Looking back, Pattaraphan Salirathavibhaga (pictured) describes herself as “naive” when she switched her major from interior design to jewelry as a 19-year-old college student, at Pratt Institute in New York City.
Salirathavibhaga uses that word deliberately, since she made the decision lacking any experience with or knowledge of jewelry production at that age. Her only exposure to jewelry had come from her grandmother, who wore a large emerald ring every day despite its delicate nature.
“The only major I could change to was jewelry. It was definitely a leap of faith,” says Salirathavibhaga, the founder of fine jewelry brand Pattaraphan. “Luckily, I knew I found my calling since my very first jewelry class at Pratt.”
Salirathavibhaga received an outstanding student award at Pratt and graduated with highest honors in 2017. The following year, she earned the GIA Graduate Diamonds diploma.
After Pratt, Salirathavibhaga went to work for fine jewelry brand Mociun, in a role that was a combination of production assistant and retail associate. She preferred the part of the job focused on dealing with clients and closing sales.
“It was an experience I never had since I only did jewelry-making in college, and it really gave me an insightful experience that I value now. I really loved my time there,” Salirathavibhaga says.
She left Mociun in April 2018, when she moved back to Bangkok, where she was born and raised. Salirathavibhaga has a twin sister and two older siblings, and as children they participated in many activities, including studying the Thai string instrument called the khim. They also enjoyed family gatherings, and their maternal grandmother lived next door. Her jewelry inspired Salirathavibhaga because of its beauty and her grandmother’s storytelling, she says.
Back in Thailand as an adult, Salirathavibhaga took internships and then got a job as an assistant manager in the branding department of hospitality group Dusit International. She helped revamp its website, managed its social media calendars, and coordinated photography (“hero shots”) of different Thailand hotels and resorts.
“I got to visit properties I had not been to before, and I learned to notice the minuscule details within each shot,” Salirathavibhaga says. “This is something I still apply to Pattaraphan photo shoots today.”
She had created her own company in 2018, using her first name—pronounced Pat-ta-ra-pun—to underline her philosophy and approach to jewelry design: She seeks to create jewelry that functions as sculpture on the human body.
“I worked [at Dusit] from mid-2019 until mid-2020 as I switched to focus full-time on Pattaraphan, which is a product I started when I graduated and worked on it on the side,” says Salirathavibhaga, who’d begun efforts to set up jewelry production when she returned to Bangkok in 2018.
The designer says her college education informs the kind of jewelry she makes now—Pratt taught her to see jewelry as wearable art and a medium for personal expression. Because of the latter idea, Pattaraphan jewelry is gender-neutral, so anyone could wear it as they wish.
Naming the brand after herself also felt right. “I chose my first name to be the name of the brand as the meaning fits perfectly to our brand’s DNA,” Salirathavibhaga says. “I honor my Thai heritage and personal stories while at the same time making jewelry that is true to myself, like a second skin.
“Coming from an art jewelry background, I saw many stunning art jewelry pieces but they didn’t always translate well on the body,” she adds. “For me, although all my jewelry designs come from a highly personal place, I want the end results to look their best when worn but also for my designs to make people feel good.”
Pattaraphan’s flagship store in Bangkok opened last year, and the brand is expanding internationally through retailers such as Mr. Porter and Selfridges.
“At times, things can feel a little overwhelming, but my 19-year-old self who naively switched her major would be so proud of everything my team and I have achieved,” Salirathavibhaga says.
(Photos courtesy of Pattaraphan)
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