I started knitting and sewing in the early 2000s because I needed to make something with my hands. The spark was simple — a friend showed up to a party wearing a scarf he'd knit himself, and something clicked. I had to learn.
As a born and raised New Yorker, I threw myself in. Classes across the city. Fiber arts, fabric stores, the whole world of textiles opening up one thread at a time. Somewhere along the way, collecting fabric became as meaningful as working with it — understanding how a cloth was made, where it came from, what it carried. African prints became an obsession. I feel in command and fierce when I wear them. That feeling became the foundation of everything I've built since.
yarn&whiskey began as a line of project bags for serious makers — crafted from African prints chosen for their beauty and their energy. It has since grown into something larger: a full collection of bags and small-batch apparel that combines those beloved prints with my own original textile designs. Everything is produced locally, with quality and sustainability as non-negotiables.
I spent years in Information Technology before I finally let myself pursue this work completely. In 2024, I earned my BFA in Textile & Surface Design from the Fashion Institute of Technology. While I was there, I had the opportunity to study textiles abroad at Heriot Watt University. That degree along with the study abroad experience didn't give me a new direction — it gave me the tools to go deeper in the one I'd already chosen.
yarn&whiskey is becoming a lifestyle brand. One that centers quality craftmaking, celebrates color without apology, and gives people a way to move through the world fully expressed. My customer appreciates good design. They've never met a color they couldn't wear. They live by their own soundtrack, and they want the things they carry and wear to reflect that.
I make for them. Everything I do is for them.
— Tammi Williams, Founder & Creative Director of yarn&whiskey
Photo by Clay Williams Photo © 2026