URBAN SPACES
Crafting dreams in silver
AJULI DASGUPTA
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A childhood fascination with gems and stones led her to becoming one of the most promising jewellery designers from the sub-continent, with her own signature store. Meet Suhani Pittie…
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‘Silver is very economical to work with apart from the fact that it is malleable and ductile…’
Photo: P.V. Sivakumar
Living a dream: Jewellery designer Suhani Pittie.
She was awarded the Singem Award for Excellence in the “Young Achiever” category and has also been listed amongst the 10 women in India to look out for, in 2007 by Elle magazine. She has also won accolades such as being
one of the 30 rising stars of the country by the same magazine.
April 2007 saw the jewellery artist participating at the Miami Fashion Week as the first ever jewellery designer from India. Subsequently, the Museum of Arts & Design, New York, tied up with her to retail her jewellery at the museum store. Suhani is also a columnist for a national daily and writes on fashion and jewellery.
Suhani Pittie is also one of the privileged few who has been a part of the art show “Vistaar”. A unique concept, this show boasted some of the biggest names from the fashion and art world. It witnessed an interesting blend of both the worlds. Suhani was paired with the senior artist Thota Viakuntham. His magical colours and Suhani’s contemporary styling resulted in the most interesting collection of jewellery that left the audience completely awe-struck.
Striking shapes
A peek in the signature store, Suhani Pittie, and one cannot but notice how various perceptions have been played with. The silverware takes established silhouettes and transforms them in surprising yet entirely user-friendly shapes having multiple utility. Gravity-defying platters curve and curl like catamarans rambling on water, bowls carved with scaled architectural grids turn traditional concepts of puja thalis into contemporary ones, puzzling geometrical shapes become disarmingly attractive danglers, wall hangings and photo-frames. “When I was in class VII, I went to the library and saw a bee embedded in an amber stone. My curiosity knew no bounds and I ran to my teacher who explained the whole process to me wherein I understood that it was a natural process. That’s it…I wanted to explore this exciting arena. At that moment it became my die hard ambition to launch a Gemological Institute in India as I realised that out here people were completely ignorant about this subject,” says Suhani.
Many a childhood ambition is a flickering thought but that was not the case with this ambitious lady. She went about pursuing her graduation from The Gemological Institute of America, U.S. “Life just took a quick swing after that and there was no looking back. I launched my collection of silver jewellery with Bridal Asia 2004, New Delhi soon after. Since then I have also participated in Style File, Call of the Peacock (London), Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week, to name a few. Life sure got busy and I have loved every moment of it.”
Every process needs a stimulus… “Absolutely… It so happened that one day I dabbled with silver and copper and created an ensemble for my mom-in-law. Everybody appreciated it and I suddenly started to get a lot of enquiries. Little did I know then that I was at the brink of my career and my destiny. But it slowly dawned upon me…why not? Presto! I knew what I had to do. That’s when I took a stall in Bridal Asia and subsequently started displaying my work in various platforms. After I realised I had the confidence and could start something of my own, I launched my signature store. Today it sure is a dream come true. My husband Stouvant is a partner and together we have churned our dreams into reality,” she proudly reveals.
Role model
“Honestly I have always been inspired by Scarlett O’ Hara from the novel and movie Gone with the Wind. I am deeply moved by her attitude, pride, passion and obsession. And this is clearly reflected in my work. Also my entire work is in silver, which is an embodiment of serenity and transparency,” she adds.
On choosing to work with silver, she explains, “Well, first and foremost silver is very economical to work with apart from the fact that it is malleable and ductile, helping me to mould it any which way I want to. Also, silver complements every stone colour. From the customer’s point of view it doesn’t make a hole in your pocket. My jewellery is an interesting combination of multifarious ingredients like various stones, textured silver, woven pearls, wood, glass and everything that would add to the wonder of creative styling,” she opines.
While much of her day goes working on new designs at the workshop and giving new inputs for every handmade piece, there is more to her persona. She is a “very chirpy and an extremely ambitious person. Unlike other girls I am more sporty and when not designing, you will usually catch me playing board games and anagrams. Am a typical Arian though, very patient and a complete softy at heart. Bollywood is my weakness and I make it a point not to miss out on the latest flicks,” she confides.
That definitely spells out how she fights her stress levels and keeps her mental balance, continuously pumping out permutations and combinations in her creations.
Suhani has won quite a few accolades for her creativity and they are well deserved too! “I want to have a huge store with multiple floors and someday I shall also set up an institute in Gemology and give wings to my childhood aspiration,” she says with confidence. Way to go lady…you sure will go a long way!
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