POCATELLO — A small but sophisticated studio in Historic Downtown Pocatello is making its mark with internationally acclaimed jewelry creations, custom designs and classes.

Adriana Avila's first foray into entrepreneurship started as a humble hobby creating polymer jewelry in her basement during the COVID-19 pandemic.

For the first two years, Avila was working in the United Kingdom, gradually growing her clientele through her website and instructive videos. Avila taught herself how to set stones, solder and polish — and with each successful sale she would invest that money into the next cutting edge tool or quality gemstone.

Avila’s stunning and dedicated work spoke for itself and she gained international recognition, shipping to countries like Italy, Germany and Singapore.

Inspired by the Greek word for mother and her own paternal journey, Avila named her store Mitera Made. It wouldn’t be long after that Avila would relocate to the Gem State to open her first storefront in the heart of Historic Downtown Pocatello, located at 228 N. Main St.

“I've always tried to keep a balance of being known for the work that I do, but also helping other people find this craft,” Avila said. “I had no idea that it was even a viable career path, or how jewelry was even made. I'm so deeply obsessed with it, so I'm just really happy to share it with everybody and hopefully get people into it at a younger age.”

With her jewelry business located near Pocatello High School, Mitera Made’s studio is perfectly suited for that cause. Avila’s own story is inspiring for new business owners and aspiring young creators. She owns and operates the entirety of Mitera Made all while designing beautiful jewelry and instructing those interested in the art. Every piece is meticulously handcrafted from start to finish, using intricate wax carving and other techniques to create unique jewelry in various metals and sizes.

Upon entering her studio, customers will notice a display cabinet with a portion of what Mitera Made has for sale. Avila makes all her creations in house from start to finish by hand and she can make jewelry in any size or metal. As an added bonus, she doesn’t charge for the larger pieces, something she prides herself on considering the cost of gold.

Also housed within her storefront are her student benches for jewelry crafting. Complete with microscopes, ball and encores vices along with other crafting tools, these high end equipment pieces serve as a basis for her instructional classes.

“There's so many different levels of learning how to make jewelry,” Avila said. “It'll be clear when you walk in that it's on another level. It can be an expensive hobby if you want it to be and you can take a class for that. But my hope is that it's something that people see and they're like, ‘This is something to take seriously. If I want to learn professionally, this is a place to start.’”

Avila continued, “Another thing that I really enjoy about the space is that it helps (paint) the full picture that my studio is in there as well. You can walk in and I let people go behind my bench. I let people walk all around my casting equipment, so they can see where I spend all my time, and where every piece of jewelry that's in the cabinet is made, and how it's made, which is fun. When you walk into a jewelry store, normally you see a shiny box of jewelry, but you don't get to see the messy part, or all the tools that go into it. Everything is open and people can look around.”

Because much of what she sells is available through her website MiteraMade.com, Avila’s store is normally only open to the public from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. The two day classes are primarily offered Wednesday and Thursday via the Mitera Made website with available openings in October and November. Avila releases new class dates and times every new quarter, so classes will be available to book in January, February and March in the coming weeks and months.

Custom orders are also available with various ranges of prices depending on budget, the gemstones and metals used for the piece. Due to Avila being the sole proprietor of her goods and services, she limits these to around three a month and generally works on engagement rings.

“I'm a one person show,” Avila said. “I'm the marketer, I'm the bookkeeper, I'm the jeweler, I'm the polisher, I'm everything. If people are reaching out for custom orders, or placing orders online, I have a 20 day production time. Hopefully that won't have to go up, but we'll see once classes start.”

Avila is hoping soon to get additional help for her store to meet demand, but said she is always open for people to visit and explore her studio. She also loves dogs and invites her customers to bring them in for a little treat.

“I'm super happy to meet anyone, even if they just come in and say hello,” Avila said. “I'm not local to the area. I'm still just meeting everyone for the first time. So even if people don't want to come in and buy anything, that's totally fine. I would just be happy for them to see the space and have a chat.”

For more information on Mitera Made or to place an online order, custom order or sign up for a jewelry making class visit MiteraMade.com or call 208-690-0183.