Finnish jewelry designer Ildar Wafin30, was recently in the toughest place of his life. He had been preparing his performance for almost a year.
In December, the jewelry designer stood at the headquarters of the luxury brand Cartier in Paris. Wafin’s task was to convince international investors with its new jewelry collection. In addition to silver, Wafin uses eighteen carat gold. The jewelry is also intended to be implanted with precious stones.
Wafin’s intention is to design a small collection of unique handmade jewelry alongside the collection. Their prices would range in several thousand euros.
– I want to rise to the next level, says Wafin.
He has become famous in Finland for his silver jewelry, which has been seen, for example, at Linna’s parties. Wafin has designed for the Kalevala jewelry Pine treescollection and presented his first own collection in France seven years ago.
Wafin’s jewelry is like miniature sculptures. Her Ekiyet jewelry has also been worn by the actress Jared Leto.
A secretive audience was waiting at the luxury brand’s headquarters. The investors presented themselves anonymously to the young designers.
– The situation was top secrettop secret. The investors apparently didn’t want us to be told who they were.
According to him, Wafin’s jewelry aroused “a lot of interest”. The designer’s background was also noted.
– Finland was an interesting thing for them in itself, and the investors asked about it, but they really grasped my Tatar background. Many do not know what a Tatar is.
The Tatars are the oldest Muslim population in Finland. The first of them came from Russia to Finland in the 1870s.
The presentation to the investors went well.
– I am really proud of my own performance.
It’s a long way from Cartier’s polished headquarters to the basement in Helsinki.
Wafin makes her jewelry in the basement of her father and mother’s carpet shop. The family has had a shop on Fredrikinkatu since the early 1970s. It was founded by Wafin’s maternal grandfather.
There is a small corner in the basement where the designer works on his jewelry. There is no point in visiting there.
The family love of the Tatars crystallizes in the carpet shop. In the store, you can run into the designer’s brothers and grandmother.
Wafin became interested in jewelry as a child. He braided them from freshwater pearls and sold them to the neighbors.
After high school, Wafin studied to become a jewelry designer at the Design Institute of Lahti University of Applied Sciences. Studies continued at the University of the Arts in London. Wafin currently lives in Milan. He moved there after starting his studies in luxury group Richemont‘s mentoring program in January 2025.
The purpose of the program is to develop the business skills of designers. Education took a toll. At the same time, Wafin promoted his own career as a jewelry designer.
– This year has undoubtedly been one of the toughest. I’ve had two things going on at the same time. It has been perhaps a bit too much, but on the other hand it has also pushed me forward.
Going abroad was scary
The jewelry designer who moved to Milan says that he enjoys the city. He plans to one day open his own showroom there, where Wafin’s jewelry will be presented.
The start was hard. Father, mother, brothers, aunts and grandmothers stayed in Finland, and in addition to them, friends. The entire support network up to that point. Family is at the core of Tatar culture.
– It scared the hell out of me to leave. It required a mental jolt. I realized that if I want to grow, I have to face my fears.
Life in Milan is different than in Finland. Unlike in Finland, Milanese often go ex tempore after work to a cafe or restaurant to socialize. That’s the best time to meet new people.
Wafin grew up in Järvenpää, which is a small town along the railway in Central Uusimaa. Tatars settled there in the 1920s because of the cheap plot of land and good transport links. Wafin is a Finnish Tatar in the fifth generation.
She has been talking about her roots ever since Wafin introduced her first jewelry collection. In interviews, the designer has talked about Tatar folk tales and mythology and praised her grandmothers, with whom she learned to cook traditional Tatar dishes. Wafin still has a related cookbook in the works.
The jewelry designer feels an inner fire when thinking about the stories of his ancestors.
– They have once started their business almost from scratch and have integrated into Finnish society. It’s something that I’ve also gained mental strength from to move forward.
Grandmas have a special place in Wafin’s heart.
– Our family is tighter and closer than perhaps in Finnish culture.
Wafin tells how his grandmother knows “pretty much everything” about his life. Wafin lives with her in Helsinki during the Christmas holidays.
– He has supported me. If I’ve been down, we’ve cooked together and I’ve talked things out. Older people have a lot of life wisdom.
Tatars do not celebrate the traditional Finnish Christmas, but on Christmas they gather together around food. In addition to father and mother, both brothers, aunts and grandmothers participate in the celebration. Traditions include that the entire festive crowd watches the declaration of Christmas peace on television on the eve.
Gifts are not shared among the family, but are given to friends who celebrate a traditional Christmas. The Christmas tree is also missing.
– I always wanted a Christmas tree when I was little. That’s probably the biggest thing I didn’t experience as a kid. The Christmas tree decorations were enchantingly beautiful.
Wafin, who spends Christmas in Finland, also works here.
In the spring, he will participate in an exhibition held at Hollenegg Castle in Austria. Own it Liechtenstein a branch of the family dedicated to supporting emerging designers. Wafin was in residence at the castle in September.
In his study, he displays a blue ingot, which is jewelry wax. It is used in making molds. Wafin has designed an art object with a height of 35–40 centimeters for the exhibition. At least a kilo of silver sinks into it. Wafin is a bit stressed about the size of the project.
– It’s bigger than what I’ve ever done.
Wafin will return to Milan in mid-January to continue developing his koru business. In the end, the Italian luxury brand’s mentoring program did not result in any of the course participants getting a deal with investors in Paris. Wafin had already decided in Milan that no matter what happened, he would continue to push his own story forward.
Still, being rebuffed hurt.
– I was really disappointed, but I have found a lot of people abroad who believe in me and want to help. I don’t feel like I’m missing out at all.
In Milan, Wafin focused on numbers, calculations and diagrams at school.
– Now it’s absolutely necessary to get creative.
The designer is probably currently in the basement of a carpet store, molding jewelry wax into his work that will be sent to an exhibition in Austria.
It is quite possible that work will be interrupted when grandma comes to visit.
