Antiquing, it’s a process. One discovery leads to another, knowledge expands with every new find. With an acute eye for “the good stuff” and an antique knowledge base with depth and breadth, customers love spending time with Elle, chatting, asking and learning.
In one form or another, Elle Williams has been involved in the antique business for twenty-plus years – as a picker, as a mall vendor, as a mentor, as a guiding light and source of inspiration! In the back of her mind she is always studying how to do something better, faster, smarter, more efficiently! An efficiency expert really.
Co-opted by Agent 99, the phrase “you get your inspiration from wherever you can” was originally coined by Elle. She can inspire an action plan, critical analysis of the options and opportunities and the wherewithal to get things done in an orderly, mindful fashion.
During the week she is support staff to a team of professionals who make a difference in the lives of the clients they serve. A natural in a teaching role, Elle mentored a few fledgling antique dealers. All of her Antique 101 graduates have grown and prospered from her invaluable lessons and astute observations.
As much as anyone could be, Elle Williams is transparent about what she loves -- baskets (old Oak splint baskets and Longabergers), quilts (old and new) concrete planters, shiny sparkly old prisms, dogs and the color purple.
With her perfect partner, Pat, she lives in a charming community, in a charming house with charming elements and 4 charming dogs.
An accomplished quilter, Elle is not a keeper of the quilts she creates. Quilting is a process, not a destination -- planning, cutting, learning, applying techniques to achieve a specific outcome, stitching, finishing and giving it away.
Quilting is an apt metaphor for how she moves in the world -- life is a process by which you grow and stretch and ask and answer. It’s not a destination and it’s not about the keeping. It’s about the process and the giving!
