We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Mia Mimica. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Mia below.

Mia, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

About 10 years into my career as an actress I slowly, and kind of painfully in the beginning, decided to change careers. I had finally, since arriving in the US, booked a TV role for a major streaming service and in the end I couldn’t do it because the company that owned the production company required a Green Card and I was here on an Artist’s Visa. This crushed me. The process of even getting an audition for something like that was a lot of work in and of itself, let alone the several auditions, and now knowing this happening again was a strong possibility, it was tough.

It felt like now I was in a limbo and I had to honestly focus on getting my status upgraded before jumping to anything else. Not knowing how long that could take, plus I’m pretty sure I have HFA (high functioning anxiety), it was so hard. But it allowed me/forced me to think and I started to face some realities like how the fast pace of it all and the lifestyle around this profession, in this place, didn’t feel like something I could sustain over time.

Don’t get me wrong I had countless, enjoyable and even beautiful moments acting for a living – that’s why I did it for that long and why it was hard to leave – but for me, it was meant to be my first career and not for the rest of my life.

With my then boyfriend, now husband’s, encouragement I finally started the process of exploring this other thing I always was curious about, interior design, and it ended up working out.

In my experience, I’ve seen more celebration towards not ‘giving up’ on one sole thing you are pursuing but I think it could be just as ‘not giving up’ to recognize when it could be a good time to change something. I think many things could be good for us or will, during the course of our lives, suit us and also, that those can change with time and that’s natural. Just don’t give up on making yourself happy.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I always wanted to experience living somewhere else other than where I grew up so, after going to college for Performing Arts & Stage Design there and working as an actress for a couple of years, I moved to LA. From the beginning I was so inspired by the careful architecture, especially by modernist homes and their landscaping which was so considerate of the surrounding topography. I lived in Los Feliz and going for a walk was like heaven for my eyes. Also, the attention to detail and aesthetic boldness in hospitality venues, restaurants, retail and everywhere, really, just made me happy.

When deciding to change careers and try out interior design, I had already been hearing great things about Pasadena City College for that particular certificate so… I did it. While studying there I started free lancing and ended up doing the interior and some exterior renovations for a hospitality venue, which is my favorite realm, and then just kept freelancing. I wanted to make sure I was doing sustainable design and although it wasn’t the primary focus of my school, my teacher was very knowledgeable and guided me on how to get started. After finishing school I studied to get LEED professional credentials specializing in interior design and construction (LEED AP® ID+C).

Maybe what I enjoy the most about designing a place is discovering all the space planning possibilities, what experiences are possible in them and how to get the most out of each space. I also really enjoy doing collages as a presentational tool to compliment traditional renderings because it allows you to dream the space in a more visceral way sometimes. It’s a way to bring to life what you can’t put into words about a place before it exists and it’s all about hope, like a book or a movie.

Currently, I am studying Biophilic Design. I’m fascinated by the wisdom it brings to be able to make our built environments places that will give us a sense of well-being and that are never separated from nature.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I usually don’t voice things too much but, I am so glad in my first year studying Interior Design, I shared with my teacher that I wanted to do sustainable interior design because that opened that door for me right away. She was very into it as well and so resourceful. She introduced me to LEED and pointed out there was a class at PCC as an intro to it and sustainability in design. That class was amazing and it reassured me this was I wanted to focus on. It just goes to show how positive it can be to share a bit more of ourselves and what we’re curious about, interested in or even worried about because you never know who could help you get there. We’re never alone and we never achieve anything by ourselves, really.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I’ve shared how I switched careers but it wasn’t a seamless transition. The first time I went to enroll for school I was so afraid this was the end of everything I thought I was going to be doing with my life that I actually couldn’t bring myself to get out of the car. I had all this resistance that I had no idea I was going to have and ended up not enrolling that day. I knew I didn’t have all the time in the world either and that their enrollment period was going to end but I gave myself some more time, went camping for a few days and tried to come to terms with it a little bit more. I feel like nature always puts things into perspective and giving myself what I intuitively felt I needed gave me more resilience.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.asustainablestudio.com (in the works)
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/asustainablestudio/

Image Credits
Jessica Alexander (sage interior room with big windows, patio with mint chairs, glass balcony with a buddha – 1st 3 uploaded) Pete Eckert (seating area with wood cubbies, 4 colored wall with plant – next 2 uploaded)