Susan Kay Williams

BIOGRAPHY
Susan was the Chief Executive of the Royal School of Needlework, based at Hampton Court Palace for 17 years. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and the Chartered Institute of Marketing and in 2015 was made a Fellow of the Society of Dyers and Colourists in recognition of her work on the history of dyes. Susan has a longstanding interest in textiles, especially colour, and published her first book, The Story of Colour in Textiles (Bloomsbury) in 2013. She has extensive lecturing experience and has been invited to lecture in the USA, Canada, China, Japan and Taiwan as well as for the V&A and across the UK. In 2022 she published An Unbroken Thread: the 150-year history of the Royal School of Needlework. She is currently the President elect of the Society of Dyers and Colourists.

TALKS
1. Imperial Purple to Marie Antoinette’s Fleas: The Colourful History of Textiles to the 18th Century
2. Igniting the Rainbow: The Dramatic Developments in Colour in Textiles in the 19th Century
3. Tapestry: The Ultimate Wall Decoration
4. History of Embroidery
5. Japonisme: How the East Influenced the Art of the West in the Late 19th Century
6. Royal History of the RSN: Five Coronations, Three Weddings and a Funeral