Local entrepreneur to mentor Flandreau Indian School students
Meet Keaton Lee, a 21-year-old Coeur d’Alene-area business owner and founder of nationally recognized Crazy K Kustomz, a paint studio that specializes in motorcycles, helmets and automotive builds.
Northern Tool + Equipment in Minnesota recently selected Lee to serve as the build mentor for a yearlong skilled-trades project with 14 students from Flandreau Indian School in Flandreau, S.D.
She will help guide the students as they transform a 1976 Ford F-350 into “America’s Ultimate Trades Toolbox,” which will be featured at the 2027 Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show Nov. 2-5 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
"It's a huge honor to be able to be chosen to do this. I started working with Northern Tool, who are a lot like North 40 Outfitters, mainly to help promote some of their tools that they offer," Lee said. "A couple of months ago, they asked if I wanted to be the mentor for this build with the school, and I agreed to do it."
She said the students will learn to refurbish the truck's interior and exterior.
"They'll be replacing the rotted-out floor pans, learning to weld, and learning how to do bodywork and how to paint a vehicle," Lee said. "They're also going to learn a little bit more about a few other trades because there are six compartments on the service box. Each compartment will represent a certain trade. There'll be tools inside each of those boxes, so they must make the box around what the trade is."
Lee said she'll fly to Flandreau once a month for the next nine months to instruct students for a couple of days and answer any questions they have. She will then have several conference calls with them throughout the remainder of each month.
"When the project is done, there will be a 10-episode series about it on Racer Network," Lee said.
She also has a project of her own that she and her boyfriend, Garrett, are undertaking, which they will have on display at this year's SEMA Show Nov. 3-6.
"Garrett and I are doing a complete restoration on a 1990 Dodge W250 that I bought and painted when I was 16, just before I graduated high school," Lee said. "We are almost done with a full-frame restoration — it has a four-link suspension, so we got rid of all the leaf springs. We also rebuilt the engine with compound turbos and put in an MP4500 manual transmission. So, we're hoping to push around 650 horsepower.
It will be the first vehicle she's taken to SEMA. Lee said she had to compete in a virtual competition for the chance to show her truck.
"There were 75 entrants. They chose 25 to compete for what they call a golden ticket, which they only award to eight people," Lee said. "We had to present our vehicles in a 30-minute Zoom call to eight members of the SEMA board. A couple of weeks later, we were selected as one of the winners and received an all expenses paid trip to the event. We also get the opportunity to put the truck on the SEMA Battle of the Builders stage in Central Hall, which is a huge deal to have your vehicle there."
A pretty big deal indeed for a young entrepreneur who started her business right out of high school.
"My family moved here from Arlington, Wash., in 2021 when I was a little more than halfway through my junior year. One of my teachers, Andy Rogge, was the head of the K-Tech program. I joined the automotive painting and the auto body part of it," Lee said. "It was the first time that I ever painted — the first time I ever held a spray gun — and I ended up just falling in love with it."
During the latter part of her junior year and throughout her senior year, Lee worked for a paint shop.
"I started to slowly get some customers here and there and actually painted the truck that's out in our shop now. It was my first full-time job," Lee said. "At that point, I decided to start my own business and find a little shop to start, because if it doesn't work, I'd just go get a regular job."
She ended up staying there for about a year.
"I grew out of it and went into another shop that I had shared with another business," Lee said. "I was in there for about two years, and now I'm in my own shop complete with a full professional paint booth."
Crazy K Kustomz is located at 3509 W. Daugharty Loop in Hayden. Call Lee at 208-783-8888 or visit crazykkustomz.com for more information or to view her portfolio.
A '62 Corvette is one of many vehicles Keaton has painted.
Jeep. 
Custom helmet. 
Custom Golf cart. Now the TidBits
New and Upcoming
• Idaho Primary Care and Wellness opened a new location at 1581 E. Edmonton Ave. in Post Falls.
• Government Way Antique Mall at 7352 N. Government Way in Dalton Gardens is now open.
• Immersive Studio, CDA, a full-scale projection studio, opens at 216 Coeur d'Alene Ave.
• Ross Dress for Less is coming to Ironwood Square in Coeur d'Alene. It will be located in the old Rite Aid space.
• Pullman-based Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories is expanding its manufacturing operations to Post Falls.
• Crayon Box Child Care is now open at 245 W. Bosanko Ave. in Coeur d'Alene.
• Jersey Mike's, 8289 N. Highway 41 in Post Falls, is now open.
• Mor Furniture for Less, located in the Prairie Shopping Center in Hayden, is open.
• The Flying Pickle, a state-of-the-art pickleball facility, is now open at The Pointe in Post Falls on 140 N. Beck Road.
• Golden Rule Brake at 3637 N. Government Way is open for business.
• The Crescent Moon Bakery at 315 E. Walnut in Coeur d'Alene is now open.
• Jefe's Tacos and Tequila at 761 N. Idaho St. in Post Falls is now open.
• Dragon Fly Support Services, a mental health and substance use counseling facility, is now open at 601 E. Seltice Way in Post Falls.
Ongoing Projects
• A Goodwill store is being built at 750 W. Canfield Ave. in Coeur d'Alene.
• Chase Bank is under development next to Verizon and Starbucks off Prairie Avenue and U.S. 95 in Hayden.
• The Selkirk Center is building a new Health Care and mixed-use campus at Lancaster Road and Highway 41 in Rathdrum.
• ATC Manufacturing Inc. in Post Falls has begun a project to nearly double its 67,000-square-foot headquarters.
• Super 1 Foods is building a new location at Highway 41 and Prairie Avenue in Post Falls.
• A new commercial building is planned for the Riverstone development at 1570 W. Tilford Lane and will bring at least one new dining option to the area. The 7,500-square-foot mixed-use building is targeted for completion in early fall.
• The 33-unit, mixed-use "Nonna" building across from Post Falls City Hall on Spokane Street is anticipated to be completed by October of 2026.
• A five-story, 173-room Hilton Dual Brand Hotel is planned for a 2.71-acre parcel of land off Lee Court and Appleway Avenue in Coeur d'Alene. The project's start and completion dates are not yet determined.
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Have a tip on happenings in the local business world? Contact Bob at [email protected].