Our People
Kiel Kellow
OWNER
Kiel Kellow is an anomaly in the building trade, a design focused builder who believes that estimating and design should always go hand in hand. As the leader of Kellow Construction, Kiel’s approach ensures that all design work is not just creative and beautiful, but practical and aligned with the client’s investment range. This philosophy reduces the typical back and forth between design and construction, making the process more efficient and cohesive.
A highly attuned business owner, Kiel is a naturally calm and effective leader who values ethics, hard work, and communication above all else. He is not your typical builder, he genuinely loves the process of guiding clients through projects that might initially feel overwhelming or out of reach. Helping people accomplish something transformative while balancing design vision with real world practicality is one of his greatest skills.
Kiel grew up in both Tillamook County, Oregon, and Bainbridge Island, Washington. He honed his carpentry skills while living on his 1934 wooden sailboat in the Bainbridge harbor, working on boats, high end custom homes, and in a cabinet shop crafting all things wood. Eventually, he recognized that his passion for client collaboration and project implementation meant starting his own business.
After moving to Portland, Oregon, Kiel became a lead carpenter with an award winning design/build firm specializing in restaurant build outs. There, he mastered the art of integrating complex architectural details into functional spaces, particularly in light commercial projects.
Today, as the owner of Kellow Construction, Kiel brings together design, estimating, and building with a commitment to quality craftsmanship and client satisfaction. His philosophy is simple: build classic structures that endure and create spaces people love. At the heart of it all, Kiel uses his skills to help people bring their dreams to life, combining creativity with practical execution to make the process as rewarding as the final result.
Emily Kellow
OFFICE MANAGER
Emily Kellow was born, raised, and educated in Santa Barbara. She is passionate about this community, and loves it beyond measure. She attended Starr King Parent Child Workshop, Monte Vista Grammar School, La Colina Junior High, and San Marcos High School. She spent all her summers on the beach as a Junior Lifeguard, and to this day is in awe of this city’s natural beauty and public lands.
Emily graduated from UC Davis in 2007 and immediately moved to Portland, Oregon for the cheap rent, and the cool weirdos. Much to her surprise, she ended up opening her own brokerage selling real estate in Portland for ten years.
These days Emily is much more comfortable behind the scenes. She wears many hats at KC including accounting, ordering, authoring the blog, marketing and brand direction, risk management, payroll and employee benefits management, and things that require long hold times on the phone. Wow!
She enjoys long directionless walks, podcasts, audio books, cultivating peace, joy and positivity, and of course basking in the brightest light of her life, her young son Danny.
Our Carpenters
Kellow Construction runs a team of highly skilled carpenters and foremen in the field. Our strict and comprehensive hiring process has proven to be an effective tool at attracting the best people, and repelling those that are not a great fit. We are uncompromising in our hiring process, and make sure that all our team members commit to adhering strictly to our company values with no exceptions. You can be certain that anyone who works for us has “it” and will handle your project with the care, attention, and respect it deserves.
Our Designers
Kellow Construction is a Design Build model construction company with an in-house design team that can handle client’s plans, permitting, and design from concept to completion. Please see our roadmap here to learn more about our process and what we can do for your project with our singular streamlined team. Our superior, innovative designs and ability to handle all these items in house sets us apart, keeps our timelines much tighter, and helps smooth the process considerably for our clients.
If clients come to us with plans and permits in hand that’s great too! We play well with others and love to collaborate with architects and designers outside our firm as well. Often they like that we can make mods in house and expedite their design with excellent management and design abilities.
In both scenarios, bringing us into the process as early as possible can help you avoid investing in a design that is not in alignment with your desired investment goals. We are here to help you do this!
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