Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Mya Rivera. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Mya, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

I think I’ve always taken risks in my life. I always wanted to push the boundaries of who I am and who I am becoming. Taking a risk and following my intuition has always led me to different places, around different people, and created so many different experiences so that I could start to shape and learn about who I am and what I like to do. I moved around a lot from 15 years old because I wanted to, not because I had to, but I was drawn to. I’ve taken risks quitting a job and moving into a van with my boyfriend and that experience was one of the greatest teachings in life so far and how to slow down and be with yourself. I took a risk doing Mya Kaye Made full-time after my contract ended at Google. I started sharting my sewing journey and sold my handmade goods and that has really snowballed the last few years and has been one the biggest journey because the growth has been so incredible and it’s because I had that little spark inside of me to take that risk and know that I will learn or I will grow or both!

Mya, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m Mya! Creator, Sewist, Entrepreneur. I’m 26, born in Alaska, grew up in Wisconsin, and now made my home here in Orange County, California. I’ve been sewing since I was a little girl but really dived deep into the craft in December 2018. I started my Instagram page @MYAKAYEMADE making beach blankets after being inspired living in our 1995 Chevy van with my boyfriend for a little over a year in 2017-2018. We spent most of our time in Hawaii and most of the time at the beach! Whenever we laid out a beach blanket it was our little home for the day and I wanted to share that feeling and that sense of calmness with others. My craft quickly turned into sewing other accessories, pouches, totes bags, and exploring the art of sewing that turned my love for clothing into creating my own pieces and doing thrift flips. I went from selling a lot of my pieces to wanting to inspire others to sew and create themselves.

Starting my business and my social media page led me down a path of self discovery through creativity and how we can really evolve ourselves through finding our own creativity within and having an entrepreneur mindset. Starting my own business and deciding to do this full-time was a huge step into my career. I think a lot of entrepreneurs can connect that most of the times we don’t even know what we are doing but in the best possible way! We have a passion, and that drive within us to believe in ourselves and we use that as momentum to keep going. It hasn’t been an easy route by any means but it’s been such a fun and fulfilling journey I have had growing my business and my platform.

My other passion is health & wellness that plays a huge part in my creative life. How I care for my body & mind is how I want the energy to reflect in my craft, intentions, & business. I learned through my craft that patience is truly key to anything in our life. Being aligned with your projects and work grows our mental health and how we care for our internal world always reflects in our outer world. I have sat MANY hours with my sewing machine battling with my thoughts & emotions until I realized sitting with them is all I needed to do at first. Sewing has taught me how to use my body & mind to create peace from within all while learning and having fun!

I’ve taking the concepts of manifestation from and idea in my head to a physical piece that is tangible and useful through sewing and applying that into my life. Taking a dream or aspirations and creating that into your physical reality is always doable and anyone has that power within them to create anything in their life they choose.

If someone looks at my social media platforms I hope it inspires you to find your creativity in all aspects of your life and to never stop finding and exploring knowledge & hopefully inspires you to start sewing :)

Is there a mission driving your creative journey?

My mission is to really inspire others to be creative and to learn and heal themselves through it. I want people to think in different ways and to look at creativity as a gateway to their life and goals! If I inspire you to start sewing and that leads you to another business venture or craft you’ve used that creativity to find what you love to do and we are all looking to fulfill parts of our souls!

My personal goal in my craft & business is to connect with so many people! I love to hear the path and journey that it took for someone to get to where they are. I get inspired easily with everything – people, places, events, nature, traveling so I plan on searching for my own inspiration!

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Social media is such an amazing resource that we have these days. It can be frustrating and challenging but it’s really about creating systems that work for us. As a creator the #1 thing I told myself I wouldn’t do is create burnout in my craft. I love what I get to do and as soon as it doesn’t become fun it brings a different energy that I don’t necessarily like to sit in. The numbers are always going to be there… but remember to ALWAYS create for yourself. It’s so true, people follow you for YOU and who you are as a person. Look at who you are as the soul connection to others and your business or craft as your added personality! We are all looking for connection and relatability to find what you love to do and how you can be relatable in your true nature.

For me I had a crazy growth on Instagram going from 3k in August to 36k in September of this year 2022 but spent 2 years growing my page to 2,000. I was never worried about the numbers but spent a lot of time getting to know who was following me and what I can be of service to them through what I love to do. I would say interacting in your stories or through your posts – polls, question boxes, answering DMs, answering comments is what really creates a solid following.

Share your journey! Share the good and the struggle – again being relatable. I get so many DM’s saying “Wow you’re such a real person!” and to me that is the most humbling comment ever.

Your platform is your portfolio – I had a reel go viral but I had so much content on my page that people knew who I was and what I do just from looking at my page. Think of your social media as your portfolio, you are creating a digital space of who you are.

Be consistent – As a creator we get into creative blocks but when you have that creative energy use it. I started to see the patterns when I was the most creative and creating intentional content so I can post later. Unfortunately posting consistently is key that is part of the algorithm but find/create systems that work best for you.

Contact Info:

• Website: myakayemade.com
• Instagram: @myakayemade
• Other: TikTok – @myakayemade