Will Clarke - Bats For Will at Timbermill Studios, Bulli 2516

 

A huge thank you to all involved in the Timbermill Bats for Will charity auction. It was an extraordinary evening with bats flying off the wall as the pummel pounded. So many people offered their time for this truly worthy cause.

A huge shout out to all the sixty artists that donated their incredible talents. Including 2 Archibald finalists, the youngest ever artist from the Levers family, school children, young people from The Flagstaff Group and the most stunning gathering of local artists.

Timber Mill Studios

Will is a young man and lives with Autism Spectrum Disorder which means that most of his life he has been faced with significant challenges. In order for Will to participate we have always had to create the opportunity, and for Will, he has always had to rise to the challenges. With Wills tenacity and resilience, his love of life and his passionate love of sport, especially cricket, we started Willo Industries.

The idea was to teach Will skills through refurbishing cricket bats. 

He has since collected, refurbished and exhibited 230 cricket bats and has sold 172 stunning pieces of art on cricket bats which range from painted, penciled, carved to amazing pieces that are sublime, beautiful to fanciful. He has worked with Prime Ministers, Archibald Finalists, sportsmen and women, musicians and people from all walks of life.

He has held three exhibitions at the International Cricket Hall of Fame in Bowral, Bats for Life in St Kilda Victoria and with the Beachside Emporium in Kiama NSW. He will soon host exhibitions in Perth Western Australia, Bulli at the Timber Mill Studios NSW, Warooka South Australia and Ballina NSW.

Willo has been featured on the ABC 7:30 Report on two occasions, Small Biz Secrets on SBS Australia, Channel 10 Win News and numerous radio interviews. He has been interviewed and featured in many local media outlets including Highlife Magazine and live reports at his showings on ABC Illawarra Radio with Nick Rheinberger. A two month long display at the International Cricket Hall of Fame in Bowral and the Bowral Bookstore witnessed people coming from all over Australia to see the bats first hand in their window display.

Not only has Will rallied together a massive community throughout Australia, he has created more awareness about the ability in the disability, the need for communities to come together to integrate and support those living with differences and, he has combined our love of cricket and art into amazing exhibitions.

Willo Cricket Bats are currently selling the bats direct from the International Cricket Hall of Fame in Bowral and from the Beachside Emporium in Kiama.

Will has engaged with the local mens shed in Bowral and schools to help with the sanding of the bats and he has refurbished an old red rattler train as a studio and gallery at Kazcare in Bowral.

Willo Industries will soon become an inclusive and fair business of choice for people living with disabilities. Refurbishing, packaging and sourcing the bats will become options for employment as the demand grows for exhibitions around Australia.

Willo Industries is all about creating choice and an environment where there is an ability to grow, where there is collaboration from within our communities and where there is compassion and understanding for diversity. All monies raised through the sale of the bats will go directly into the development of this business and will be directed back into the communities Wills works with through the exhibitions.

So what is so special about Willo .. through all the challenges and adversity he continues to smile and seize the day.