...the artwork
Susanne Williams explores texture in leather, turning her tactile experiments into sculptural handbags of her own design. In each original piece, she manipulates the leather by hand, to create rich surface textures, without use of mechanical presses, molds, or water. She uses a saddle/tack sewing machine to stitch the bags, finishing them with her signature meandering top-stitching detail. The interiors of the bags are bonded with leather on the side panels and lined in vintage necktie fabric or upholstery remnants. Finally, she signs each piece with a wood-burning tool.
...the artist's life before Willi Nilli
Susanne spent 12 years in academia teaching courses in communication studies/mass communication and serving in university administration. At Minnesota State University Moorhead, she was tenured and promoted to associate professor of mass communication in August 2002, and was the assistant to the president for university communication December 1999-June 2008. June 30, 2008 was her last day at the university; she gave up tenure and her academic career to pursue her dream of being a full-time artist. Susanne and her husband Tim have one son, Oliver; and three cats and 20 goldfish.
Education:
BA in Speech Communication, 1991, University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
MA in Communication, 1993, Wayne State University, Detroit.
PhD in Communication, 1996, Wayne State University, Detroit.
...the name "Willi Nilli"
To most, the phrase “willy nilly” means “haphazardly.” For this business venture, the name is a play on Susanne’s last name — Williams. More importantly, it’s a nod to her need to chase a dream. Doing so was something she had to do, whether she liked it or not. Willi Nilli!
Here’s a great description of the term from Michael Quinion’s World Wide Words website:
“Whether one likes it or not; haphazardly.
“The original sense of this odd word appears at the beginning of the seventeenth century, when people used it to suggest that something must be done no matter whether one is willing or unwilling, whether one wants to or not. It’s a modified form of an older phrase that is variously expressed as will I, nill I or will ye, nill ye, or sometimes as nilling willing.
“Will here is used in its sense of wanting to do something, to wish or desire that something should happen (when you make your will, you are using the same sense: you are expressing your wishes for the distribution of your goods after you die). Nill is very old, known before the Norman Conquest, but has long since vanished from the language. It was the opposite of will, so to nill is to want not to do something, to refuse or reject some course of action.
“So will I, nill I can be expanded into 'be I willing, be I unwilling', combining the two sentiments with the implication that it doesn’t much matter what you feel. More recently, this conflict gave rise to an implication that a person was not sure whether to do something, and so suggested he was undecided or indecisive. Even more recently, the associated sense has grown up of embarking on some project without direction or planning or in a disorganised way.
“There is an equivalent Latin phrase nolens volens, formed from two Latin participles that mean 'unwilling, willing'. It is sometimes said that willy-nilly is actually a translation of the Latin phrase. It may have been an influence, but it’s hard to tell.” (see http://www.worldwidewords.org/weirdwords/ww-wil2.htm)