About

About Olympia Lamplighters

Olympia Lamplighters is a non-profit art gallery and coworking space specializing in creatives who express their personality through art. Not only can you come to Olympia Lamplighters and use our creative workspace for your work and community, we are also here to help you with your creative endeavors! 

As a non-profit space, our number one goal is to help you grow into your goals, whether that be as a hobbyist who wants to get better at drawing, a new professional who needs help with branding, or a seasoned artist who wants to work with the community.

We have a recording booth for musicians, voice actors, podcasters, various audio recording projects, desks for office space, a resource library, and staff ready to answer your questions. Oly Lamplighters’ creative and co-working space provides the community in Olympia with classes and workshops to improve artistic skills and a place to host community events and dances. 

Because we value inclusivity at Olympia Lamplighters, anyone who is being offensive or is using racial slurs against another guest will lose their membership or day pass and will not be welcomed back into our space.

Donate today to assist our community events, classes, workshops, and scholarships!

Accessiblity at Olympia Lamplighters

We make our creative co-working space accessible for those with disabilities. Our first floor, no step up location makes our space easy to access for those with physical disabilities, along with our 29 inch double doors which open up to 59 inches total. The warehouse features a ramp, and a 35 inch door.

Our bathroom has handholds that is wheelchair accessible and all our tables in our creative co-working space feature sturdy benches and seats that can hold more than 250 lbs and that can also be removed to make space for wheelchairs.

We keep our lighting low for artists and you can BYOL (bring your own lamp) if you’d like more lighting! 

The use of eco-friendly products and not using chemical air fresheners are a vital pieces of our values for those with chemical sensitivities and auto-immune conditions. 

As always, assistance animals are welcome!

Our Team

Staff
Avalon Kragness

(She/Her)
Business Manager / Chair

Avalon Kragness, born in 1986 is a Quilter, Singer, and business entrepreneur. She has worked as a Manager of a Quilting Store, is a founder of The Lamplighters, and earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Business in 2020 with a specialization in Small Business and Entrepreneurship. 

Iri Alexander

(They/Them)
Artistic Manager / Vice Chair

Iri Alexander’s interests cover a wide variety of influences, experiences, and mediums. As such they consider themselves to be a multi-potential artist, and work in a variety of different fields.

Mediums that they use include writing, painting with oils, watercolor, and digitally, knitting, crocheting, and sewing. They’ve written episodes for the audio drama Jim Robbie and the Wanderers and voice act in the show, as well as numerous other radio dramas. 

Corey Strid
(He/Him)
Assistant Manager / Secretary
 
Corey Strid, is a musician, a painter, and has over 10 years of business management experience.  He has worked in retail management as well as coordinated multiple regional expansion projects for t-mobile. His passion for art led him away from retail business management to the lamplighters where he could explore his desire to teach painting, music and expand his own skills.
Michael Beard

(He/Him)
Photographer and Videographer

Gabe Kalfen

(He/Him)
Curator

Board Members
Hap Clemons

(He/Him)

Hap Clemons was born and raised in Indiana and moved to the Olympia area in 2016 after accepting a position at Harlequin Productions. His 30+ year career in fund development allowed him to work with Indiana nonprofit organizations spanning the fields of medicine, research, education, and fine arts. Hap received a Certificate in Fundraising Management from The Lilly Family School of Philanthropy and later graduated Cum Laude from Colorado State University Global with a BS in Business Management and minors in Managing Global Business and Applied Strategic Management. Hap later graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Master’s in Organizational Leadership. Hap currently holds the position of Managing Director at Harlequin Productions.

Jonah Barret

(They/Them)

Jonah Barrett is a queer writer, retired filmmaker, and multimedia-ish artist. They currently work as a project manager for The Evergreen State College’s art collection, and as a collections assistant for the Washington State Arts Commission’s Art In Public Places program.
 
Jonah’s speculative fiction debut book, Moss Covered Claws, was published in early 2021 by Blue Cactus Press. Their films have been shown at a variety of festivals throughout the Pacific Northwest. During the quarantine, Jonah helped create the new Orca Books Co-op bookstore with a small team on Fifth Ave. They were previously the marketing director at the Olympia Film Society and an article writer for Oly Arts magazine. A strong pull toward collaboration and uplifting other artists attracted them to the Olympia Lamplighters, and they’re happy to help their creative community rise to its full potential. Also Iri asked them to join reeeaaally nicely.
Shannon Sawyer
Leo King
Notable Volunteers
Bambi Strong

(They/Them)
Assistant Graphic Designer

 

Cade Walker

(He/Him)
Legal Representative

Cade likes getting involved with the community through a variety of different approaches.  When he’s not hanging out downtown at different restaurants, watering-holes, music or drag events, or trying his best at karaoke, you can find him providing legal advice to a variety of area non-profits and small businesses. Cade is a licensed attorney, focusing on business development, hospitality/food & beverage, and health care, and he currently works for the State of Washington (in a non-legal capacity) helping provide benefits to state and education employees.

Keisha Chinn

(She/Her)
Acquisitions

Keisha Chinn was born and raised in Redmond, Washington and moved down to the Olympia area in 2015 after accepting a position at the Department of Transportation. She works as an IT Manager during the day, and jewelry artist under the name of KMC Jewelry Design by night. She specializes in wire wrapping gemstones and other media using copper and sterling silver. Her other interests include epoxy resin and acrylic paint pouring. Her love for all things art drew her towards Olympia Lamplighters, a place where she continues to make friends, create and learn, and collaborate with other artists.

Lynn Smargis

(She/Her)
Content Writer and Marketing
Write For You

Lynn is an author, podcast producer, and content creator passionate about traveling and exploring new places. She has a ubiquitous background in creative production, podcasting, and marketing. Lynn’s ardor is directed towards producing and developing original content, social media, ghostwriting, and podcast production for other creatives, personalities, professionals, and business owners.

She adores her hometown of Philadelphia and enjoys visiting where her heart is content in the northeast. While there, she enjoys hanging out in her old stomping grounds and visiting her local favorite restaurants and museums. Lynn can often be found hiking with the family dogs in McMinnville, Oregon, on a road trip adventure, producing one of her podcasts, hanging out with her adult kiddos, or chatting with friends at her favorite local hangouts.

Saige Rakoski

(He/Him)
Venue Production Manager

Please contact Saige for any events taking place in the venue in needing technical setup or work. You can contact him at rakoskisaige@gmail.com.