If you didn't know Madison Marilla, the first thing you'd likely notice about her are the colorful stacks of bracelets she wears on both arms.
True to form, the Love on the Spectrum star's arms were decked out with the jewelry when we caught with her at VidCon last week — and yes, she confirmed that she handmade every bracelet that she was wearing. It's no surprise, considering she runs her own jewelry brand, aptly named Madizen.
We sat down with Madison and her brother Parks, who helps his sister film her content, to talk Madizen, what tools they like to use to capture the adorable content of Madison and her boyfriend Tyler, and of course, the perks of VidCon being across the street from Disneyland.
What are your content creation essentials?
Insta 360 Ace Pro 2
Parks: The Insta 360 Ace Pro 2 is a little action camera. [Madison] will go on bike rides, and I have a little handlebar mount I'll attach it to to get some POV shots of her. We'll take that to the beach and just film her doing her hobbies, and sometimes I'll throw it on a tripod when we're filming something.
iPhone
Parks: We also do a lot of iPhone video. If we're stationary, I'll just use the iPhone sometimes. It's a pretty good camera nowadays.
Editing software
Parks: Insta360 has a pretty good app. I think it's called Insta360 Studio. It has very good UX, and it's pretty easy to use. I also use Adobe Premiere sometimes, but now Instagram has that new edits app, so it's pretty easy, and I like using that.
When you're actually filming something, are there any other essentials you need nearby?
Parks: I mean, Madison usually gets excited when we film what she's interested in. Or when she's with Tyler, and I just let them do the magic.
Madison, I'd love to talk about your jewelry line, Madizen. How was the response?
Madison: I've gotten a lot of orders, and I've directed a lot of people on Instagram to the website. Originally, my business was just a small business. But I started when I was 10 years old, and before, it was just a bunch of custom stuff. Now, everything is more cohesive, versus just a bunch of custom stuff that I sell at a craft fair.
And how has it made you feel to see all of those orders coming in?
Madison: It's like a lot more money versus just me selling like $500 at a craft fair or me selling a hundred dollars at the local country club.
Do you have any favorite products?
Madison: I want to launch my shell jewelry, and I'm ready to launch my shell jewelry soon because a lot of people are asking for it.
Why do you love making and wearing jewelry?
When I was 10 years old, I was having a sleepover at my best friend Haley's house. Her mother, Jolene, a jewelry designer, taught me how to make jewelry as a way to get my sensory input. I had a lot of destructive behaviors back then and didn't know how to get them out.
And since then, beads and string never left my hands. I started doing that for my sensory breaks, and in school, my fifth-grade teacher, Mr. V, my special ed teacher, Ms. Kay, and my speech teacher, Mrs. Pluck, noticed I wasn't destroying things in the classroom. My behavior in school had changed, my behavior at home had changed, and I wasn't ripping things. I wasn't chewing things. Jewelry became a weight that lifted me, and since then, I started wearing bracelets up my wrist.
How has it been being at VidCon and meeting everyone?
It has been amazing. I'm enjoying going to Disneyland and riding all the rides, even though I hate long lines. When I was at the Disney event last night, I was recognized by many other creators and fans. It was nice being able to tell fans about my pin collection because I was being asked a lot of questions about them.
I was telling them that my Snow White and the Seven Dwarves pin was my very first one, and when I got each one. And each one has a different story. I don't have a favorite Disney pin. It's nice to share my special interests with my fans.
