We were lucky to catch up with Madison Williams recently and have shared our conversation below.

Madison, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

Most of my skills have been built from good old trial and error, along with support from friends and family.
My mom dabbled in jewelry making when she was my age, and my older sister is an artist, so they both guided me a lot when I was first learning to make art which helped me improve a ton then a few years ago, my neighbor taught me how to use my first 3d printer. I’m a hands-on learner so knowing people who already had experience helped me a lot.

I put a lot of small details into every piece I make, which is probably the most impressive thing about my art. So often when strangers ask me how I learned how to make these tiny works of art, I tend to give the short answer of “I’m a homeschooled neurodivergent teenager; I have more free time than the average person and I’m filled with the overly optimistic mindset of “how hard could it be?” towards every DIY project I see” (Which often causes me to dive head-first into projects unprepared and leads to me learning the skill as I go) but I think it’s deeper than that, I’ve always been a creative person and have been super fortunate to have grown up in a household that fosters my love of crafting. It’s the result of that kind of environment along with countless hours of practice and love that I put into every piece that I feel makes them so special.

Knowing what I do know, I would have a long list of advice for past me, but one of the most important things that has really helped me progress in my skills has been learning to let go of this abstract fear of failure surrounding making art.
I recently experienced a pretty miserable patch of art block and at the end of it, I realized that most of my struggles had been caused by this, like because my art wasn’t making me thousands of dollars or hanging in some fancy museum, it was somehow bad or less worthy. At the end of the day, all art has value, and there really are no concrete rules, so just trust in your process and have fun with it.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Madison Williams but most people online know me as “ItsGonnaBeeMai” or “Mai” (pronounced like May) I’m a queer small business owner and artist from the Western New York area.
I sell a bunch of items, mostly accessories, and I’m proud of all the things I sell but as someone who has grown up having niche and sometimes odd interests, loving the characters that never get made into figures, I particularly love making nerdy pieces for fandoms that are often left out/under-represented in the jewelry scene. I take a lot of custom orders on my Instagram and I take pride in making super cute affordable pieces that my customers will (hopefully) cherish for a long time. I’m very flexible and try to work within people’s budgets without compromising style or the wants of the customers which I think is super important for business. I think another thing that sets me apart from other business owners is my age, I started selling my jewelry when I was only 13 and started vending in-person markets and events when I was 14-15. I’m turning 17 in a few weeks and it’s crazy to see how far I’ve come. Of course, It hasn’t always been easy, I’ve faced a myriad of challenges along the way, but I believe that it gives me a unique perspective on the industry that most people don’t get the privilege of experiencing.
I started out making jewelry for fun, selling it to friends and family to make some extra money here and there, but I quickly realized I had a real passion for it and decided to try to make it something more than just a hobby and I’m grateful that I did because vending is truly one of my favorite things. Market days are some of my favorite and I’m so lucky to get to be a part of the small percentage of people who wake up excited to go to work. My identity is a big part of who I am, and I’m inspired by the queer community along with my fellow queer artists, so I strive for my page to be a supportive and inclusive community that everyone can feel safe and welcome in!

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

It hands down has to be the community that I’ve found through all this, I’ve met so many amazing people at craft shows and markets that I couldn’t imagine meeting otherwise. Art is something that I use to ground myself and distract from difficult days, and being an artist, and going to these shows has led to me meeting so many like-minded people who understand that feeling and that’s just so comforting. It’s also opened up so many doors and given me opportunities that I never thought were possible at my age, I don’t think this interview would have even been possible if it weren’t for the friends I’ve made through the Rochester vending community supporting and recommending me along the way. So yeah, community is a major highlight for me.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

I want to go into Psychology when I’m older, more specifically as an Art Therapist and substance abuse rehabilitator, so a lot of my goals have been related to honing my skills and learning to build a well-rounded portfolio in hopes of getting into a good college once I graduate in 2026. Art has always been a tool for me to work on myself, creative expression can be so healing and it’s something that doesn’t get used to its full potential often enough so the thought of getting to teach others to help themselves through art drives me to work harder.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @ItsGonnaBeeMai
• Facebook: @ItsGonnaBeeMai
• Other: Business Email: ItsGonnaBeeMai@gmail.com

Image Credits

Shannon Gage
Madison Williams (ItsGonnaBeeMai)