Madison Bryant, Age 7
Photographs by Paul Bryant
Seven-year-old Madison Bryant is on the quieter side until she’s asked about her earrings. Then her big brown eyes begin to shine as she opens up about her design ideas and working with her thousands (more than 20,000!) of colorful perler beads.
Last November, on her seventh birthday, Madison received a perler bead kit, complete with pegboards, tweezers, and patterns like butterflies and flowers. After Christmas, she sat down to craft a pair of earrings for her mom, Courtney, from the perler beads, free handing a pineapple pattern.
“I was standing in the kitchen when she walked in with the earrings on a little piece of cardboard,” says Courtney. “She said, “Merry late Christmas!””
When asked if the fruit is a favorite, Madison shakes her head. “I just wanted to make earrings, and pineapples were the easiest [to make],” she says. “Next I made pink pineapples, but I don’t like much fruit!” From there, Madison continued making more and more earrings, topping out at around 20 different designs she comes up with all on her own. Courtney says Madison gets an idea, then sits down to make the vision come to life. It’s Madison’s favorite part of the process: “I think of the design first and then the colors,” she says. “I love that you don’t have to be told what designs to do. I just get to be free [to do my own designs].”
Early in her earring journey, Madison also gifted a pair of flower earrings to her teacher and her grandma, noting each set takes her about 10 minutes to put together. She sets her designs on a pegboard, then ensures each pair of earrings is even. After she’s finished, she goes over them with a small craft iron twice. Dad Paul finishes them with a regular iron and then helps Madison with the finishing touches like earring hooks.
Once word got around to Madison’s family, Courtney’s sister wanted to buy a pair of watermelon earrings. “My sister was the first person to pay her for a pair of watermelon earrings,” says Courtney. Then one of Courtney’s friend’s—the mom of one of Madison’s classmates—ordered two pair. Madison notes she sold the watermelons on a Wednesday. “I usually go to Michael’s on Saturdays,” she says, “so it was perfect timing.” She purchased a gift she’d been eyeing for awhile at the crafts store. “That was the first time I think she really thought, “Can I make money doing this?”” says Courtney.
It was Courtney’s idea to take Madison’s earrings to the internet. “I told her about Etsy and how people sell crafty things,” she says. After that exciting trip to Michael’s with her first profits, Madison’s excitement about the Etsy shop grew. “I did some research and we realized we could it with mine and Paul’s help.” (Both Courtney and Paul are talented photographers/videographers and creatives themselves.)
This month, Madison, along with her parents’ help, is launching her Etsy shop Colorpops Design Co., as well as her own Instagram account, @colorpops_design. Initially, Madison set a goal of $1,000, though over the summer she asked her mom how many pairs she’d have to sell to make a million dollars. When Courtney told her more than 60,000, Madison simply shrugged and said, “no problem!”
For fall, Madison is working on new designs, including candy corn, pumpkins, and black cats (“But no bats,” says Madison. “Too hard!”), as well as prototypes in collegiate colors. She has big plans with her money—including buying more toys and selling enough earrings to purchase tickets to a UAB football game. “I really want a hotdog from there!” Madison says of her favorite food. “And they have really good bands.” Courtney and Paul are committed to teaching Madison smart money principles. “She gives to church with the first money,” Courtney says. “And then we save some.” Madison also pays her mom a dollar from each sale to offset marketing and photography and teach her budgeting. A loose rule is that she can order one extra toy a month from her favorite online store, Lakeshore Learning. She’s currently eyeing a $40 butterfly nursery kit. Madison also asked if she could also “pay” little sister Emmie so that she wasn’t left out of the family business.
As director of marketing and advertising and, most importantly, proud mom, Courtney often wears Madison’s creations, noting that people ask about her earrings often, including a clerk at Dollar Tree and an employee at Continental Bakery. “She gave me her number,” says Courtney of the latter. “I have a note in my phone of people to contact once the Etsy shop opens.”
You can see Madison’s earrings on Etsy (Colorpops Design Co.) and Instagram (@colorpops_design).