Founded in 2017 by Elina Siira, Aida began as a response to a personal calling: for self-expression, for connection, and for creating something honestly lasting and valuable in this time. Elina has had a lifelong connection to design and craft, but also to politics and especially to a deep curiosity about building bridges between cultures. What started as a jewellery brand quickly became a platform for deeper change. For Elina, who now leads Aida as Head of Design and Creative Director, jewellery was never just about adornment. It was a language, a way to build something meaningful in society.

From the beginning, Aida worked in close collaboration with Startup Refugees, bringing together mothers from diverse cultural backgrounds who had migrated to Finland. The goal was not only to offer work but to create real human connection, a supportive community in a new country bound by shared purpose.

From the early years, Aida introduced a collection of essential pearl jewellery: classic earrings, necklaces and bracelets that responded to both a personal need and a wider demand for timeless, capsule pieces. These designs remain a core part of the brand, versatile, quiet and strong.

Over time, Aida’s language expanded. Through collaborations with artists, activists and communities, the brand began crafting symbolic amulets, jewellery that speaks, that carries meaning, that amplifies the voices we believe need to be heard. Each amulet reflects a moment, a message, a connection to collective memory or future hope.

Today, Aida continues to evolve as both a design studio and an artistic voice. We are refining our visual world, sharpening what we want to say and how we say it. While our Basics Collection serves the everyday needs of our clients, our broader mission is to use jewellery as a vessel for storytelling, to explore identity, memory and culture through form and material.

Aida draws inspiration from our founder and creative director Elina’s childhood in northern Finland and her time spent in the Middle East, and her interest in global symbols and handmade traditions. Elina grew up on a strawberry farm in northern Finland, where strawberries and jewellery share a special connection: they are both gifted for special occasions, to loved ones, or as a treat for oneself. Her childhood home, which has been in her family for generations, still preserves her great-great-great-grandfather’s shoemaker’s tools and a home museum, nurturing her curiosity for curiosities and collecting. These are the sources from which Aida jewellery draws much of its inspiration, with pieces that feel as though they could be 100 years old or made today.

Aida mixes Elina’s nostalgic memories with a playful approach to expressing very serious issues in society. We aim to make our voice heard without making people turn away from the reality of the world.