There are certain places in Bozeman that feel like they belong to everyone.
For generations, Town & Country was a cornerstone of everyday life in Bozeman. The quick Saturday morning grocery run, a child perched in the cart while their mom reaches for produce, familiar faces appearing at the end of an aisle, and the inevitable “Oh my gosh, it’s so good to see you!” when you run into someone you know.
And in a town changing as quickly as Bozeman, there is something meaningful about keeping this, a piece of what came before.
When Kiln came to the old T&C space, there was an understanding that something new was being built but something old was worth preserving.
The bones of the building remained; even the loading dock was built out as part of the transformation. At the top of the stairs, the original architectural drawings still hang on the wall, a quiet reminder of the vision that first brought this place to life.
When Kiln opened its doors a year ago, the response from those who knew T&C best was more meaningful than anything the Kiln team could have anticipated.
The grandson of the original owner walked through the space and was overcome with emotion. Former T&C corporate employees came through to see the metamorphosis of their former workplace. People who had spent late nights restocking shelves walked the halls again. They stopped, looked around, and marveled at the transformation, not because the space had been preserved, but because it had been given a new life.
Now, a year into Kiln's story in Bozeman, the building is still doing what it has always done best: bringing people together. Groceries and shopping carts have given way to office snacks and desks. The aisles have again become hallways filled with entrepreneurs, creatives, founders, remote workers, longtime Bozeman residents and newcomers finding their footing in town.
Member Experience Manager Maxine Martin and Community Manager Michaela Wandrisco have both been at Kiln Bozeman since the beginning, giving them a unique perspective on how the space has grown and evolved over the past year.
“From the very beginning, it’s been exciting to watch Kiln become a place where people genuinely feel connected,” says Maxine. “Seeing members build relationships, settle into their routines, and make the space their own has been one of the most rewarding parts of the experience.”
For Michaela, being there from day one has offered an equally meaningful view of the community’s evolution. “There’s something special about getting to experience a community as it takes shape,” she says. “Over the past year, we’ve watched new connections form, familiar faces become part of the fabric of Kiln, and the space evolve alongside the people who use it.”
Bozeman has always been a town where who you know matters, but how you know them matters even more. Friendships begin at the trailhead. A conversation at an event can become a partnership six months later. The person you meet because you happened to sit beside them on a Tuesday morning can become part of the story you are building for years to come.
That is the kind of connection Kiln was built for.
Not networking for networking's sake, but the more human version of it. The spontaneous, serendipitous connections that happen when you create enough space for people to simply be around one another.
A year later, not only is Kiln continuing to grow; the company and the community around it are growing as well.
But standing at the top of those stairs, beneath the original drawings, there is a sense that growth does not always mean leaving something behind.
Sometimes, it means carrying it forward.
The building has changed. The people inside it have changed. Bozeman itself has changed.
But the feeling remains remarkably familiar.
Come in. You might run into someone you know.
AN INTERVIEW WITH KILN FOUNDER ARIAN LEWIS
Tell us about your background.
I grew up in Utah, in a home filled with character and creativity. I watched my mom become an entrepreneur and build a business from the ground up. She taught me a great deal about resilience and showed me early on how much the culture you create around people matters.
After graduating from college, I spent eight years in real estate before my wife, Jill, and I moved our family to England so I could pursue my MBA. That was where I first began studying coworking, which eventually led me to Barclays and the opportunity to help build Rise, its global workspace and startup-accelerator platform.
After several years of building communities for entrepreneurs around the world, I felt ready to create something of my own. We returned to Utah, and in 2018 I started Kiln with my longtime collaborator, Leigh Radford.
Why Kiln? What made you want to start a coworking space?
The idea for Kiln began long before there was a Kiln to walk into.
Early in my career, I sold homes in large active-adult communities in Nevada. I quickly realized that people weren’t simply buying a house; they were choosing a community. A way of life, a sense of belonging, and the people they would share it with.
Years later, while studying coworking during my MBA and working with entrepreneurs around the world at Barclays, I began to see that same truth in a different setting. The places where people work shape far more than what they accomplish between nine and five. People do better when they feel connected to the people around them. Founders become more resilient. Teams become stronger. Ideas become better when they have room to be shared.
That realization became the foundation for Kiln: the belief that a workplace could be something more than an office. It could be a place where people know one another, where relationships grow naturally, where a conversation over coffee can lead somewhere unexpected, and where the work we do is made more meaningful by the community we do it alongside.
Ultimately, Kiln was built around a simple idea: people are better when they have a place to belong.
Why do you love Kiln?
What I love most about Kiln is the feeling that meets you when you walk through the door. Members often tell me, “There’s just an energy here.” The design may set the stage for it, but the feeling itself comes from the people. The cornerstones of Kiln are the casual conversations, unexpected friendships, and the ideas that take shape simply because people have a place to be together.
When I walk into Kiln and see people exchanging ideas, opening doors for one another, and celebrating each other’s successes, I’m reminded that we’ve created something that extends far beyond the traditional idea of an office. We’ve created a place where people can do meaningful work while feeling genuinely connected to the community around them.
That is what makes me proud: not simply that Kiln has grown, but that it has become a place where people feel they belong.
Why did you pick Bozeman for a location?
We were drawn to Bozeman’s rare combination of ambition and groundedness, the sense that people here are deeply invested in what they are building while remaining equally invested in the people and environment around them. In Bozeman, meaningful work and meaningful connection don’t have to exist separately. They naturally intersect.
That felt deeply aligned with what we believe a workplace can be: not simply somewhere you come to get work done, but a place that creates room for relationships, ideas, and a genuine sense of belonging. We saw an opportunity for Kiln to become part of the fabric of a community that was already vibrant, and to add something meaningful to the momentum that was already underway.
Why did this location excite you?
The opportunity to repurpose the former Town & Country building was incredibly exciting to us. Rather than building something new, we were able to take a familiar Bozeman landmark and give it a new identity while respecting the role it has played on the west side for many years.
Our design team drew inspiration from Montana’s natural landscape, using abundant light, greenery, natural materials and a calm, welcoming palette. But the most rewarding part has been seeing the building come alive again through the people inside it.
Every day, members from different companies and industries work alongside one another, share ideas, make introductions and form real relationships. Workshops, panel discussions and community gatherings extend that energy beyond our membership. It feels fitting that a building with such a long history in Bozeman is once again becoming a place where the community can come together.
What do you find to be special or unique about Bozeman's business community?
What stands out to me is the generosity within Bozeman’s business community. People aren’t simply building companies alongside one another. They’re making introductions, sharing ideas and actively helping one another succeed.
There’s also a strong mix of established local businesses, entrepreneurs, creatives and people bringing experience from other markets. That creates a community with fresh energy while still maintaining a real connection to Bozeman’s character.
We see that spirit inside Kiln every day. Members working in different industries find ways to collaborate, solve problems together and form relationships that extend beyond the workplace. That willingness to contribute to one another’s success is special, and it gives Bozeman’s business community a real sense of momentum.
What does the one year anniversary for a new location mean to you?
The first anniversary is meaningful because it’s when you can see a location becoming much more than the space we originally designed. It has developed its own identity through the people who work there, the relationships they’ve formed and the ways it has become part of their everyday lives.
Every new Kiln requires a leap of faith from our team, our partners and especially the founding members who join before the community fully exists. This anniversary is a chance to thank those people and celebrate what they’ve helped build in Bozeman.
For me, seeing a space we created with intention come alive with its own community, energy and sense of purpose is the most rewarding part.
Are there any exciting things in the works for Kiln?
There’s a great deal ahead for Kiln. We’re continuing to grow across the West, but growth for us isn’t simply about adding locations. We want every Kiln to feel connected to its city and genuinely useful to the people and businesses around it.
We’re also creating more flexible ways for people and teams to work. Companies want stronger culture, collaboration and productivity, while employees want greater flexibility and a better quality of life. We don’t believe those needs have to be in conflict.
Technology will continue to change the way we work, but I believe human creativity, relationships and community will only become more important. Whatever comes next, our goal remains the same: to help people do their best work while feeling genuinely connected to those around them.
Learn more about joining the Kiln Bozeman community at kiln.com/communities/bozeman.
A building can be renovated, repurposed and reimagined, but it cannot be separated from the lives that happened inside it.