Meet Mia Makris | Aspiring Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Mia Makris and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Mia, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
For as long as I can remember I have always had a pencil in my hand. When I was a little kid I would put a piece of paper up to the TV and trace my favorite cartoon characters. As I got older I started to draw them based off of memory and I just kept doodling. In my teenage years I was exposed to more mediums and began expanding my creative abilities. I was very lucky that my parents let me draw on my bedroom walls at home. They let me paint the world map and other little doodles. I was always looking at blank spaces as a new canvas. One day as I was looking at my plain white vans, I got an idea to customize them. Seeing people’s reactions to my shoes inspired me to continue and this led to more people asking me to paint their shoes. Eventually it turned into a mini side business. The excitement and joy that I see in my customer’s face when I hand them their customized shoes has kept me going.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Being both a student and a young aspiring artist has to be the most difficult thing. I have to manage and organize my time very well because I have school deadlines as well as professional deadlines. I want to make sure I provide my customers with the best quality artwork I can produce. On the other hand I have to make sure I dedicate enough time to my school work to complete my courses. Some huge lessons I have learned along the way are I have to say no sometimes. As much as I would love to take on every project that comes my way, I just cannot do it all.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I currently live in Fullerton, California which is located in a perfect spot of Orange County. I would start my best friend’s trip by taking them to Disneyland. We would get a park hopper ticket and spend the whole day going on rides and trying as much food as we can. The next couple days we would explore Newport, Laguna, and Huntington Beach. From there we would probably head towards downtown LA to enjoy some of the city life as well as point out all the different types of architecture and eras present in LA. Some of my favorite food places we would have to eat at would be Elbows, In N Out, Urth Cafe, and Banzai Bowl.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I owe a big shout out to my parents for their patience and dedication to me. They would take the time out of their busy schedules to drive me to my art classes, buy all my supplies, and encourage my artistic desire even when I would doubt myself. Some of my art projects required working with machinery like drill presses and saws and my dad would always be there to help. Before I had my drivers license my mom would drive me to Blick whenever I needed art supplies. I honestly owe them everything.

Instagram: makris.customs