Handmade at a kitchen 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, I found the idea I didn't know I was looking for — something hopeful, something affordable, something beautiful.
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.
"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.
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
Shop the collection