September 1, 2026

LOS ANGELES NATIVE AND FOUNDER OF JEWELRY BRAND MIKEYMADE, HAS FINALLY CROWNED HERSELF AN ARTIST— Having multidisciplinary interests for as long as she can remember, Micah loves to work with her hands and makes it a priority to create from scratch. MikeyMade has allowed her to continue her imaginative passion while also working a regular 9-5. Micah works hard to ensure her jewelry speaks for itself. She creates her rings specifically with the wearer in mind. As described by her, her jewelry emulates certain personalities. While chatting with the artist, we were able to discuss the reason and inspiration behind her business, future releases, and the feeling of being an imposter in your own lane.

PETTY: Who is MikeyMade? What inspired you to start your business?

MIKEY: Mikey is a childhood nickname my Tita gave me. Every piece is made by my own hands, so I wanted a name that reflected that personal connection. MikeyMade naturally grew out of people being interested in the pieces I was making for myself. It's become my way of sharing my creativity and to continue exploring jewelry as an art form.

PETTY: Although being a multi-disciplinary artist, what drew you to metal working and jewelry?

MIKEY: I’ve always loved working with my hands whether through sewing, pottery, woodworking anything that allows me to really sink my hands into the medium. My interest with jewelry and metal working started with a trip to Tokyo. I had the pleasure of meeting Kenji Shimizu when I visited his shop Kensscratch in Shibuya. His work is conceptual, textured, and visually stunning. It really opened up a new world for me. For the rest of the trip I researched metalworking, and thought about what I wanted to make for myself back home. I always take the full leap into anything that even mildly catches my interest, so by the time I landed, I already had all of the tools and materials waiting for me.

PETTY: From tools, to supplies, to metals, what does your creative process look like and what does it include?

MIKEY: Finding inspiration as an artist is interesting. Sometimes an image of something that needs to be made flashes in my mind randomly while I’m doing some completely mundane chore then I think to myself “Yes, this needs to exist in the world.” Other times I hit a creative rut, and need to seek out inspiration. I really enjoy looking through digital collections of different museums. I’ll search through the archive of the Met or the Getty and find inspiration in older architecture, reliquaries, or actual jewelry pieces they have on exhibit. I keep all my inspiration images in a doc and write little notes of what I like or how it made me feel and try to incorporate that into my own work.

For the making process, lost wax casting is my preferred method because it allows me to create pieces that feel heavy and substantial. It’s usually one of the first things people notice when they try my jewelry on, the weight and presence of it. I use a lot of tools similar to what I use in my ceramics practice (carvers, files, etc.) but wax is a different medium. I love the transformation of it all, and watching something delicate and fragile like wax change into something with more permanence like silver.

PETTY: Would you ever consider introducing different metals, like gold, in your process?

MIKEY: I’ve definitely considered it! As a Filipino American artist, gold has such a deep presence in our culture, history, and heritage that I’d love to explore what that material could mean in my own work. For now, silver is much more in my budget haha and honestly what I tend to gravitate towards on a day to day basis but I’d love to experiment further as I continue to grow.

PETTY: You've stated that each piece is individually finished, making no two rings exactly alike. Is this kind of uniqueness a quality that you would like to continue as MikeyMade grows?

MIKEY: Absolutely. That is non-negotiable in my work. I’ve thought a lot about what growing and scaling could look like for MikeyMade, and I don’t think I’d ever want to grow to the point where I can no longer make each piece by hand. That might mean there's a limit to how much I can produce, but to me the individuality with each piece is the heart of MikeyMade.

PETTY: Did you always have an idea of the style of jewelry you would create, or has it evolved along the way?

MIKEY: I create what I’m naturally drawn to. I don’t always know exactly what the finished piece will look like when I start, but I know they will always have the same underlying characteristics (sculptural, organic, instinctive, and textural). I expect that my work will continue to evolve as I do, but those traits will always stay the same.

PETTY: Tell us about how your rings, "Ballerina", "Stargirl", and "Halo" came to be. What is the story behind them? How did you decide they would be a part of your first release?

MIKEY: Ballerina, Stargirl, and Halo all started as rings that I wanted for myself. When thinking about what I wanted a first release to look like, I made pieces that each capture a different feeling.

Ballerina is made from real lace that I preserved in silver. I love to look in antique shops, or order those bags of miscellaneous lace ribbons from vintage sellers and transform them into jewelry. I love the tension of hard and soft existing in one piece. Ballerina felt like the perfect name for a heavy ring with intricate detailing. Like an actual ballerina whose movements are delicate, but require immense strength.

I love all the pieces I make, but stargirl was the first so she has a very special place in my heart. I wanted something BOLD, and meant for someone fun and free. When I made her, I pictured a girl dancing in the spotlight, covered in glitter, and completely full of life.

Halo is a little bit of opposite energy, but is still playful. She is my most structured piece, which came from my love of minimal stacker rings. One of my favorite everyday pieces to wear is an ultra thin band, so I wanted to take that familiar silhouette and put my own twist. If you look closely at the band however, it still has some of that organic feel. I intentionally made the beads vary in size and spacing so the ring is not perfectly symmetrical all the way around. The name came from how I feel when I wear it. It’s my delicate halo.

PETTY: What is an idea of yours that you would like to see come to life?

MIKEY: I have been playing around with rings that trace the patterns of the vitiligo on my hands. Besides my jewelry, my vitiligo tends to be a big topic of conversation and I’d love to figure out a way to decorate it. I’m also currently dabbling in more experimental jewelry and attempting to cast my entire ear in silver. Stay tuned.

PETTY: What are some goals you have for the future of MikeyMade?

MIKEY: Of course growing MikeyMade as a business would be amazing, but beyond that and most importantly I want to find a community of people who connect with the work, and meet other artists that I can learn and grow from. It makes me so happy knowing out there in the world there is someone who is wearing my art. I’d love to know their stories, and how MikeyMade fits into it.

I also see MikeyMade growing beyond jewelry someday. I absolutely love working with mixed materials, and creating with my hands. I’d love to explore metal furniture, household objects, and different forms of functional art. One of my friends recently asked me to make her a metal sconce so perhaps lighting is in my future. I don’t know exactly what it will look like yet, but I love the idea. I want MikeyMade to be an evolution of my art, so it will continue to be fluid as my interests evolve.

PETTY: How important do you think having a creative outlet is, especially during times when it can be hard to stay motivated to create?

MIKEY: Critical. Interestingly enough I’ve never considered myself an artist until recently. Imposter syndrome, perhaps. I’ve been making art my whole life. In fact my mom used to get upset at me growing up because I’d cut up pillow cases and her clothes to make stuffed animals (sorry mom, lol). I’ve been making art for a long time, but ran from the identity. Every time I’ve taken a long break to pursue other parts of myself (I actually have a formal background in science) I’ve eventually found my way back to creating. I’ve realized that creating isn’t just something I do, it’s part of who I am. Through MikeyMade I’ve finally allowed myself to fully embrace that.