Mikaela Rascano’s journey into the world of footwear is nothing short of a love story with craft and innovation. While pursuing a BFA in Fashion Design at the Art Institute of California, San Francisco, she realized her true passion lay in shoes, an obsession that quickly set her apart from her peers. Determined to pursue Footwear Design, Mikaela balanced her studies with hands-on experience, starting on the sales floor and in the window displays of a luxury designer shoe boutique and designer / archive consignment store to fund her dream of specialized training.

Her path led to Milan, Italy, where she completed Ars Sutoria’s prestigious Footwear Technical Design and Patternmaking course, a program known for blending traditional craftsmanship with commercialized development.

From there, she sought an even deeper connection to her handcraft, training under Master William Shannor, learning bespoke western bootmaking skills. Working with independent designers and new companies to launch their brands, she learned about different sizes of production, sustainability, many versions of DTC business models and scaling business needs. Defining brand identities and creating new product lines by hand and by tech pack.Specializing in deep technical design, innovation and emotional wearable design, Mikaela holistically creates thoughtfully crafted shoes.