Jill K. Baker Gower / Isabelle Vanlaere

If you liked yesterday's rings but still prefer to wear your nails the traditional way — you know, press-on acrylics — this ring could come in very handy, no pun intended.

Open it up and you'll find a set of emergency replacements should one of your own nails get chipped. (The nails are actually enamelled copper, so they're pretty sturdy, unless you're working in environments of 1,084 °C.)

You'll find all this and much, much more (from eye jewellery to lipstick necklaces) in the portfolio of New Jersey metalsmith Jill K. Baker Gower.

Bonus link: for that chainmail look, but translated into something better suited for daily wear, see these chain rings from Belgium's Isabelle Vanlaere.

Even more jewellery:

• Francescab (Italy) - bold neckpieces


• Joanne Thompson (UK) - chain mail


• Jarosław Westermark (Poland) - textured silver


• Helene Courtaigne Delalande (France) - gold & gems


• Manano (Belgium) - beads & charms

Litter SF / Hyun Kyung Park / Sabine Teucher

If this is how you carry your money around, you definitely need the added protection of these "cougar claws" from San Francisco's Litter (I love how they also look like pen nibs).

Above, more talon-rific metalsmithing: fingernail rings from RISD student Hyun Kyung Park.

Bonus link: for another full-finger ring (which also looks like a pen nib), check out this "fish" ring by Germany's Sabine Teucher.

Even more jewellery:

• Sys Bjarnhof (Denmark) - remade antiques


• Miss.g (Kat Gee) (New Zealand) - chunky & playful


• Katrin Wacker (Germany) - contemporary metal


• Marla S. Rudnick (Washington, DC) - knit silver


• Ian Saudé (California) - diamonds & pearls

Gaál Gyöngyvér / Thelma Aviani / Nikolay Sardamov / Monika Gimborn-Jochum / Sigurd Bronger

It's been a while since I've posted Random Pluckings from My Bookmarks. Ready for another go? First up: plastic and metal from Hungaria's Gaál Gyöngyvér (I believe "Gaál" is the surname, because that's how they roll).

"Square lines" ring by Brazil's Thelma Aviani.

These rings really do not do his body of work justice so please visit his site to see more of Bulgaria's Nikolay Sardamov.

Acrylic and glitter from Germany's Monika Gimborn-Jochum.

Balloon and egg rings from Norway's Sigurd Bronger (shamefully, I've had a half-written post about him sitting around for about two years now).

Bonus link:
One more egg ring, this time in anodized aluminum: the "chromegg" from Israel-based Italian designer Arosha Luigi Taglia.

Even more jewellery:

• Olivia de Soria (Denver) - enamel & gumballs


• Stephanie Winther (Australia) - etched silver


• Spacefruit - Becky Crawford (UK) - plastic clusters


• NUÑ (New York) - gorgeous gold


• Anne Thomas (France) - ceramic girls

Mary Donald / Lazy Oaf

I was a little whiny yesterday (Excedrin for three meals a day will do that to you). Let me balance things out with an "Optimistic Impulse," as the above ring is named. The piece is by L.A.'s Mary Donald, an artist who works with diverse materials to create gorgeous, organic jewellery (this one is wire, fibre and paint). Below, "Forever the Optimist" and other rings in rubber, nylon, glass, pearls and more.

Bonus link: the black cloud is frowny but the smiley white cloud must have had an optimistic impulse of its own. Acrylic happy/sad cloud rings from the UK's Lazy Oaf.

Even more jewellery:

• Paweł Kaczyński (Poland) - botanical sculptures


• Francesca Harland (UK) - textile love


• William Belack (Miami) - metal & gems


• Heike & Peter Bereck (Germany) - contemporary gold


• Gabriela Fissore (Argentina) - silver & colour

André Lasmar / Susie Ganch / Cynthia Myron / Amy John

There is construction ongoing nextdoor. Drilling. Banging. Yammering. Hammering (both jack- and claw-). I'm headache prone as it is and this is just driving me nuts and bolts. Well, if you can't beat 'em, and you can't join 'em, and you can't make 'em stop please stop, you can at least be inspired by 'em. So, some construction-themed rings today, starting with these cement-block and wood-block rings by Brazil's André Lasmar (above).

Ring with nails and spiral shank by Virginia's Susie Ganch.

Bricks and window shutters by Cynthia Myron, also of Virginia, who does fabulous architectural work in pewter and copper.

Clockwise from top left: "Disturbing the Peace," "Tension," "Labor" (with nail) and — because who doesn't love irony? — "Hammered Serenity" rings by Los Angeles metalsmith Amy John (see her gallery for lots of bullet rings).

Bonus link: I wonder how much drilling and hammering it takes to build a cathedral... or a cathedral ring, like this one by Australia's Metal Couture (William Llewellyn Griffiths).

Even more jewellery:

• Susannah Dwyer (Australia) - industrial parts


• Heather Grandmont (Cleveland, OH) - oxidized silver


• Rita Botelho (Portugal) - lasercut leather


• Shabnam Bahmanian (California) - forged metal


• Carole Leonard (UK) - perspex & steel

Jessie Yeager / la boîte à couture

Rice and silk may be evocative of Asia but Jessie Yeager's jewellery is actually influenced by her travels across the U.S. Check out this North Carolina jeweller for pieces with grass, harmonicas, map outlines and more...

...some of which come with a hidden surprise.

Bonus link:
Speaking of rice, Spain's la boîte à couture has some cute rings shaped like sushi. No paella, as far as I can tell, but there is lots of cake!

Even more jewellery:

• Joanne Garner (UK) - silk & silver


• Luana Coonen (California) - amazing insects


• Littlewhitedish (Australia) - porcelain pendants


• Nügaard Designs (Florida) - metal & stones


• Sikara (Texas) - inlaid gemss

Teresa F. Faris / Nikki Thiess-Kusiak / Danielle Zippan

If you've been reading my blog long enough, you know how I feel about birds. And, of course, you know how I feel about jewellers. Can you please tell me, then, how I'm supposed to feel about a jeweller who's in cahoots with a bird? Does not compute. In her "Collaboration with a Bird" series, Wisconsin artist Teresa F. Faris explores the "ideas of fragility and human/animal connectedness" by working "with animals rather than using their bodies." Each piece features a piece of wood that has been chewed or "carved" by a bird. They're making jewellery now, folks. Be afraid.

Here's another collaboration, of sorts, with a bird: caged quail egg ring by Rhode Island's Nikki Thiess-Kusiak.

Bonus link:
Now here's the kind of bird I can handle — cute and simple. Silver dove ring by Toronto's Danielle Zippan of Zippan Designs (US$40).

Even more jewellery:

• Trine Trier (Denmark) - clean lines


• Aurélie Dellasanta (Switzerland) - embroidery & skeletons


• Miriam Kimelblat (Brazil) - flora & fauna


• Silvia Mazzoli (Italy) - zippers & bows


• Matsu by Jennifer Shigetomi (Toronto) - organic metal

Vicki Purnell / Melinda Young

There's nothing as refreshing as something bubbly on ice.

Let London's Vicki Purnell take you into the weekend with her pops of acrylic and resin.

Bonus link:
Of course, it's no fun when your bubbles go flat — unless it's these stacking acrylic bubble rings by Australia's Melinda Young (~US$130).

Even more jewellery:

• Bell & Spoon (Oona Ball) (UK) - people & animals


• Sodaplus (Japan) - chains & briolettes


• Chris A. Wronski (Atlanta) - pierced silver


• Mandy Allen (Portland, OR) - anodized aluminum


• Pepitarosa (Italy) - sweet & pink

Regina Aradesian / Ursula Masterson

I like how "plique-à-jour" sounds somewhat like "peek-a-boo." Because that's exactly what the enamel does — it peeks out from the silver and lets the light peek through, as well. UK jeweller Regina Aradesian uses the technique with lovely results; inspired by her roots, she combines traditional Armenian patterns with "the intricacies of the cellular world observed through a microscope."

Bonus link:
For more vitreous enamel, check out New York's Ursula Masterson; pictured is the pansy ring from her "Moderna" collection.

Even more jewellery:

• Jenn Parnell (Laurel, MD) - enamel & silver


• Green Halo (California) - gold & briolettes


• Beadworx (Bettina Welker) (Germany) - polymer clay


• Maja Schulz (NY/Ecuador) - metal & gems


• Jacqueline Warrington (UK) - contemporary twotone

Sina Emrich / rings from The Rose

Terrific? More like amphitheaterrific! (I'll escort myself out now.) Germany's Sina Emrich turns wood into magic worthy of any stage. Visit her site to see more gorgeous wooden pieces and read about her Schmucknomadin - weltlernen ("jewellery nomad - world-learning") project.

Bonus link: not an amphitheatre but an Elizabethan theatre, The Rose fell out of use around 1606. These are replicas of rings found when the old site was excavated.

Even more jewellery:

• Miranda Hughes (UK) - vintage components


• Doerthe Fuchs (Germany) - oxidized silver


• Loewestamm (Ukraine) - Black Sea wood


• SeidenGang (New York) - classical gold


• Lisa Black (Australia) - cultural inspirations

Maya van Lierop / Pilleriin Jürisoo

Here's another portfolio I've been awaiting for a long time. No longer "under construction" is Mayavanlierop.com, website of Dutch jeweller Maya van Lierop. Obviously. These rings are like coloured cross-sections of soap bubbles!

Bonus link: here's one more newly- launched site. Estonia's Pilleriin Jürisoo makes jewellery and objects in a variety of materials.

Even more jewellery:

• Julie Tougas (Montreal) - circles & spirals


• Kristina Brekne (Australia) - modern silver


• Karat (Japan) - bugs & fish


• Danielle Meshorer (San Francisco) - metal & gems


• Clare Lupino (UK) - beads on wire

Iris Bodemer / Sarah-Jane Cook

Ooh, nice. I want more!

More, I say!

That's more like it! I'd been waiting a long time for Germany's Iris Bodemer to get a website. As it turns out, good things do come to those who wait.

Bonus link: if you like rings with textile components, like the wool and raffia pieces above, check out Australia's Sarah-Jane Cook and her threaded acrylic rings.

Even more jewellery:

• Sahlia Michelle (Oregon) - modern chains


• Lost Values (Elena Corchero) (UK) - solar-powered


• Jewels Curnow (Seattle) - metal & gems


• Philipp Plein (Switzerland) - diamonds & dogtags


• Nah (Chile) - thread beads

Sarah Fox / Alishsa Marie Boyd

Yesterday, you met Fanny the Fox. Today, meet Oregon's Sarah Fox (no relation) and her topiary jewellery in colourful felt.

Bonus link:
Here's a topiary ring that might require some upkeep, as it contains real moss. By Toronto's Alishsa Marie Boyd.

Even more jewellery:

• Maaike Ebbinge (Netherlands) - colourful fibers


• Jen Cunningham (Scotland) - trees & mountains


• Veronika My (Germany) - leather & felt


• Nicole Rossetta (Nantucket Island, MA) - silver & glass


• Cheena Chandra (Irvine, CA) - gold & gems

titiMadam / Pyrrha

Cow, chicken and fox — aka Craig, George and Fanny — are just three of eight animals (plus one imaginary one) standing ready to decorate your fingers. For more lasercut acrylic goodness, including a line of housewares, see UK designers titiMadam. [Update: unfortunately, based on more than one personal experience, I cannot recommend shopping from them.]

Bonus link: more fox! Vancouver's Pyrrha makes a popular line of jewellery modelled after antique wax seals (even I own a necklace, despite my allergy), including this fox head ring.

Even more jewellery:

• Finest Imaginary (UK) - lasercut acrylic


• Patrik Muff (Germany) - regal motifs


• Antoine Camus (France) - panthers & gems


• Hoorsenbuhs (California) - gold & diamonds


• Rosalind Wolchock (Winnipeg) - silver & pearls

Schmutzerland / Emily Bedford

These whimsical cocktail rings, with their framed Victorian illustrations, make me long for the olden days when they had things like hot air balloons and feathers and moths. Get a taste of those halcyon times by visiting New Jersey's Schmutzerland.

Bonus link: another framed art ring, this time from UK jeweller Emily Bedford. This "Clara" ring from her "Souvenir" collection features a miniature bird painting set under resin.

Even more jewellery:

• Swan:Dive (San Francisco) - illustrated pendants


• Babette (Japan) - framed art


• Emma Fox (UK) - birds & koi


• Cubannie Links (Brooklyn) - guns & butterflies


• Sabine Böttcher (Germany) - metal & gems

Shinji Nakaba / L'Iris Noir (Iris Simon)

Though I usually don't post the same jeweller more than once, the last time I mentioned this artist was four years ago and that was only in passing (no photos) so I think I'll allow myself this one. Besides, he's well worth a hundred mentions, let alone two! His rings are wildly botanical...

...clearly cool...

...and warrant some serious face time. Too bad that's made difficult by the fact that Shinji Nakaba is all the way over in Kanagawa, Japan. Then again, his work is on display in New York's Museum of Arts & Design and Montreal's Museum of Fine Arts so, if you're in either of those locations, go check it out!

Bonus link: if you want more faces, French jeweller L'Iris Noir (Iris Simon) has several collections featuring face rings; this one is from her "50% Devil" series.

Even more jewellery:

• Gavang (Thailand) - botanical metal


• Andrea Halmschlager (Austria) - art jewellery


• Modern Madini (Eugene, OR) - copper & silver


• Hirocoledge (Japan) - lasercut acrylic


• Amrita Singh (New York) - ornate gold

If this page is missing posts from the first few days of this month, it's because I've reached my Blogger page limit! To read all posts, see the full monthly archives at TheCarrotbox.com