An Evening with Madewell

Hanging out with Madewell on Thursday for our Assemble + Madewell = BFF party, was one of the most fun nights in Assemble history, and we're so happy that so many of you came out to make stamps with us! The stamps were a hit, with stripey shirt, chevron or arrow template options! We made cute little gift tags for tying on sweet Madewell gifties. Mint-citrusy punch, tiny donuts and oh-so-much-shopping was had. If you didn't get a chance to stop by and see us, here's a sampling of photos below to enjoy. Thank you, Madewell and Assemblers!!


Some snaps from our Instagram

Photos by Christian Powers

Crafty Project: Linoleum Block Stamps

We're getting all ready for our Madewell event this coming Thursday, where we will be making custom linoleum block stamps (+ shopping + snacking!) While we were making up some super-secret samples for Thursday, we decided to make another quick one to show you what we're going to be doing on Thursday with Madewell.


In honor of my nephew (being born on Thursday!), we made a little dinosaur stamps. He's a fan of dinosaurs...we've decided..? Check out the steps below and get ready for Thursday!


You will need:
• ink or pigment
• a linoleum block
• a linoleum carving tool
• an image of your choice
• pencil
• tape
• paper to print on

Print or draw your image on a piece of regular or tracing paper. Make sure to draw all text backwards. Flip the image over, and color (especially over lines) with your pencil.
Turn the image back right side up, and tape to the linoleum block. Use a toothpick or a sharp pencil (careful not to tear through the paper) and trace your image.
Peel the image off of the linoleum block. You should have a result something like the above.
Begin gently carving around the edges of your image. Outline the entire image before deep carving. A light touch will help with small details.
When your outline is complete, begin carving away the negative space on the stamp. Get rid of anything that you don't want to see in your imprint with your carving tool.
When you think you are close to being complete, ink up your image and note which pieces of negative space are also inked. Continue to carve until only the image you want to imprint is inked. Then, make a few practice impressions and adjust your block with the carving tool until it is to your liking. And there you have it! Your very own stamp!

Madewell + Assemble = BFF

Yes. This is happening...and very soon. We could not be more excited about our first event with our favorite clothing store, Madewell! A shopping + stamping good time!


On Thursday, May 23rd (that's next week!) join us as we partner up with Madewell at their store in University Village, Seattle for a fun and crafty event from 7pm-9pm.

We will be there, teaching you how to create your own custom linoleum block stamps--lickety split from one of our custom templates (a little stripey Frenchy shirt? An arrow? A chevron pattern?), while you try on awesome jeans and dresses. Shop Madewell's brand new collection (there might just be some deals in there) and enjoy sips & sweets with us. Cause we miss you! Plus we'll have a few Assemble goodies on hand for sale as well!

7-9pm at:
Madewell
University Village
2666 NE University Village Street
Seattle, WA

RSVP to store.241@madewell.com

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Plus, if you're looking for something amazing to do with your Memorial Day weekend, our dear friend, Jenn Blake will be hosting an awesome Scout Pop-Up Shop at Trophy Cupcakes on Saturday & Sunday! Don't miss it--a bunch of goods from the Scout collection to be for sale! Plus, cupcakes. Obviously. See below for the details:

Brand New Handmade Pin Cushions in Shop!

We made these little guys this week for fun! Aren't they cute?? Grab one for $8 in our shop's "What's New" section!


Also, have you grabbed your ticket for the CRAFT + CHAT yet? A little secret, we've just decided: an Assemble Pop-Up Shop during the meetup! You'll have to have a ticket to enter the event (one or the other) but we'll have a bit of time during to check out some goodies from our shop including our other kits, plushies by Three Bad Seeds, Tako Fibers crewel embroidery kits, and other sweet surprises! See you there!

March is National Craft Month! We're Celebrating!

March is National Craft Month! We were so excited when we heard that (cause who's heard of that??) that we decided to offer a 20% off for the ENTIRE month on our Assemble Crafting Kits! Head over to our online shop to check them out, and enter code CRAFTMONTH at checkout.


Also, we have a brand new, special event coming up! On Wednesday, March 20th, we will team up with Seattle Bloggers Unite! for a Craft + Chat with Assemble at the Trophy Cupcakes Party Room in Wallingford. This event is a two-part Craft & Chat with me (Andie) & Emily, and you can come to one or both of the events:

At 5pm: Come socialize AND learn a fun new skill as we teach you how to crochet! We will demonstrate our fan-favorite Crocheted Granny Square kits and teach you how to do it too. All attendees will receive a crochet kit, personalized instruction, treats, a sip or two, and a fun new skill -- plus stay for the meetup afterward! Ticket price: $30

At 7pm: Just want to come for a chat (and some delicious Trophy Cupcakes)? That's fine too! At 7 p.m., we will put our crochet hooks down (you can keep working of course) to discuss the ins and outs of "Selling your Self and your Stuff, Online and In Person" with a brief presentation and Q&A -- all about how to best present your online persona and/or business on the world wide web AND face to face. Ticket price: $5.

Tickets will be available until 3/19 so get yours fast! You don't have to be a blogger to come, but you MUST have a ticket to participate, even if you're just coming at 7. Click here or the image in the right hand column )near the top of this page) to register.

We can't wait to see you! (And eat cupcakes!!)

Introducing: The Assemble Crafting Kits

We are so excited to FINALLY introduce our Assemble Crafting Kits. We have worked tirelessly on them to bring them to the masses, and are proud and happy to get them out before the holidays! We have a total of eight new kits, including: Needle-Felted Sushi, Needle-Felted Breakfast, Needle-Felted Sweets, Crocheted Granny Squares, and Hardcover Bookbinding in a variety of paper styles. Each kit includes everything you need to create the project, plus a full-color, photographed instruction booklet. Those are our hands!


Needle-Felted Sushi Kit, $30




Needle-Felted Sweets Kit, $30


Needle-Felted Breakfast Kit, $30


Crocheted Granny Square Kit, $35


Hardcover Bookbinding Kit in Orange Bean, $40


Hardcover Bookbinding Kit in Lime Lattice Recycled Rag, $40
Hardcover Bookbinding Kit in Silver Leaf on Gray/Blue Lokta, $40
Hardcover Bookbinding Kit in Turquoise Mums Lokta, $40
Please join us tonight (Friday, December 14th) from 6-9pm for our official release of the kits, champagne, and my awesome husband and our dear friend playing Christmas music (see below for a glimpse!) for our LAST Assemble party in this space. We are excited to see you, and can't wait. xo Andie & Emily

Little Saint Nick from Adrian Centoni on Vimeo.

Special Guest Post: Danielle Krysa aka The Jealous Curator on her Brand New Show, This Friday at Assemble

Before we hand it over to Danielle for her lovely guest post, we just wanted to say how happy and honored we are to have her art work at Assemble for her first art show. The work is fantastic, funny and honest, just like her. We were lucky enough to get to know her a bit at her Girl Crush Seattle Tea Party that we co-hosted. Be sure to mark your calendars for this Friday, from 6-9pm. Show up, Skype with the artist on our Mac at 7pm, or if you can't make it (or just feel like having fun and chatting with the artist) come to the Tweet Party: hashtag -- #JealousofAssemble! Tweet Party from 6-9pm. See you there!! ALSO, please look for a special Artist Spotlight section in our shop on Monday, November 12th to purchase Danielle's work.


. . . . . . .
Hello! This is Danielle from The Jealous Curator popping in to do a little guest post! Ok, so I usually write about other artists' work, but today Andie & Emily have asked me to write about my own...gulp. That's a lot harder! Oh well, here we go:

This new series will be seen for the very first time at Assemble on Friday, November 9th {thanks for having me, girls!} The show is titled, "alleglory," a mixture of allegory & glory. Definition: "stories from my glory days." Yep, my mind has always been filled with snippets, almost little snapshots, of memories. From my sunny childhood, to my self-induced/drama-filled teen years -- they are a quick visual flash, that my brain insists on tagging with a one or two sentence story. Prom dates, old cars, and burning couches that boys jumped over at bush parties {seriously}. So, now you know how my brain works, but wait, there's more! I can't just have these images floating around in my head randomly -- that's right -- they're color coded! Here's a little peek:

Grey for my teen years:


And yellow for my childhood years:


There you have it! These tidbits of memories will be with me forever, and now they're on the wall at Assemble! The show opens on Friday November 9th, from 6-9pm. I hope you can come... I'll be there via Skype!

{p.s everything in this show is a combination of gouache, latex, image transfers from my personal photos, and embroidery thread on watercolor paper.}

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We had a few fun questions to ask Danielle while we had her attention here on the blog. Enjoy!

Assemble: How did you come to be "The Jealous Curator?"
Danielle: I started The Jealous Curator for myself almost four years ago. Being an artist myself I found that I was getting so overwhelmed by all of the amazing artwork I was finding online. I truly was jealous {the bad kind}, and it was eating me alive. Someone told me that jealousy that is kept inside becomes toxic, but when you say it out loud, it can become admiration... and so that's why I started the blog. I decided to shout my jealousy {the good kind} from the rooftops, and turn something terribly negative, into something wonderfully positive. And it worked!

Who are you most 'jealous' of?
I would say I'm most jealous of anyone who can go to their studio every day, and just work... artist block or not!

Who are your favorite artists or designers?
Oh boy, that's a very long list. I've written over 1000 posts, about artists I love, on The Jealous Curator - all of them are on my list!

We loved hosting Girl Crush with you in May, do you have any fun events coming up?
I loved it too! xo! Ok, well, let's see - I'll be speaking at Alt Summit in January {Salt Lake City}, and then in February I'm curating a show in Chattanooga, TN. I've been asked to speak the University the night before the opening, and I'm beyond excited! Speaking of excited, GIRL CRUSH Austin with Alyson Fox is on April 20th, and there a few spots left - who wants to come!?

After your artistic process creating this show, if you could give any advice to artists or designers (even bloggers) what would it be?
Just make stuff. At the beginning of the process, I got so caught up with making 16 new, "perfect pieces". It was paralyzing. I decided to prep 50 sheets of watercolor paper, and then just go for it! Whichever 16 I liked best would go into the show. The others, well, they will never see the light of day! {insert evil laugh here}

What do you like to do in your off-time?
What do you mean "off-time"? ;) I have a 6 year old son, so if I'm not designing, jealously curating, or making my own art you will most likely find me playing some kind of dinosaur game with him!

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?
I don't know if I can commit to any one place, so I'd say Paris for a year, New York for a year, Bali for a year, back home for a year...and repeat!

If you could have one zany and unique talent, what would it be?
Hm. Well, I've always been in awe of people who can tie cherry stems with their tongues.

If you could have one famous person purchase a piece from your show, who would it be?
Kristen Wiig. I love her very, very much.

What's your dream job, besides what you are doing now?
I do absolutely love what I'm doing now, but if I could do a life-do-over, I'd be an actor. Or an interior designer. Or an actor who also does interior design.

Thank you, Danielle!!