Polly van der Glas / Loved to Death

Go blonde — without the hassle of root touch-ups. This human hair ring is the creation of Australian jeweller Polly van der Glas, who also dabbles in other human parts, like these:

Also available in cast silver, if you don't want to sink your teeth into the real thing:

Bonus link:
California's Loved to Death, who creates art and jewellery using taxidermied animals, also has human teeth rings, modelled after the Victorian style.

Even more jewellery:

• Silver Spur (Colorado) - elk teeth


• Christine Mighion (Indiana) - muted gold


• Sonya Bennett (UK) - nature-inspired


• Claudia Lumer (Argentina) - silver & quartz


• Marie Claire Desmedt (Belgium) - eyes & lips

Ingrid Nilsen / Lucy Hutchings

I often like to collect images of similar rings from different designers but these, I think, stand on their own. I love the large but fragile shape of these box rings by Edinburgh-based Norwegian jeweller Ingrid Nilsen, who focussed on "the striking difference between the organic and geometric" and "the positive and the negative space of each piece."

Bonus link:
UK designer Lucy Hutchings also works with boxes and cages in her jewellery, but she fills her "structural chain cages" with semiprecious beads.

Even more jewellery:

• Tine Latein (Germany) - ball cages


• Király Fanni (Hungary) - geometric beading


• Kerry O'Connor (UK) - clean & modern


• Helle Bjerrum (Denmark) - minimalist silver


• Dorothée Loustalot (Switzerland) - aviator earrings

Samantha Queen / Galit Meushar

I imagine there's a planet out there somewhere with plants that look just like these organic pod rings by UK jeweller Samantha Queen. Yes, right down to the faceted gemstones. In space, anything is possible.

Bonus link:
For more organic metal rings with splashes of colour, like the one pictured here, check out the "Some of a Kind" ring series by Israeli jeweller Galit Meushar.

Even more jewellery:

• Prunier Vecchio (New Jersey) - organic silver


• Tokyo Jane (Denmark) - colourful bangles


• Kate Hamilton-Hunter (UK) - recycled tins


• Giulia Boccafogli (Italy) - leather & silk


• Keiko Mita (New York) - geometric gold

Sophie Hanagarth / Ignacio & Corral

As crazy as I am about most things crunchy and salty, pretzels have never been in my snacking repertoire. The shape is much more attractive than the flavour, so I would gladly trade a bag of Rold Gold for just one of these hand-forged iron pretzel rings by French metalsmith Sophie Hanagarth. Fair trade, no? How 'bout two bags?

Bonus link:
For more knotty rings, see London designer Ignacio Gutierrez of Ignacio & Corral. This cast silver piece is from his Autumn/Winter 2010 colllection.

Even more jewellery:

• 40milia (Spain) - leather knots


• Jessica Poole (UK) - clean twists


• BRVTVS (New York) - chains & silk


• Danielle Embry (Arizona) - enamel & copper


• Maria Giertta (Australia) - silver & gems

Jaime Jo Fisher / Debra Adelson

Whether it's a reflector or a table cloth or the shoe of a Cabbage Patch Kid, if it's got colour, Jaime Jo Fisher turns it into a jewel! The Texas artist favours bright hues set against playful dots, loops and whirls of silver.

Bonus link: for more colourful rings, check out the acrylic creations of New Jersey's Debra Adelson; rings with silver shanks also available.

Even more jewellery:

• Agnes Figueres (Spain) - colour & silver


• Merle O'Grady (UK) - bejewelled acrylic


• Gravika (Poland) - beaded fabric


• Clare Stoker (New York) - simple & modern


• Sarah Nehama (Massachusetts) - metal & stone

Anna Cino / Jess Dare / Isabelle Lenfant / Homeroom / Barbara Huck / Rumi Ishino

Let's close out the week with some playful rings.

Ready?

Set?

Go:

Blocks of fun by Italy's Anna Cino.

Measuring tape rings by Australia's Jess Dare.

Bandage and scotch tape by Belgium's I-L (Isabelle Lenfant).

Comic sound effects by San Francisco's Homeroom Clothing.

Bursting colour by Germany's Barbara Huck.

Toilet (with sparkling bowl!) by California's Rumi Ishino.

Bonus link:
There's always room for just one more playful piece! This sprinkles ring is from the "candy" collection by New York's Wits Productions (Natalia Porter).

Even more jewellery:

• Kristina Klarin (Italy) - playful bubbles


• LinaPoum (France) - birds & squirrels


• The Strutt Sisters (Australia) - cute fabrics


• Kathryn Blackmore/The Vamoose (UK) - rope & pompoms


• Olaria Studio (Massachusetts) - colourful clay

Ruth Wood / Imogen Belfield / Ammal Labib

Inspired by "ancient artefacts" and "the erosion and texture of materials," UK jeweller Ruth Wood creates rings that may look worn but also beg to be worn.

Imogen Belfield, another UK jeweller, is also drawn to raw, rough forms. Rather than stones, however, her metal rings are embedded with chunks of porcelain.

Bonus link:
Egyptian jeweller Ammal Labib has a lot more pieces featuring raw stones and unpolished metal, including these rings with iron shanks.

Even more jewellery:

• Allison Schiller (Illinois) - raw stones


• Brigitte Seehaus (Germany) - metal outlines


• Handmade by Hayley (UK) - wooden beads


• Michelle Lenáe (Seattle) - pale gems


• Mona C Fällberg (Sweden) - diamond bands

Lipi Design (Ákos Lipóczki) / PYG Design

Critically cute critters! These LIPI Zoo rings come as flat sheets of plastic; it's your job to fold the pieces and assemble your personal menagerie. Created by Hungarian designer Ákos Lipóczki of Lipi Design.

A satisfied customer.

Bonus link:
Germany's PYG Design also has flat-packed rings that you fold to wear, though theirs are made of leather. Pictured here is the dragonfly ring; also available in hibiscus.

Even more jewellery:

• Marmalade (UK) - vinyl cutouts


• Camilla James (Massachusetts) - dripping chains


• Riccardo Dalisi (Italy) - pictoral necklaces


• MARGOT - Jerzy Szymula (Poland) - metal & glass


• Bo JC (Los Angeles) - gold & briolettes

Malice in Wonderland / One Yellow Bird (Liz McKibbon)

Normally, a shrimp ring means one thing and one thing only: delivery device for cocktail sauce. These rings, however, change all that. By the way... to shrimp or not to shrimp? The answer is always "shrimp." Always.

For more animals and a skewed take on a fairytale world, visit Belgium's Malice in Wonderland.

Bonus link:
Here's another arthropod ring — this time, of the insect variety — by Florida's One Yellow Bird (Liz McKibbon). This cicada ring is made of silver and concrete.

Even more jewellery:

• Eleanor Jane Kennell (Pennsylvania) - insect wings


• Vanessa Baroni (Germany) - bold plexiglas


• Eve Claire Taylor (UK) - contemporary silver


• Kristoffer Hoshino (Sweden) - ceramic brooches


• Silver Trumpet (Vancouver) - vintage buttons

Coco Dunmire / Hiroki Masuzaki

Juicy orange, leafy green and iron — a great cure for anemia, perhaps, but also a great cure for a Monday morning. After studying in places as varied as Kuwait and Poland and currently working in New York state, jeweller Coco Dunmire reveals The Secret Life of Jewels through her work in resin and metal.

Bonus link:
Another jeweller who works with iron is Japanese metalsmith Hiroki Masuzaki. This ring features the familiar curlicues of a classic wrought iron gate.

Even more jewellery:

• Marianne Anselin (France) - rustic iron


• Munsun Schumacher (Germany) - stark & modern


• Úna Burke (UK) - leather armour


• Subversive Jewelry (New York) - vintage baubles


• Neolithic (Australia) - resin necklaces

Laura Deakin / Kyara Accessories

Australian-born, Munich-based Laura Deakin closes out our week with these quietly lovely mixed-media "ring forms." (Be sure not to miss her "dishonest pearls" and "confused earrings.")

Bonus link: speaking of confused earrings, here's an earring that looks more like a pearl ring! For more, see Japan's Kyara Accessories, whose "Apolo" collection also includes a "ring" bracelet and "ring" cufflinks.

Even more jewellery:

• Simone Werkle (Germany) - art jewellery


• Nicola Malkin (UK) - ceramic charms


• Lina Christensen (Denmark) - chains & pearls


• MIJA Jewelry (Washington, DC) - gold & gems


• Brian Hoyano (Vancouver) - contemporary silver

Armor Jewelry (Sandee Shin) / Lisa Freede

I'm ready to join the chain gang. These edgy yet wearable rings are by New York's Armor Jewelry, aka Sandee Shin, who handcrafts each made-to-order piece.

Bonus link: for a double chain ring meant to be worn on one finger, check out this piece from Lisa Freede, a jeweller who splits her time between Houston and Los Angeles.

Even more jewellery:

• Luv Aj (California) - brass chains


• Derome Brenner (France) - acetate bracelets


• Kaylee Russotti (New York) - black & silver


• Heather Shaw (UK) - pearls & cameos


• Jeremy Waak (Pennsylvania) - jewellery & objects

Toz Design (Leyla Taranto) / Yusuke Hoashi

Sponges are cool. No other animal can double as a hand-held tool, allowing us a flicker of Flintstonian reality where birds are hedge trimmers and mammoths are showers. Natural sponges are still out there but, of course, most of us nowadays use synthetics — including Leyla Taranto of Turkey's Toz Design, who made these colourful sponge rings.

Above: another of her rings, from "Gypsy," one of many more collections on her site.

Bonus link: taking us from Phylum Porifera to Chordata is Japan's Yuusuke Hoashi (or "Yusuke" — the double "u" is optional because the romanization of Japanese rolls like that).

Even more jewellery:

• Magerit Joyas (Spain) - animals & astrology


• Your Future A.F.A.I.R. (France) - gold vertebrae


• Sally Leonard (UK) - simple snakes


• Panicmama (Oregon) - striated silver


• Modern Sacred (New York) - found metals

Alexandra Lindqvist / Kirsten Clausager

Yesterday's plastic was all straight lines and black & white; today, we're doing plastic in bright colours and soft waves. (But don't worry, I won't make you pick a favourite.) Finland's Alexandra Lindqvist combines silver and recycled plastic to stunning effect.

Bonus link: here's another flower-like cluster of waves, this time in silver and gold, by Danish metalsmith Kirsten Clausager (who started the Guldkompagniet gallery in Copenhagen with Kasia Gasparski, subject of my Oct. 3 '07 post).

Even more jewellery:

• Blandine Bardeau (France) - plastic cords


• Tomoko Igarashi (New York) - knotty necklaces


• Aurora Palesca (Massachusetts) - eco-conscious


• Anna McDade (UK) - etched metal


• Susan Dyer (Wisconsin) - quirky & colourful

MOXO / Maria Samora

Just like the letters in its name, New Zealand's MOXO is all about circles, zigzags and other geometric shapes in lasercut acrylic.

Bonus link:
If you're a fan of the grid rings above, you might also like this version in silver and gold from the "Cosmos" collection by New Mexico jeweller Maria Samora.

Even more jewellery:

• Sou Brette (Indonesia) - geometric resin


• Sarah Swell (California) - modern metal


• Tracey Birchwood (UK) - wire-wrapped porcelain


• Agnes Seebass (Germany) - silver & gold


• Hualucho (Chile) - Mapuche traditions

Welfe Bowyer / Tanya Chernov / Up to Much / Eli Jewellery / Christian Quintero

Random Pluckings from My Bookmarks, "Facets and Angles" edition!

"Cracked" metal by New Zealand's Welfe Bowyer.

"Facets" ring by Israel's Tanya Chernov.

"Sprocket" ring by Scotland's Up to Much.

"Prism" rings, inverted and not, by Australia's Eli Jewellery.

Sharp angles from Ecuador's Christian Quintero.

Bonus link:
Here's one more angular ring for the road: silver nested point ring by South African jeweller Oriana Todesco, who likes simple pieces with clean, strong lines.

Even more jewellery:

• Ada Zanditon & Luca Romanyi (UK) - plastic hexagons


• Claire McAlister (Ireland) - hinged slats


• Nektar De Stagni (Florida) - pearls & pyrite


• Munsteiner (Germany) - cut gems


• Norsola Johnson (Montreal) - modern silver

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