Jewellery designer Ildar Wafin, winner of the Finnish Fashion Awards’ ‘New Talent’ award, is set to be Helsinki’s next big thing

At the first ever Finnish Fashion Awards, jewellery designer Ildar Wafin has claimed the New Talent award. Beating out notable nominees Jenny Hytönen and Leevi Ikäheimo, Wafin solidifies himself as one of the next big things coming out of Helsinki. “I was in shock when I heard that I won,” says Wafin. “I still can’t believe it.”

Wafin’s designs capture something mystical. The organic pieces find their inspiration in the flora and fauna of rural Finland as well as Wafin’s personal history. The designer is one of approximately 700 Finnish Tatar people, an ethnic group that formed in the late 1800s, immigrating from the Russian Empire to form the first Islamic community in in the country. Wafin, who still speaks the language, is fifth generation Tatar. “I wanted to dive into my own cultural heritage in a way that doesn’t accompany the religious side of the culture,” he says. “I kind of wanted to rewrite my own narrative in a way.”

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The poetry, music and folklore of his people (“They have lots of creatures that dwell in the forest and magical forces,” he says) served as the starting point for his designs. “The stories are very much about the connection with have with nature and kind of adding a mystical force to that nature,” he says. Drawing on an arsenal of technical design chops – Wafin has a Master’s degree in Jewellery & Metal from London’s Royal College of Art and spent a year working at Louis Vuitton in men’s jewellery – Wafin brings these near-forgotten stories to life by way of handcrafted pieces that seem to grow and snake around the finger, wrist and neck. As we chat, an ear cuff of his own design glimmers in the summer sunlight.

Wafin’s journey toward building a jewellery brand began early. “I was always a crafty kind of child,” says Wafin, who grew up in Järvenpää, the same rural city in which Jean Sibelius lived. Struck with a rare kidney disease in his youth (he’s since been cured), Wafin was often stuck at home with his mom, a teacher who specialised in crafts, growing up. “I began working with small plastic beads, creating different animals, necklaces and bracelets,” he says. “I slowly gained a clientele of neighbourhood ladies.” Wafin saved up the money he made and, at just 11 years old, he took a trip to Beijing to pick up some freshwater pearls. “That was kind of my first business trip,” he says. When it came time to apply to undergrad, it was his parents who encouraged him to apply to the Finnish design school Lahden Muotoiluinstituutti. “That’s where it really began for me,” he says.

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Though winning this award is a milestone for Wafin, he’s the first to admit he’s still got a way to go. “I feel like I’m in the bleeding part of my brand,” he says. “There’s a lot of hype going on, but the sales aren’t happening so much.” In order for a brand to succeed, it needs more than just likes on Instagram and industry approval. Still, Wafin’s got the chops and the drive to pull it off. A recent collaboration with fellow Finn Rolf Ekroth (Wafin’s latest collection was part of Ekroth’s launch in Pitti Uomo) and a collection for renowned Finnish jewellery shop Kalevala are helping to build momentum. Though Wafin’s work is born of his region, he hopes to take it global. “I’m building my brand in Finland but at some point I want to move to Paris,” he says. “But it’s the hardest in the beginning.”