ALLISON WILLIAMS
How would you describe your style? A considered mix of the esoteric and the highly pragmatic— useful in ways that are difficult to quantify but, if pressed, I would say they make life a little more efficient and a lot more beautiful. Stylistically they range from the vernacular, industrial feel of the copper-plated self-inking stamps to the minimal modernist paper goods. This duality aesthetically reflects the things I surround myself with at home, as well as how I dress.
Do you remember the first thing you made? Large 6’ x 6’ oil paintings of my cats, made in first grade when I was about 3’ tall.
Before I started making I… I can’t remember a time before being a maker. I come from a very making-centric family and artistic expression was present all the time.
If I weren’t a maker I’d be... Extremely unfulfilled.
Favorite quote or words to live by: My high-school yearbook quote was “The process is more important than the end result” by David Bowie, and to this day it resonates.
If I could run away I’d go… I feel like I’ve already arrived at that place. Two years ago I sold my apartment in Tribeca and now live in Saltaire, Fire Island. It's an island off NY that is three short wooden boardwalk blocks wide: no cars, no stores, no building over two stories. Heaven.
If you could collaborate with one person dead or alive who would it be? I really enjoy collaborating with Wms&Co. co-founder JP Williams, we complement each other aesthetically and in temperament.
What would be on your maker’s soundtrack? Yo La Tengo, Allah-Las, Arlo Parks, Iron + Wine, Phoebe Bridgers, Colin Meloy, Sylvan Esso… mellow art school music.
If you could learn a new skill what would it be? I would love to be able to seamlessly switch between speaking different languages in a conversation. Not gonna happen in this lifetime no matter how hard I try!
Favorite artist? Elizabeth Peyton, Balthus, Mats Gustafson, Piet Oudolf, Charlotte Perriand.
What would your last meal be? Boars Head Bologna sliced toped with freshly ground black pepper and shredded iceberg lettuce on a poppy-seeded Kaiser roll. The taste of my childhood summers.
Favorite scent? Anything from the noses of Jean Claude Ellena or Olivia Giacobetti.
Favorite flower or tree? Peony
What do you hear right now? The ocean, always.
Who’s the most famous person you’ve ever met? Living in NYC for over 50 years there have been many famous people I’ve crossed paths with. And fame in NY is so clique-specfic! I’ve had a meaningful, prolonged relationship with Peter Saville.
What was the last gift you gave someone? A subscription of bi-weekly flower deliveries to my daughter in college. Little extravagances are very meaningful to me and I want to share that with her.
If money was not a factor how would you live your life? Travel. Travel. Travel. I would be very happy spending 6 months a year exploring new places, mostly overseas.
What is your most treasured possession? A series of empty jars from Fouquet, the candy store in Paris. The jars themselves are nothing special - a basic clear glass jar with a screw-top lid with "the printer did it” graphics on it. But they remind me of a time before internet shopping and worldwide shipping, before heritage brands being owned by ginormous conglomerates who make them ubiquitous— when things you bought overseas and carefully transported back in your luggage were special tokens of experiences you actually had in person.
Most interesting thing in your liquor cabinet? Various Amaros and Vermouths: herbal, bittersweet, intense... with a strong sense of place.
What are you most thankful for? Being able to see things in an aesthetic and critical manner. When I meet people who are not intrinsically visual I recognize how much a gift it is to be a visual person.
