Life, Values & Legacy: Our Chat with Mikayla Chin of Tucson

Mikayla Chin shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.

Hi Mikayla, thank you so much for taking time out of your busy day to share your story, experiences and insights with our readers. Let’s jump right in with an interesting one: What is a normal day like for you right now?
I’m a full-time small business owner, and so my day starts with waking up around 6am, checking emails, and then working on whatever I feel like in the day until around 6pm. I love having a flexible schedule yet still having some sort of structure to my days. Some days I’m drawing, some days I’m editing or planning content, some days I’m all about making my clay pieces. It’s super helpful to have the freedom to work on what I want when I feel like it, so I never feel forced to do something I don’t feel like doing in the moment, and I’m more motivated to work on that task. It can be hard to get work done sometimes when you’re in charge of your own schedule, but I usually make a to-do list and try to get at least a few things done on it each day. To end my day, I usually watch a show and eat dinner with my partner, and just enjoy that work-life balance.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hi, I’m Mikayla! I make and sell Plants-and-Positivity-themed stationery and cute gift items. Stickers, art prints, magnets, keychains, mugs, notepads, caps, greeting cards, postcards, and more. Everything is handmade/illustrated by me, and MadeItMikayla is an eco-conscious, AAPI-woman owned small business. My most unique and best-selling product is my Spammie buddies, which are little clay buddies based off spam musubi that are each handmade by me and are multi-purpose so you can use your buddy as a chopstick rest, worry stone, desk buddy, and travel buddy.

I’ve been vending at pop-up markets for over two years now and it has been the best way to grow my small business and my self as a person. In my first year of market-ing, I did about one event per month. Now you can find us at an event almost every weekend. I love meeting and talking to customers, being with my community, and even making vendor friends and helping out other small businesses.

More recently, I started taking on graphic design commissions to help out fellow small business owners, and it’s just a fun way to put my BFA Graphic Design skills to use. I’ve helped with branding, websites, and logos so far, and I’ve enjoyed working with people that want to work with me too.

Okay, so here’s a deep one: What’s a moment that really shaped how you see the world?
The first time I visited a market definitely changed my perspective on what was possible with my small business. Growing up, my family was very homebody and didn’t go out unless we needed something specific, and so I never came across these events and markets. It wasn’t until late 2022 that I found out about pop-up markets and visited my first one, and realized that I could be part of them and sell my artwork at them too. Now it’s the number one way to help me grow my business and get my brand out there. It’s so cool to see the community come together in one place and see people support their local makers and artists.

If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
Younger me would have loved to know that everything would turn out okay, and that life is an amazing thing. Younger me grew up always feeling anxious and nervous about everything, and never thought we’d make it this far. You do not need to worry about every little thing, you do not need to worry what others think of you, you do not need to worry about making it. Because you can overcome any challenge big or small that comes your way, because you love being different and unique, because you have made it so far and have so much more to go.

So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. What truths are so foundational in your life that you rarely articulate them?
Ever since learning about being eco-conscious and sustainable, it has just become part of my lifestyle and decision-making that I often forget to advertise it. I believe that being kind to the planet makes the planet be kind back to you. I help out others because I enjoy it and I know that when I need help there will be people to help me too. Karma is real, whether it’s karma between people, nature, objects; what you put out into this world will come back to you in ways you might not expect. So always be kind to each other, be kind to our earth, and be kind to yourself.

Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: What light inside you have you been dimming?
I feel like only now am I finally letting my personality shine in public with the help of my small business. Growing up in an Asian American household, I often felt like I needed to have a quiet voice, agree with others, and hide how I felt and who I was. Doing these markets allows me to put myself out there along with my creations, knowing that people actually do like who I am and want to support me and what I do.

I love making designs that resonate with people through plants-and-positivity, whether they’ve felt the same way and need that reminder to keep going and growing or if they agree that this design represents their personality too and they want to show it off.

I’ve also been making YouTube videos and vlogs which was something I wanted to start doing a decade ago as a teen. I was scared to have my self captured in a video that is forever on the internet, but I realized that people will only watch if they’re interested in it anyways so why not have a place to be who I am and give someone a laugh or make their day.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://madeitmikayla.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/madeitmikayla
• Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/mikaylachin
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/madeitmikayla
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@MadeItMikayla
• Other: Graphic Design Profile: mikaylaechin.wixsite.com/design