Rhody Maker : Priyadarshini Himatsingka
The jewelry designer crafts elegant works of art inspired by the wabi-sabi tradition , for sale online and in her shop , pH Factor . By Casey Nilsson
“ It ’ s a grand thing to know life changes and , in small ways , jewelry changes with it ,” says Priyadarshini Himatsingka , who designs necklaces , rings , bracelets and bridal jewelry out of her studio on the Pawtucket / Providence line .
Himatsingka ’ s collection nods to the Japanese tradition of wabisabi , which celebrates the beauty of natural forms and their imperfections . Gold is beautiful and stable — and she deploys it often — but she equates working in silver to “ a poetic experience .”
“ In a way , silver does what you don ’ t want it to do ,” she says . If she gives a pair of earrings a brighter finish , it will someday tarnish . And if she oxidizes them , the blackness might eventually wear off to reveal bright silver beneath . “ Silver is challenging . There ’ s nothing like it . It ’ s a delight to work with .”
Himatsingka is no stranger to change . The artist , who was born in Calcutta and grew up in Bangalore , India , studied at Parsons and at New York University , earning degrees in photography and philosophy . She then enrolled in the jewelry and light metals program at Rhode Island School of Design “ on a whim ,” she says , as a special student . She graduated in 2000 and , four years later , Himatsingka Jewelry was born . Today , her designs are offered for sale on her website , in scores of boutiques and museum shops across the globe and , here in Rhode Island , at her storefront , pH Factor , on Hope Street in Providence .
She jokes that she sometimes feels like she is having an affair — the jewelry business is the older spouse she ’ s on the verge of divorcing while pH Factor is the hot young thing luring her attention . The shop , a bright and highly curated space that opened on the East Side in 2019 , features hand-picked new items and unusual vintage wares from her travels . Amid the pandemic , her mother , who lives in India , would scout items for her and send them to the United States .
Himatsingka was raised in a textile family and , once clients learn this about her , they can often pull a thread between her work and her family ’ s business .
“ My dad has been wagging a finger like , ‘ You can run away from it , but you can ’ t hide ,’ ” she says with a laugh .
The designer ’ s work leans minimalist but she often likes to break from simplicity in favor of “ the idea of ornamentation at its fullest ,” she says . She relies on hand-fabrication and castings to create new pieces , only deploying 3-D printed models if a project calls for it . She finds the technology “ too precise ,” an aesthetic sensibility that extends to her diamond pieces , which feature smoky , irregular cuts set in silver .
“ There ’ s a reason why a fourteen-karat band is the most popular wedding band . It ’ s basically indestructible .” she says .
A silver diamond ring would withstand some scratches , and Himatsingka says this has value too . She recalls a RISD professor with a wedding ring that , over two decades of marriage , had taken on dings and divots .
“ Most people wouldn ’ t want this because it ’ s not exactly the same ring you started out with , but you couldn ’ t recreate it . It was almost like a piece of art ,” she says . “ There ’ s great beauty in things morphing and changing as your life goes on .” himatsingkacollection . com ; 780 Hope St ., 272-0020 , Providence , phfactorstore . com
PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF PRIYADARSHINI HIMATSINGKA .
18 RHODE ISLAND MONTHLY l NOVEMBER 2021