Handmade at a bedroom table. Built into a family business.
This is the story of MIA — told in Payal's own words.
Walking through a night market in Thailand, something caught my attention and sparked an idea I never expected to find there — jewellery that felt beautiful, meaningful and affordable. That small moment stayed with me, and eventually became the beginning of MIA.
The first sale. The first sound that changed everything.
While the world stood still, I started making and selling bracelets from my living room. That first sale notification gave me a rush I've never forgotten.
Within a year we'd sold thousands of pieces — and became the sole income for the artisan family we work with in Thailand, keeping their business alive through COVID.
"I wanted to bring something beautiful into the world — the way I know she would have been."
A few months before I found that market in Chiang Mai, we lost our unborn child. MIA became a way to keep her memory close — and this is for every mother still carrying that same grief and guilt.
No backup plan. Just belief.
I came from a banking background, and I knew what stability was supposed to look like. So I built that first — bought a home, put down roots — before I let myself go all in.
In 2022, with MIA thriving on Etsy and in my own shop, I left my full-time job. No safety net. Just belief in what we'd built.
From a market stall to a permanent home.
First pop-up, Harrow
An instant hit — the start of a whirlwind pop-up journey that took MIA out of the online shop and into people's hands.
The Solo Craft Fair, Central London
Trading alongside other independent makers, building a following one market at a time.
Westfield Stratford — a fluke turned blessing
I filled in for a last-minute cancellation. Westfield became home for a while — right as our next chapter was about to test everything.
A permanent space
Westfield offered MIA a permanent unit. What started as a stand-in became a home for the brand — and it still is today.
Big corporate Spaces
2026 has marked an exciting new chapter for MIA, with our corporate presence becoming one of the fastest-growing parts of the business. What started with smaller workplace pop-ups has grown into opportunities to bring MIA directly into some of the UK’s leading corporate spaces. This year, we’ve showcased our collections with Wells Fargo for International Women’s Day, BT at Three Snowhill Birmingham, Deutsche Bank, SKY, Clifford Chance, HSBC Birmingham and 25 Cabot Square in Canary Wharf — an area of the business we’re incredibly proud to be expanding.
"I let it go, to protect my peace and focus on my baby."
Eight months pregnant, thinking I could finally slow down, Etsy and TikTok Shop banned me overnight — no warning, no answers. Months later, pregnant again, we lost that baby too. It broke me. I held on anyway, and slowly, day by day, we rebuilt. MIA means so much more to me than jewellery. It represents resilience, rebuilding and the strength women somehow find when life asks everything of us at once. Every milestone carries a piece of my story — and a reminder that behind every small business is a person, a family and often a journey you never get to see.
A real business, still built by hand.
Every piece helps us give back.
Through our work with Cake4Kindness, MIA puts purpose into practice — not just as a value on a page.
Orphans fed monthly, through our ongoing giving goal
Single mothers supported monthly through Cake4Kindness
To everyone who's been part of this journey.
Whether you bought a bracelet, shared a post, or simply believed in me — thank you. Here's to five years of MIA, and to the magic still to come.
Payal x
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