General Assembly

In 2011, after years of working at international architecture firms, Sarah Zames founded Brooklyn, N.Y.-based General Assembly (GA), a studio specializing in interiors and design. Her desire was to concentrate on residential spaces, using her knowledge of color, light, and texture to make them feel more personal. In 2014, Colin Stief, a product designer and interior architect, joined the company. The pair also augment their practice with a storefront and online store, Assembly Line, which they opened in 2021. The outlet features some of the home-renovation items GA uses in its projects, including furnishings, fittings, textiles, and wall treatments.

Following, Zames shares some of her favorite work and inspirations.

What is your design philosophy?
General Assembly refers to all the parts that go into a project. Every project is an assembly of people, objects, and materials that create a whole. The homeowner and their space are at the base of every project. These two criteria bring their own history, memories, and needs that provide us with the framework for our design.

Which of your pieces or projects are you most proud? Why?
We recently completed a couple of great projects in New York that I think display a new level of maturity for General Assembly. I’m referring to the Bleecker Street apartment and Upper West Side pied-a-terre. Both exemplify what you can achieve when you have a great base to start with (both are older buildings with some history to them), great clients with personalities that we can bring out in the design, and the freedom to add into that our own perspective of what a great space should feel like.

Give us some context about where you live: How long you’ve been there and how does it influence your work?
We both live within walking distance of our shop, which is in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn, and our studio, which is on the border of Carroll Gardens and Gowanus. There are a lot of creatives living and working here, and we are also deeply embedded in a residential area in which many of our clients also live. Having everything nearby helps to create a community feeling. I think it helps to keep things at a human pace.

Was there a moment when you realized you wanted to be a designer? If so, what was it?
I visited the Alhambra with my family when my sister was studying abroad in Spain: I must have been about 16 at the time. I remember feeling deeply disappointed that I couldn’t explore every single inch of the building because certain areas were restricted. I think that’s when it clicked for me how important spaces were to me.

That said, I was always very much interested in the spaces around me, both those I lived in and historical spaces that I visited. My memories have always been deeply tied to my surroundings. I believe that most people’s memories are, whether they acknowledge it or not.

Are there any products for sale at Assembly Line that you’re particularly excited about? 

I’m really proud of the Izra rug series that we launched in partnership with Salam Hello. A large part of the concept of Assembly Line is to highlight the designers or craftspeople behind the objects we sell. The Izra collection is a perfect example of that concept being executed.

Which designer and/or piece of work inspires you? Why?
Carlo Scarpa. His designs display a sensitivity to both the small immediate details that you experience on an intimate level, and he also takes into account the larger context of the environment surrounding him.

What are you working on now?  
We are designing some new furniture and products to be sold through the shop—just some favorite pieces that we are always looking for for our General Assembly projects. We also just completed the renovation of a vacation home in Key West and are nearing completion on two other vacation homes in Long Island, on the North Fork and the Hamptons. It’s been a fun stretch of projects to be working on!