Jordan's Ozarts: Local couple offers up hand-carved, handcrafted fishing lures and other art

By Jessi Dreckman,

jessi@ozarkcountytimes.com

Hardenville resident David Jordan creates his handmade fishing lures the same way he puts graphite to paper for his incredible realistic wildlife drawings —slowly, meticulously and with respect for the living creature his art imitates. Trout patterns, bluegill flashes, the shimmer of a summer dusk—all captured in miniature, displayed in neat rows lining the walls of his newly opened lure shop inside Jordan’s Ozarts Studio in Hardenville. 

A new life to an old building

David and his wife Carey purchased the building on Highway 160, which used to house the old Hardenville store and post office, about five years ago, back when David was still working full time for Emerson in Ava. The Jordans spent all of their spare time working on renovating the building, and after completing the studio portion for Carey’s side of the business, she began holding painting classes and other fun events in the space.

It took some additional time to complete renovations for the lure and art studio, which showcases both David and Carey’s work, but the couple made time to work on their dream. David retired from Emerson last August, and work kicked into high gear. 

“First thing we cleaned out is what we call the Imaginariam, where I do all my painting, a big part of my carving, airbrush work and lots of other things,” he told the Times while giving a tour of the place recently.

They then renovated a large space to serve as a gallery for the fishing lures. With the renovations nearing completion, David also got busy completing the 350 hand-carved and hand-painted pieces he wanted to have ready to display before opening the shop. 

His portion of the building was finished and opened up last month, and it’s a sight to see. Wire is stretched tight across attractive wooden walls, with hundreds of handcrafted, varied lures hung from the wire. Below them, a variety of Carey’s paintings are on display. Nearby, a table is loaded down with wooden bowls, wine glass holders, pen holders, vases and more, and David’s realistic wildlife portraits adorn another wall, hanging with a framed copy of a previous Ozark County Times article about David’s wildlife drawings and paintings. The opposite wall features a display of David and his family’s military histories.

“Everything in here is mine or Carey’s,” David said, “All of these paintings are hers, and they’re for sale too. We’ve got bird houses, bowls… just whatever sparks my interest. Our only qualification is that it has to be handmade, custom-built, painted, drawn… nothing you can buy at Walmart, Pier 1 or Hobby Lobby.”

A co-worker's suggestion sparked a passion

David says he’s always been a woodworker, and he loves working with the medium. When Carey bought him a lathe in 2011, he fell in love with using that tool to craft more traditional woodworking items - cutting boards, candle holders, vases and the like.

“It was around that time when we decided we really wanted to get into fishing more and more. It was back when Craigslist had first started, and you could buy whole boxes of things on there. So, we bought a lot of fishing lures and rods one day. I took them up to the shop at Emerson.

“I was showing them to another tournament guy who wanted to look at the crankbaits to see what we had. JR Evans was standing there looking at them with us, and he looked at me and said, ‘David, why’d you buy all this?’ I told him, ‘Well, I want to start fishing.’ He said, ‘You’ve got a wood shop. Why don’t you just make your own?’ And I went, ‘Why didn’t I just make my own?’” David said. 

“So, really, it was JR who kind of sparked the idea for this whole thing.”

After hearing the suggestion, David dove right into the craft and found a real passion for the work. He said he immediately enjoyed the intricacy and art of fashioning the lures, and his interest has only grown since then. Now, he absolutely loves making the fishing lures. 

“It’s almost become an obsession. I just get so much out of making them. Even if I never sell another one, I’ll just fill a big box,” he said. 

It all starts with a flat, blank board

Most of the lures in the shop are hand-carved from cedar, although he does have some resin lures that are made from a mold he created. The wood ones, though, begin from a flat cedar board. He cuts a rough “blank” on the band saw, giving the piece a general shape. Once he’s set on his design, he then uses a knife to hand-carve and whittle it into a refined shape. After that, it’s on to the technical side of things. “I have to weigh and balance each one. I know wood densities and all the math to put the right weight into it to make it sit right in the water,” he said. 

After he’s confident in his measurements, David puts all the hardware on - screw eyes, weights, balances. He base coats the pieces, occasionally skipping that step for lures in which he plans to leave the natural wood shining through. After a base coat, they’re primed. Then, he pulls out his airbrush and paintbrushes, using various shields, meshes and stencils to create various designs. 

A polycrylic clear coat is then applied, followed by a two-part epoxy, which gives the lures the heavy, dense, hard coating they need for repeated use on the water. Afterward, he attaches all of the hooks and then heads to the lake, where he tests each piece to make sure it is balanced correctly and replicates a realistic swim pattern. The lures are then returned to the shop, where the hooks are removed for display. Each piece takes three to six hours of work to complete. 

Like a kid in a candy store

David said it’s been fun to see fishermen come in and look through all of the lures. “Carey calls it man jewelry. They walk up and down, looking at all of them. It’s like a kid in a candy store.” 

He says he tries to keep the lures priced affordably. “I don’t even make hourly wage, but, for me, it’s really more about getting to make them than anything,” he said. Most lures are priced around $20. 

‘Incredibly blessed’

David said he and Carey feel like they are exactly where they’re meant to be, doing what they love. “I think the Lord put us here. We are incredibly blessed,” he said. 

So, now that he’s retired, does David have time to fish like he wanted? “No,” he said, laughing. “I told Carey when I retired that I wanted one day a week to fish. Now, Tuesday is my day off from everything, but I’ve just been so buried that I haven’t gotten to actually do it.”

While David may not have had much time yet to cast a line since retiring, there’s hope that one of these Tuesdays, he’ll finally sneak away from the studio, tie on one of his own creations and let it dance through the water—just as he imagined, all those years ago when he bought that first box of rods and lures from Craigslist.

Find out more - or stop in and browse

Jordan’s Ozart Lures and Gifts is open regular hours 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday. 

The couple says they do take a lunch break and sometimes have to step out. So, they’ve created an easy way for customers to know if they’re there. “If the flags are up, the doors are open,” Carey said, referring to the six military flags hanging from the awning off the front porch. 

For more information, call the shop at 417-989-8553, email jordans.ozart@gmail.com or visit “Jordan’s Ozart on Facebook.”