diff --git a/.pct-helpers b/.pct-helpers
index 20626b0..5bf9f42 100644
--- a/.pct-helpers
+++ b/.pct-helpers
@@ -557,7 +557,11 @@ buildAssets(){
 	local PCT_TEMPLATE_PATTERNS=($(makePCTTemplateSEDPatterns "$@"))
 
 	# assets...
-	cp -R "${assets_dir}"/* "${staging_dir}"/
+	if [ -e "${assets_dir}" ] ; then
+		mkdir -p "${staging_dir}"
+		cp -R "${assets_dir}"/* "${staging_dir}"/
+	fi
+
 	# template dir...
 	local TEMPLATES=($(find "$template_dir" -type f))
 	for file in "${TEMPLATES[@]}" ; do
@@ -571,6 +575,7 @@ buildAssets(){
 			| expandTemplate \
 			> "${staging_dir}/${file}"
 	done
+
 	# special case: NOTES.md...
 	if [ -z "$DESCRIPTION" ] && [ -e "$NOTES" ] ; then
 		DESCRIPTION="$(\