Dark History Paint Night: Mad Hatter

Art. History. A Touch of Madness.

Step into the darker side of history for an immersive creative night unlike our traditional paint parties.

For this installment of our Dark History Paint Night series, we're stepping into the fascinating world of historic hat making to uncover the story behind the phrase “mad as a hatter” — and the toxic secret hiding inside one of history's most fashionable trades.

For generations, hat makers worked with mercury compounds as they transformed fur into beautiful felt hats. The results were fashionable.

The consequences were something else entirely.

And while we uncover their story, you'll be creating a hat of your own.

Your Dark History Experience

During this special 3-hour experience, you'll:

✦ Create and decorate your own miniature hat

◆ Customize it with steampunk and Victorian-inspired embellishments

♠ Work with fabric, trims, gears, charms, feathers and other curated details

♣ Discover the history of hat making, mercury exposure and the real story behind “mad as a hatter”

❖ Create a dimensional hexagon display for your finished hat that coordinates with our Dark History collection

✦ Make creative choices throughout the project so no two hats have to look alike

No artistic experience is needed. We'll guide you through the project step-by-step while giving you plenty of choices to make your hat completely your own.

Why a Hat?

Okay...this one might be a little more obvious.

But why did hat makers become associated with madness in the first place?

We'll save the full story for the night.

A Little Mad. Completely Your Own.

Unlike our traditional layered projects, this experience gives you even more opportunity to play with texture, dimension and detail.

Choose your fabrics. Add your embellishments. Layer on gears, ribbon, feathers, charms and unexpected little treasures.

There isn't one “correct” finished hat.

That's part of the fun.

Choose Your Venue

Dark History Paint Nights are offered at select partner venues. Choose your preferred date and location from the event options above.

The Stoat — Granite Falls
104 E Stanley St, Granite Falls, WA 
21+ only

Barley Pop — Marysville
1208 10th St, Snohomish, WA 
All ages welcome

Dates, times and availability are shown in the event options above.

Your registration includes:

Your layered wood art project, paints and UV-reactive colors, all supplies needed to create your piece, step-by-step instruction, and the complete Dark History storytelling experience.

Just bring yourself — we'll bring everything else.

Come for the art. Stay for the story.

This isn't a history lecture, and it isn't quite a traditional paint night.

It's an evening of creativity, storytelling and a fascinating look at the very real history behind a phrase most of us have heard our entire lives.

Space is limited. Reserve your seat and join us for another chapter of Dark History Paint Night.

Dark History Paint Night explores real historical events that may include themes of illness, toxic exposure, unsafe working conditions, death and other difficult subjects. The history of mercury use in the hat-making industry will be presented thoughtfully and respectfully.