood neighbors in Nashville to post-grad “business partners,” Callie Altepeter & Emma Grace Puerta are the duo of the decade. You will find them performing, traveling, crafting, eating sushi, and raiding local thrift stores. Callie works as an independent contractor in marketing, social media management, and product development. She also works as a professional singer & voiceover artist. Emma shares Callie’s skill & passion for singing as a professional vocal coach & musical theatre performer. In the future, she hopes to open a theatre of her own, as well as a women’s dietetics & wellness clinic to indulge her great interest in health & wellness. Being 21 and 22, Emma & Callie have taken on multifaceted careers, one of which has led to their partnership with J.L. Long Traders! Together, the girls hope to launch many of their dream businesses, spreading creativity & fun along the way.
Jackson Woodworks is owned and operated by Austin Jackson. Austin was born and raised in Springfield, MO. His passion for woodworking began in his teenage years while taking a shop class at Glendale High. Austin held various woodworking jobs throughout and after college but he began honing his craft when he moved to Chicago in 2016. During his time in Chicago, Austin apprenticed under John Wray, a legendary master bar builder, specializing in Brunswick style crafted bars. In 3 short years, Austin built 30+ bars in the Chicago-land area including the well-known, Roscoes, J9 Wine Bar and Old Town’s Lady Gregory’s (aka LGs). Wanting to get into the furniture side of woodworking, Austin began taking classes at the Chicago School of Woodworking and with furniture designer / maker, Jeffrey Miller. In 2019 he moved back to Springfield to open his own shop and has been building custom, commission pieces ever since. Austin is currently working on designing / building a small batch furniture line.
ROX Stoneworks: Bruce Burnaugh graduated from high school in Cheyenne, Wyoming in 1981. He worked in the union in Denver, Colorado, Hawaii, and Southern California. In 1987, he began ROX Stoneworks and has been working in stone and sculpture for the past 35 years, including student teaching in Pietrasanta, Italy.
Molly Martin (b. Springfield, Missouri) graduated from Missouri State University with her BFA in Drawing. Her work is often bright, bold, and energetic as she explores play, identity, place, perspective, and time through oil painting, drawing, and fiber. Molly’s work has been exhibited at Marshall University in Huntington, WV in the Surface Design Exhibition Future Tense 2021, featuring up and coming student textile artists from around the world. Her work has also been exhibited at Missouri State University in her solo exhibition, Behind the Scenes and at Missouri State’s Student Exhibition Center during undergrad. Currently, she is an MFA in Drawing candidate at the University of Arkansas. Art aside, Molly loves a good cup of coffee and fly fishing with her husband Marcus.
Artist Joe Arens strives to create pieces that are unique and made from his home in Springfield, MO. Born in Mexico, MO, he moved to the Springfield area just before marrying his wife, Priscilla, in 1978. They have three grown children and three grandchildren. His art pieces range from neon wall sculptures to stained glass. His work is inspired by his late brother-in-law Bennett Singleton, a professional neon artist from Hollywood, CA. New projects evolve over time until that perfect shape or color is found to tie everything together. Geometric shapes including triangles, parallelograms, squares, and circles are integrated into many of the pieces. Joe works full-time as an Enterprise Systems Administrator for Missouri State University.
NotUrAverage Candles: Researcher by day, candle-maker by night. Courtney Johnson is a Bioengineering PhD student at the University of Maryland - College Park and a Chemical Engineering graduate of Northeastern University. He has loved fragrances from a young age. Growing up, whenever he and his family finished cleaning on Saturday mornings, his mom would always light incense sticks that would envelop the entire house. Though he loved the smell of incense sticks, he hated cleaning the dust that would always settle from them. During his time at Northeastern University, he discovered his love for candles. He would frequently visit the nearby Target just to purchase them. He would also experiment by combining different ones, making complex fragrances that would fit the mood he wanted for his space. Recently, he learned to make his own. What began as a hobby, blossomed into the company we have today; one that merges his love for candles with his love for the scientific world. He hopes through this venture more people will be exposed to STEM and expand their knowledge on the various fields.
Midsommar Gardens: Ellen Neville-Verdugo works as a Graphic Designer and started her business, Midsommar Gardens, to expand on her love of gardening & design. You can catch her helping design edible gardens, or sharing garden and home inspiration and DIYs online. She makes a variety of art and home goods and loves all things vintage. Photo Credit: Tessa Cooper
Teghan Breiner: Sales Associate Teghan is a performer who will be attending Stephens College in the fall where she will pursue her BFA in Musical Theatre. She loves baking, reading, and anything that has to do with coffee! Other than spending time performing at Springfield Little Theatre, she enjoys spending time with her best friends and traveling. She is so excited to be a part of the team. You can find her at the store listening to lots of Taylor Swift music!