About Us
At The Works, we believe in the power of bringing people together through shared passions. Our hands-on classes in crafting, food, and botanicals offer adults a space to unwind, connect, and explore their creativity—whether you're flying solo or bringing a friend.
Our Mission and Values
Our mission
We empower you to shape your own life through hands-on, skill-building experiences that spark imagination, curiosity, and creativity.
Our vision
To cultivate a vibrant community of smart, fun, and creative individuals eager to learn, connect, and unlock their full potential.
Our values
At The Works, everything we do is guided by our core beliefs:
Creating – We bring ideas to life with our hands, transforming imagination into art, craft, and design.
Welcoming – Everyone belongs here. We foster a safe, inclusive space where you can be yourself.
Connecting – Passion is meant to be shared. We thrive on learning, teaching, and growing together.
Reverence – We create with pride, care, and deep respect for craftsmanship and tradition.
Integrity – Honesty, ethics, and fairness are at the heart of how we engage with our community.
Our Team
In addition to employing a team of creatives, we are honored to partner with folks from all around the region and beyond to share their skills with our community. Check out our partner teachers here.
Kellie Phelan (she/her), Founder/Owner
With the woods of New Hampshire as her childhood stomping grounds, Kellie developed an appreciation for the natural world and our connection to it. She spent the first decade of her career working in environmental consulting and now seeks to change the world on a much more local level - by building community, connecting over passions, and sharing skills. Kellie founded The Works in 2018 as a place to do just that. Growing from a one-woman pop-up into a brick and mortar location in the Pioneer Square neighborhood of Seattle, Kellie’s role now includes supporting our amazing team with operations, developing new curriculum, and sales and marketing. You can still catch her on the class schedule teaching once in a while too!
Ashley Rodgers (she/her), Teacher and Production Lead
Ashley was born and raised in Northern California, in the small-ish town of Salinas. After college she decided to make a move up north to Seattle and hasn’t looked back. Ashley grew-up in a crafty, do-it-yourself household and learned at a young age the joy of making and creating. Ashley teaches a wide range of class topics from plant care, mending, painting and much more! When she is not in the classroom, you can find her in the backroom packing and building all The Works’ DIY kits. At home you can find her and her rescue dog Josie chilling on the couch as she works on her next craft project!
Brynne Burkhalter (she/her), Teacher
Born, raised, and now raising her own family in Seattle, Brynne is a native PNWer through and through! As a professional clinical social worker for a couple of decades, it was necessary to find outlets for self-care and stress reduction—enter all things crafty! Hospitality and community building are foundational pillars in Brynne’s life, and she is so happy to share these values with others through The Works. She is excited to be teaching and hosting folks in classes to help them realize that art and creativity is for everyone! At home, Brynne is shepherding her three high school teens into the next stages of their lives… a reason to keep creating and crafting for sure!
Emma Dubery (she/her), Teacher
Born and raised in Seattle, Emma has acquired various crafty skills through her self-taught process of Googling and a desire to learn something new and cool! She loves to empower people to let loose and explore their creativity with friends and strangers. When not fundraising (her day job) or making/learning things, Emma plays rugby, coaches high school sports/clubs, and watches a shocking amount of Real Housewives with her cat, Minushka.
Jennifer Bowker (she/her), Teacher
Jennifer is a Minnesota native, and after sampling life on both coasts she and her husband decided on Seattle as their home in 2009. She’s an accomplished home cook and a frustrated baker. Her creative outlets are cooking, menu planning, entertaining, decorating cakes, and just about any crafty endeavor that doesn’t require a lot of precision. (Please don’t look at the backside of her embroidery project.) As a host and teacher at The Works, she loves connecting with new people and helping create fun and memorable experiences.
Julie Lowe (she/her), Host
Julie has spent her life migrating up the West Coast – raised in Solana Beach followed by a decades long stint in San Francisco before settling in Seattle in 2003. Throughout her career she’s found ways to work alongside creators - from musicians to tattoo artists to writers and more – feeding her passion for the arts through supporting makers. As a host at The Works she’s able to feed her dual loves of building community and supporting the joy creation brings.
Kia Zuend (she/her), Business Operations Manager
Born and raised right here in the PNW and, growing up with a lively battle between her left and right brain, Kia developed a deep curiosity for the why and how stories of the world around her. She has spent most of her career in HR and Ops roles across various industries and companies, both large and small. Never content to just follow the pack, she loves infusing unconventional creativity into traditionally unimaginative situations. Having a deep appreciation for the maker community, Kia feels right at home at The Works. Her role is to partner with Kellie and the team to ideate and activate innovation, growth, and strategic goals, oversee day-to-day operations and business activities, and most importantly support our team and community along their journey of learning and self-discovery.
Marisha Medrano (she/they), Teacher
A Seattle local, Marisha is a lifelong creative with a love of nature, color, and making things. Working in childcare and education, she found a passion for helping others learn and grow and joy in building community through sharing art. After a lifetime of crafting as a hobby, Marisha is thrilled to join The Works as a teacher where she can combine her passions and nurture her creativity!
Rachel Grunig (she/her), Teacher and Operations Support
Originally from Hawaii, Rachel bounced around the globe before landing in San Francisco after college. She moved to Seattle in 2012 on a whim and is quite happy to be growing roots in the PNW. Rachel is a commercial photo stylist and artist. Her work involves finding (and often making) interesting objects to photograph. This prompts a lot of craft dabbling, with a particular passion for anything related to plants or fabric.
Theo Cox (he/they), Teacher
Born and raised in California, Theo attended San Jose State University where he graduated with a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Animation and Illustration. A lifelong artist, he is always looking for new ways to create and loves to experiment with analog mediums such as film photography. Outside of illustration and design, he enjoys hiking and exploring his love for nature. Theo has always hoped to be able to work in a creative industry that brings people together. At The Works, he is excited to build community through a shared love of creativity.