CO-FOUNDER & CURATOR

Katherine is an artist & entrepreneur with an MFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and many years of experience working and volunteering in the arts, education and politics. Before landing in Boise, she spent over a decade living in the wild and vibrant art community of Marfa, Texas. Katherine is dedicated to connecting artists and collectors both near and far and to shepherding experimental and challenging contemporary art projects to The Common Well. She is married to Tom Michael, General Manager at Boise State Public Radio. They have two children — one at Boise High and one at university in The Netherlands. Katherine most recently showed her work in an exhibition at Sun Valley Museum of Art.

CO-FOUNDER & CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Following a 30 year career in Commercial and Residential Design and Construction, Amber founded Fort Builder with her son, Grayson Lawless. They built community, and supported opportunities for entrepreneurs in their beautiful cowork and event spaces. When Amber met Katherine in 2022, they joined forces and Fort Builder evolved into The Common Well.. Amber has worked in illustration, printmaking, letterpress, metalsmithing and welding. She rejects the “starving artist” notion, and loves helping artists figure out how to earn a living with their art. She is currently immersed in tile making and pottery in the ceramics studio, which she manages at The Common Well. In her spare time, Amber and her husband, Michael, love chasing their adult children and grandkids.

CREATIVE STRATEGY & COMMERCE

Katie is a native Oregonian and a semi-recent Boise transplant — by way of Nashville, TN. She spends much of her time and brain space working with creatives as a brand strategist, helping passionate people tell their stories to the world. After a long career at Lonely Planet as Director of Brand and a stint in big tech at Google, she now leads strategy at GoNoodle — where she’s on a mission to ensure that vibrant movement and mindfulness content remains freely accessible to teachers and children in schools across the country. In her spare time, when she’s not wrangling her small humans, she’s helping her farmer husband, Chris, on their microgreens farm at The Common Well. Katie is also taking on the development of Big Moon Barter, a retail store/gift shop, opening at The Common Well in 2024.

CHIEF DESIGNER & FABRICATOR

Grayson Lawless is an artist, carpenter, and licensed general contractor from Idaho. He completed the renovation at The Common Well and crafted the fixtures and furniture. Grayson’s skills range from design and branding to fabrication and production. As a multi-dimensional artist, he works in wood, metal, clay, and leather, and also runs the screen-printing studio at The Common Well. Outside The Common Well, a majority of his work consists of unique remodels and custom woodwork.