Our People
Kiel Kellow
OWNER
Kiel Kellow is an anomaly to the trade. A highly attuned business owner, a naturally calm and effective leader, and a team player. Ethics, hard work, and communication are at the top of his priority list. He is not your typical builder. He loves the process of a project. Guiding people through accomplishing something that feels overwhelming and out of reach is one of his greatest skills.
Kiel grew up in both Tillamook County, Oregon and Bainbridge Island, Washington. He cut his teeth as a carpenter while living in his 1934 wooden sailboat in the Bainbridge harbor. During those years he worked on boats, high end custom homes, and in a cabinet shop creating all things wood. Eventually he realized that the logical next step in his life was to become a business owner. Wanting to work closer with clients to aid in the larger process of project implementation from concept to completion was his dream. From there he moved to Portland, Oregon and was a lead carpenter with an award winning design/build firm who specialized in restaurant build-outs. He learned the ins and outs of the world of light commercial with elaborate architectural details.
Since then he has evolved into running his own company built around this philosophy: Build classic structures and spaces that will be appreciated for generations to come. He builds with quality sourced materials, a trustworthy and highly skilled team. At the center of it all for Kiel, is using his gifts to help people bring their dreams to life.
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 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 internal budget oversight, authoring the blog, marketing and brand direction, risk management, employee benefits management, and things that require long hold times on the phone.
She enjoys long directionless walks, podcasts, handicrafts, and of course, playing with the brightest light in 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 proejct with the care, attention, and respect it deserves.
Designer
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 of 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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