Marianne Høvik Hansen / Dreams of Norway

Still staying with Norway today — and why would I want to leave, with such gorgeous pieces to admire? Marianne Høvik Hansen works wonders with polyester resin (and silver, but you'll have to visit her site for those!).

Bonus link: after all these pretty rings, I'll be having Dreams of Norway tonight! Silver and crystal jewellery by Norwegian duo Nina Einarsen and Iselin Strømsvåg.

Even more jewellery:

• Sigfrid Sannes (Norway) - hearts & stamps


• Tessa Edwards (UK) - leather & wow


• Venetia Dale (Wisconsin) - conceptual metal

Fam Irvoll / Huset Konfekt

It's not all sunshine and lollipops.

It's also hearts, cherries, bows and a whole lot of fun over at Norway's Fam Irvoll.

Bonus link: sunshine brings out the best of translucent acrylic. Norwegian artist Siri Berrefjord of Huset Konfekt works with silver and plastic, sometimes casting old Norwegian national costume silver for their patterns.

Even more jewellery:

• Julien Bergignat (France) - UV detection


• We Dream in Colour (Massachusetts) - brass & verdigris


• Twinkle by Wenlan (New York) - jewels & clothes

Lia Julia Burton / Ainsel / GALA Curios

A double dose of double roses today, starting with this rose chain ring by Scotland's Lia Julia Burton.

Above, delicate double roses by Japan's Ainsel.

Bonus link:
Every rose post has its thorn post. "Sting of Remorse" double ring in gold, brass and pewter by GALA Curios (Australia's Jasmine O'Loughlin).

Even more jewellery:

• Jane West (UK) - silver roses


• Virginie Mahé (France) - deco style


• Heather Joy Puskarich (Pennsylvania) - glass cuffs

Jun-Roku / Larela Jewellery

Lions and tigers and b... oh, wait. Don't worry, Dorothy — what we actually have here are the noses of a lion (top), a squirrel (bottom left) and a rabbit (bottom right) from Japan's Jun-Roku ("reindeer," the artist's favourite animal because of Christmas). She started out designing furniture until she realized, hey, furniture is big, and tried her hand at making a frog ring instead. The rest is history. Explore her site for tons more animal-shaped pieces!

Bonus link:
If you'd like a full lion, there's this silver ring from England's Larela Jewellery, who draws inspiration from animals found on historical coats of arms.

Even more jewellery:

• Miel-Margarita Paredes (Oregon) - animal accessories


• Vanessa Montiel (California) - gold & horn


• Petra Hartman (Netherlands) - art jewellery

Thea Clark / LicketyCut

A colour combo normally reserved for baby boutiques gets refreshed in these striking pieces by New Jersey artist Thea Clark. The silk fabric gets its hue from the process of cyanotype, a photo-printing method.

Bonus link:
These pink and blue baby rings come naked but can be stacked with a white diaper ring! See more lasercut acrylic at Tennessee's LicketyCut.

Even more jewellery:

• Laloul (Belgium) - pregnancy pendants


• Lenka's (Vancouver) - metal lace


• TinkPink (Japan) - diamonds & gold

Maeko / Pod People Designs

Resin + wood. They're like the chocolate and peanut butter of the ring world — not only do they go great together, they can be smooth and chunky. Scotland's Maeko is the latest matchmaker to catch my eye with these pieces (some of which also include glass and silver).

Bonus link:
Speaking of smooth and chunky, check out this ring featuring a glorious globe of gold-coloured resin! It's one of many simple but eyecatching styles from Australia's Pod People Designs.

Even more jewellery:

• Carla Edwards (UK) - colourful resin


• Gemmasu (Spain) - colourful briolettes


• Carillac (Netherlands) - sleek & brushed

Mairi Burrow / Eva Strepp

In her "Ring Romance" series, UK jeweller Mairi Burrow presents a set of pearl rings that can be "carried about and placed anywhere" so that "the owner can access her choice of ring to wear and delight in viewing the other two." Three rings are set in four layers of perspex with rose petals as a backdrop.

Bonus link:
German jeweller Eva Strepp specializes in simple, minimalist pearl jewellery. She enjoys the shape of pearls and the concept of "no corners, no edges defining a direction."

Even more jewellery:

• Adler-Grier (New York) - pearls & beads


• Mayuko Yamamura (Japan) - chain lace


• Vera Manzoni (Portugal) - silver & topaz

Panagiotis Megalooikonomou / Stopshop / Tweet Ring

Braille use may be declining due to technology (like electronic screen readers) but Braille jewellery endures. Above, top, is a ring by Greek designer Panagiotis Megalooikonomou, who has a cool range of sandblasted silver jewellery with an industrial bent. Also pictured are colourful Braille rings by Bangkok's Stopshop, created for the charity Foundation for Blind in Thailand.

Bonus link: speaking of technology... ever read something on Twitter that deserved to be immortalized? Get it engraved on your own Tweet Ring (a division of Dutch company Alphabeth).

Even more jewellery:

• Talkatoo (Michigan) - voice recordings


• Sophie Duran (Netherlands) - conceptual art


• Melissa McArthur (UK) - simple stones

Gustav Reyes / The Woodlot / Contexture

In stark contrast to yesterday's urban/industrial rings are these raw wood pieces by Gustav Reyes. The Chicago jeweller's Ad Idem ("of one mind") series uses salvaged wood from other craftspeople.

Above, some more natural wood rings from Ontario's The Woodlot, who use fallen trees and reclaimed lumber.

Bonus link:
These "Bentwood" rings by Contexture (Vancouver duo Nathan Lee and Trevor Coghill) are made with reclaimed architectural wood veneer offcuts.

Even more jewellery:

• Emedemarta (Spain) - wooden triangles


• Emma Palmer (UK) - tatted thread


• Dana Rocks (California) - pebbles & silver

Bin Dixon-Ward / Puneet Jodhka

Inspired by the laneways of Melbourne, these silver and powdercoated brass rings make me think of origami using 3D objects rather than paper! By Australia's Bin Dixon-Ward (also check out her work in plastic).

Bonus link: here's another powdercoated ring from another Australian jeweller, Puneet Jodhka. Like many of her pieces, this spacer ring doubles as a functional vessel.

Even more jewellery:

• Maria Sköldin (Sweden) - powdercoated steel


• Luna Cox (France) - beads & brass


• Silver Sparrow Designs (Colorado) - silver & stone

Filipa Oliveira / Cocii (Claudia Lassner)

I like the juxtaposition of solid and meshed asymmetrical hexagons in these rings from UK-based Portugese jeweller Filipa Oliveira.

Bonus link:
These hexagonal metal solitaires from Germany's Cocii (Claudia Lassner) are like a simplified version of the rings above!

Even more jewellery:

• Catherine Grisez (Seattle) - metal art


• Sadie Wang (Tennessee) - silver & resin


• Keck (Austria) - contemporary classics

La Touf / Nova Design / Virginie Millefiori

I'm not usually one for pink but this plastic flower ring from Greece's La Touf (Kostas Latoufis) makes me smile. Also shown are his pinwheel-like titanium flower ring and actual pinwheel necklace. (Hint: when you go to his site, click on the "O," wait for "showroom" to appear, then click on that.)

For more pinwheels, check out Swedish-born, Philadelphia-based Tess Norberg of Nova Design.

Bonus link: apparently, when a European jeweller moves to the states, the first order of business is to make a pinwheel! Here's another from French-born, New York-based Virginie Millefiori.

Even more jewellery:

• Stephen Dove (California) - wheel pendants


• Erin Lightfoot (Australia) - printed porcelain


• Mikaela Lyons (UK) - eclectic art

Lisa Linhardt / Fingerfood Jewelry / True Lies

I'm loving these bold yet simple knuckledusters in silver, horn and quartz from New York's Lisa Linhardt.

Here's another knuckleduster. Which also happens to be a sandwich. Yep, it's a knuckle sandwich!

All miniature food rings above by Fingerfood Jewelry. In case the poutine didn't tip you off, they're based in Montreal (while the Iced Vo Vo lets you know they're originally from Australia and the hot dog lets you know they like mustard).

Bonus link: two fingers worth of sandwich may need two fingers worth of teeth, so pick up this "Over Bite" ring from France's True Lies. Made with real human teeth, which are "more precious than gold."

Even more jewellery:

• Bistro Bling (Connecticut) - miniature food


• KaroArt (Ireland) - ceramic beads


• Brigitte Dombrowski (Germany) - twotone metal

Sadhbh McCormack / MAL (Marisa A. Lomonaco)

Let's do another Casual Friday, wherein I post a ring...

...and then I relax the rules to highlight some of the designer's other amazing jewellery. Today's artist? Ireland's Sadhbh McCormack.

Bonus link:
We now return to our regularly scheduled program. For smaller spikes, this time on rings, check out New York's MAL (Marisa A. Lomonaco).

Even more jewellery:

• Naomi McIntosh (UK) - bold & modern


• Ranjana Khan (New York) - ornate necklaces


• Metal Embryon (Japan) - geometric patterns
  
  

Myrto Anastasopoulou / Omar Maldonado / Kiyokko Hosoda / Emerald Green Submarine / Catherine Sheedy

Time again for Random Pluckings from My Bookmarks, starting with this "Angel" ring in rhodium-plated silver from My. A Jewellery (Myrto Anastasopoulou) of Greece.

Cute initial rings from Argentina's Omar Maldonado.

Origami and sprouts from Italy's Kiyoko Hosoda.

Resin squares from Australia's Emerald Green Submarine.

Clear loops from Quebec's Catherine Sheedy (gallery at page bottom).

Bonus link: Silver Ebony, as you may have guessed, offers pieces in silver and ebony. UK jeweller Barry Swerdlow also adds the distinctive pattern of zebra shell to make this work his own.

Even more jewellery:

• Diana Dudek (Germany) - art jewellery


• Delilah Devine (Australia) - wallpaper silhouettes


• Susie Brand (Ohio) - silver & briolettes

Glenda López / Julia Burness

If you ever feel like you need an antidote to the multitude of cute bird and deer rings out there, Spain's Glenda López is the designer for you. Pictured above are her hyena and wild boar rings.

And here's a Disney antidote: her "Forever Mouse" ring.

Bonus link:
Some more pigs, in silver and brass, from Julia Burness. The UK jeweller likes to use fair trade and recycled metals.

Even more jewellery:

• Rima Hyena (Texas) - modern relics


• Anna Häggström (UK) - skulls & tassels


• Choo Yilin (Singapore) - sustainable luxury