Meet Collin Williams, the Ohio artist behind Collin Makes Magic!

Tell us a little about yourself!

I’m a graphic designer & illustrator based in Columbus, Ohio. My body of work celebrates warmth, color, and all the magic our little world is full of; I really love working on projects about the environment, queerness, & community. When I'm not pushing pixels or mixing paint, you can find me bicycling through town, lifting weights, or dozing in a hammock. I love twangy tunes, writing poems, vegetarian food, big bright clouds, and collecting postcards.

I grew up in Vandalia, Ohio— a suburb of Dayton. My childhood was unenjoyable. I was surrounded by trees and an ever-present desire to get out, get away, and make something better for myself. I saved up a few thousand dollars waiting tables at a local Pizza Hut and bought myself a car, a Macbook, and whatever else I needed to get by in college. That’s how I started my business— slowly with one product at a time as I worked through classes, and a year at one of the most fabulous letterpress studios in the midwest.

What drew you to your craft?

I had a sort of weird introduction to the world of art and design. I haaated making art when I was a kid. Go figure. I never felt like I could see anything the way the other kids in class did. I felt sloppy and unimpressive— and I typically just avoided anything I wasn’t good at right away. (I later learned in adulthood that I have this nifty little thing called aphasia— which essentially causes my brain to visualize nothing. All I see in my head all the time is pitch black. Pretty handy for a guy that decided to be an artist, huh?)

However, things started shifting by the time my sophomore year of high school rolled around. You only got one creative class in my high school, and mine ended up being the choir. I really enjoyed English & history courses, fervently wrote poems in my free time, and loved my school’s drama club. I performed in the fall plays and spring musicals, and showed for every single Saturday morning set-construction in beat up converse and paint-splattered blue jeans. But, that mid-high school-life-crisis was starting to set in. I had no clue what I wanted to do with my life.

My “home high school” was in network with a career technical institute in Ohio. All the sophomores were required to take a field trip there around November or so and pick two career labs to tour— with the CTC of course hoping to scalp students for the following year. I chose the Graphic Commercial Art lab because it seemed like I’d have an easy day. But when I stepped in, it took my breath away.

It was cool. iMacs at every desk, and each student got their own filing cabinet for their projects & supplies. Every senior had their own custom designed name-card on their computers— the first project in their last year of high school. The walls were plastered with prior student work; posters, t-shirts, logos, self-portraits in waxy colored pencil. It felt like my chance to do something meaningful. My life skidded to a rubber-stained-concrete stop, and floored itself towards graphic design. It all really just fell into place from there.

I was the top senior in my high school class, and ended up being the Valedictorian when I went to art school. Those six years really allowed me to explore my identity as a creative, and solidify my voice as I started my business. It was scary going solo right out of undergrad— but so far, it’s working.

Seventeen year old Collin would be thrilled.

Describe your studio space. Where do you like to create?

Like most sole proprietor artists, I work from home. My boyfriend Josh and I share an absolutely insane old house in the quiet side of a college neighborhood. I’m talking wood floors, two car garage, fenced-in backyard, Viking range, finished attic, ten-foot ceilings— the whole nine yards. One of the three bedrooms is my main workspace, and the finished attic serves my little fulfillment center to pack online & wholesale orders.

My studio houses two walls of my postcard collection, a bright orange rug, a very ergonomic pastel pink chair (which Josh dubbed my “gamer girl chair” upon unpacking it), some trophies from my time at art college, an embarrassing amount of scrap paper and various craft supplies, and four separate work stations. One for my computer & iPad work, one for prototyping, bookbinding, painting, and product photography, one for my guillotine, and one for my clay work. It’s very dreamy— and somehow still a mess, haha! Just part of the gig, I suppose. I at least know where (most) everything is!

How would you describe your artistic style?

Colorful, nostalgic, loosely geometric. I find myself inspired the most by old package design, album covers, and everyday flora & fauna.

What is your favorite thing you have ever made?

Ha! How do I pick my favorite kid? For my college thesis, I hosted Collin’s Dreamboree— a one-night celebration of human creativity. It was basically like if a craft market, state fair, and creative workshop had a baby. There were booths of local crafts people selling their work & giving live demonstrations, as well as handmade games that folks could play to win some prizes. I was able to round up thousands of people to attend the show, and still to this day hear back from my makers, volunteers, and shoppers that they want another one.

It was my biggest feat by far. I had a small team of volunteers behind me that helped me build almost a dozen different games and experiences, I oversaw the onboarding of every maker personally, and sunk about $5,000 into the whole thing (don’t worry— I ended up juuuust barely making it back, haha). It entirely consumed about 5 months of my life. I’ll never forget it.

But if I were just to pick one thing I’ve made, I’d probably have to go with this drawing of worms. I drew this as my first piece back after getting knocked on my ass with covid a few years ago; for a myriad of reasons, I see it as the beginning piece in the modern era of Collin, haha.

How would you describe your creative process?

It is very haphazard. This reminds me of being in college; sitting down with my various nervous professor during a progress review as he combs through my exploded-bomb files, only to be enthralled by my final presentation at the end of it all. I’m a scatterbrain through and through, but it always comes together.

I’m thinking about new products and ways to stay fresh with shoppers daily; it’s tricky running this business since most of the time, repeat customers aren’t buying the exact same products. How do you constantly reinvent yourself to be just the same, but brand new?

Typically, I think about concept before execution (designer brain). When I have a big picture floating around my skull, I seem to have better luck carving a path forward, y’know? From there, it’s a lot of sketchbook doodling and word association in Notion (the best piece of software on the planet). Once I can nail final ideas down for products, I move forward with rough art on my iPad or computer— or handmade prototypes if it’s a product like a notebook, clay magnet, or something special. Then I make the final thing, or meet with a production partner to see it through to its final form. It’s invigorating every time.

What are you currently working on? What are you excited to create next?

Right now, very little. Haha! I’m writing this in mid-December 2024; I just finished up my last event for the year earlier this month, and will be shipping out online orders to arrive just before the holiday. My client contracts pretty much freeze this time of year (buh-dum, tisss), but that’s good anyhow. Quarter 4 (October–December) is absolutely nuts for independent artists. It’s the time of year when everyone and their brother is shopping and buying gifts; for many of us, it’s our make-or-break time of year. Thankfully, I made it this year. (-:

Buuuut, now that my busy season has (almost) officially ended, this is my time to rest, rejuvenate, plan, and experiment. I am so very excited for the new products, collaborations, and contracts I have lined up. All I’ll share right now is that I bought a sewing machine, and am playing about with all kinds of different stitched and quilted fun.

Why is it important to you to be transparent about how art business works?

I am a big proponent of transparency with my business. I started making these posts on Instagram that broke down my sales numbers for my craft market events— how much my gross for the day was, my booth fees and various other expenses, and my final net for the show. Some of those posts have blown up— which I think is indicative of the fact that a good number of people really want to see it.

I used to not have a single clue what I was doing. I know more than I used to, but still not nearly enough. Running a business is an entirely separate venture from making art. If sharing what I’ve learned on my social media even helps one single person more effectively navigate running their own business, then I’m happy. I want to spend my time on this planet making art and helping as many people as I can to get through it all, in whatever ways I can.

Why is it important to support independent artists and makers?

The main point I wanted to drive home with my Dreamboree is that innately, we as human beings are creative creatures. We don’t just make things to survive—we make things simply to live more beautiful, poignant lives. This is a key distinction that we have between any other species that has ever lived. However, as society has modernized and jobs have become more and more profit-driven, many people think that they have to be a “creative” to create.

That is a very big problem for anyone to unpack and digest— especially considering how we really as a society should be living much easier lives than our predecessors due to automation and more efficient labor practices. But, I digress. I cannot solve that problem on my own, but I can dedicate my life to a career of individual creativity— a career that I hope can inspire folks around me to embrace their human nature to live beautifully crafted lives, just because they can.

Find Collin’s colorful art prints, stickers, and greeting cards in the shop!