Zhenwei Chu / Cloé Hedger

Threadin' resin: gorgeous rings from the "Thread Sculptures in Resin" series by Chinese artist Zhenwei Chu. Visit her site for more (particularly the "Tea Bag" collection!).

Bonus link:
Looking for a thread-thin whisper of a ring, but in metal? You can get one in gold or silver from UK jeweller Cloé Hedger. Her 1 mm bands are designed to be stackable.

Even more jewellery:

• Dominique Denaive (France) - chunky resin
• Esther Sandler (Australia) - framed embroidery
• Holst + Lee (New York) - rope & beads

I-Ting Ho / Drew Markou / Claire Goetschel / Cabbage is King / Jule Ulrike Müller

Please note that there will be no posting on Monday! Thanks and have a great weekend!

Let's do a Friday Five in a Flash, starting with this ring from the disconcerting "Skin Secret" series by Taiwan's I-Ting Ho.

Urban concrete by the UK's Drew Markou.

"Smoking Gun" by Rhode Island's Claire Goetschel.

"Finger Paints" by the UK's Cabbage is King (Greig Alderman).

Cocoon-like "helmet ring" by Germany's Jule Ulrike Müller.

Höllwerk / RXVrings

There's something vaguely, disconcertingly alien — sentient, even — about these "hose rings" from Germany's Höllwerk (Astrid Zipp & Christine Maxand). It's like they're looking at me! I, for one, welcome our new ring-shaped overlords.

Bonus link:
Here's a ring that''s definitely looking at you. Glass and silver ring by Mexico's RXVrings (Ruben Viramontes), who makes lots of eye and skull jewellery.

Even more jewellery:

• Fisheye Jewelry (California) - dyed eyeballs
• Pernille Schou-Elsass (Denmark) - simple circles
• Anna Von Bergmann (Germany) - cabs & cords

Angelo Verga / Hecho-a-Mano

In "Sintered Nature," Damascus steel "flowers" sprout from rings made of wood, metal, and layers of cotton/linen. But before that, they sprout from the mind of Italian jeweller Angelo Verga.

Bonus link:
For more Damascus steel, visit Hecho-a-Mano (German jeweller Markus Buchholz), who has some nice wide bands like the one pictured here.

Even more jewellery:

• Hand Forge (Oregon) - steel & bronze
• Melanie Codarin (UK) - conceptual jewellery
• Eandare (Italy) - ribbon & metal

Malene Glintborg / Ladyfingers / Dorry Hsu

I like her take on "cocktail" rings.

I also like her take on origami rings.

And I like her take on skyline rings. I guess I'm just taken with Denmark's Malene Glintborg.

You can also check out her work through Ladyfingers, a collective of Danish jewellers that includes Vitsø (Sabine Mark, whose "organ" ring is above, top left), Mette Juhl (whose teardrop rings are above, top right), Stefanie DeSouza (whose house ring is above), Kamilla Lönnberg and Aurea.

Bonus link:
For more cool wire outline rings, check out UK-based Taiwanese designer Dorry Hsu. Her conceptual "Future Jewellery" is not to be missed!

Even more jewellery:

• Gauge NYC (New York) - wire monograms
• Fleet Ilya (UK) - cool leather
• Ugh Designs (Turkey) - tribal silhouettes

Apawan Kultawanich / Maria Luisa Tribolo

Thai artist Apawan Kultawanich takes a familiar object and transforms it, exploring "the beauty of translucency." What is that object?

If you guessed plastic straws, hooray! Have a drink on me.

Bonus link: if you're going to have that drink, I guess you'll need something to drink from. Here's a ceramic cup ring (with complimentary olive garnish) from Italy's Maria Luisa Tribolo.

Even more jewellery:

• Sherry Xin-Rui Yu (UK) - tea stains
• Naho Kamada (Japan) - minimalist metal
• Dana Walden (New York) - urban glam

Kumiko Kuwabara / Cicy Ching

Wrapping up the week with some wrapped-up rings: "Foreign Bodies" by Kumiko Kuwabara, a Japanese artist living in Switzerland.

Bonus link:
For more bulbous white rings (translucent white, in this case), check out the "Light Bulb" series by Hong Kong's Cicy Ching, whose work is all about illumination.

Even more jewellery:

• Rebecca Liesenfeld (Germany) - white jewellery
• Benedicte Mouret (France) - needles & feathers
• Charlotte Tollyfield (UK) - clean silver

Zindzi Wijminga / Starchild

What does this make you think of? Jellyfish? How about... Uri Gellar? Yep, that's a melted spoon.

"Fossils of a Dream" is Dutch artist Zindzi Wijminga's exploration of our emotional attachment to objects (like plastic cutlery).

Bonus link:
Here's a little blue jelly treat to go with your blue jellyfish-y spoon. For playful accessories, fairy kei style, check out Sweden's Starchild by Saffron Sugar.

Even more jewellery:

• Holly Hyams (UK) - spoons & ammo
• Chaingang (Germany) - cords & charms
• Dalija Sega (Slovenia) - organic silver

Galatée Pestre / Lauren Davies

If you like speech balloons...

...and if you also like arrows...

...you are about to lose your mind. Check out French jeweller Galatée Pestre.

Bonus link:
If you like balloons, but you don't like speech, you can check out the regular "balloon" collection from Lauren Davies. The UK jeweller has lots of kinetic and mechanical pieces.

Even more jewellery:

• Satoko Takemura (Japan) - silver bubblewrap
• Wilfred Gachau (Denmark) - circles & dots
• Sheila Fleet (UK) - enamel & metal

Sarah Manterfield / Sarah Sculley

When I saw this ring, I immediately thought, "can-can." And then I saw that it's called "Moulin" (which works whether she meant the cabaret or the spinning blades!).

For more, check out the UK's Sarah Manterfield, who's inspired by photography that captures "the delicacy of nature, the fluidity of body movement or our abstract surroundings."

Bonus link:
Humans aren't the only creatures who can high-kick! Not to be outdone is this cute octopus, showing off his moves. Lasercut ring by Australia's Sarah Sculley.

Even more jewellery:

• Indiva (Netherlands) - dancers' silhouettes
• Atsuko Bauman (New York) - organic enamel
• Tres Demented (UK) - bold & pointy

Anna Kiryakova / Katrin Inga Hofmann

Do not be afraid. Look into the whiiiite. Modern porcelain work from Germany's Anna Kiryakova.

Bonus link: Germany's Katrin Inga Hofmann does nice, modern work in silver, including some (like this box ring) with porcelain pieces provided by Jutta Albert.

Even more jewellery:

• Isabelle Busnel (UK) - white & silicone
• Heike Ahrens (Germany) - modern metal
• Inbal Ithachi (Israel) - button accessories

Ye Seul Seo / Lene Wolters

This would've been apropos for a leap day but I didn't want to wait another two years, ten months and 17 days. Awesome "frog" ring by Korean jeweller Ye Seul Seo.

Bonus link:
Here's some more folded metal that sits between the fingers, sans the amphibian homage. Ring by Danish metalsmith Lene Wolters.

Even more jewellery:

• Garnazelle (France) - frogs & glam
• Simone Ferkul (Toronto) - geometric wood
• Mei-Li Rose (UK) - silver triangles

Lana Crabb / uhhu

A lot of things can be fixed by a little paint or a rubber band — even jewellery, if you ask England's Lana Crabb. Shown above are her rings made of rubber bands, paint and broken jewellery; visit her site for more recent pieces featuring rubber bands and powder-coated metal!

Bonus link:
For more rubber band rings, check out Portugal's uhhu (Ana Ribeiro), who has lots of fun, playful jewellery in rubber and bright plastics.

Even more jewellery:

• Audrée H. St. Amour (Montreal) - silver & rubber
• Janandanna (Switzerland) - tangled chains
• Ines Probst (Germany) - leather bracelets

Rob Elford / Sara Bran

As an ornithophobe, I'm a complete chicken in the face of this chicken...

...but I'm slightly less fearful of these flamingos. For more 3D-printed jewellery, check out the UK's Rob Elford.

Bonus link:
French jeweller Sara Bran has lots of wrapped, ribbon-like metal rings with cutouts, like this one featuring birds in flight.

Even more jewellery:

• Marmalade Park (UK) - 3D-printed florals
• Wouter Jespers (Belgium) - art jewellery
• Elsa Chela (New York) - chains & stones

Stinne Holm / Janni Krogh

Denmark's Stinne Holm offers up folds, facets and fans with an art deco flavour.

Bonus link:
These gold and diamond rings, with a somewhat similar vibe, are from another Danish jeweller: Copenhagen's Janni Krogh.

Even more jewellery:

• Candyrich (UK) - deco-inspired
• Pernille Corydon (Denmark) - black & gold
• Ulrike Krapp (Germany) - metal & gems

Vermandere-Verheyden / Strange Freak

Nerd wars! In reading about the cycloid, I learned it's "been called 'The Helen of Geometers' as it caused frequent quarrels among 17th-century mathematicians." Coincidentally, these "Cycloides" rings made me think of cyclopses, so I guess it's just a Greek mythology kind of day.

All rings above by the Vermandere half of married Belgian duo Vermandere-Verheyden (Daisy Verheyden & Peter Vermandere).

Bonus link:
When it comes to lacking eyes, this "eyeless skull" ring has the cyclops beat! For more mythological creatures and monsters, check out Japan's Strange Freak.

Even more jewellery:

• Muses & Rebels (California) - chains & thread
• Lene Marie Gotholdt (Denmark) - round cabs
• Ulrike Ortwein (Germany) - metal & gems

Damia Smith / AFLO+

Kansas artist and metalsmith Damia Smith states, "I create pieces which physically and mentally engage the individuals who are wearing them." Which is only half true, because she also physically and mentally engages the individuals who are looking at them. Visit her site for a large body of amazing work!

Bonus link:
While the rings above showcase some knit metal, Japan's AFLO+ (Mayumi Minakawa) uses more traditional thread to create sweet botanical pieces.

Even more jewellery:

• Mariah Tuttle (Rhode Island) - crochet & caulk
• Deborah Rudolph (Germany) - stone slices
• Malene Helweg-Larsen (Denmark) - metal & gems

Anna Helena Van De Pol De Deus / Jack Vartanian

As the number four is bad luck in Japanese culture, April 4th is a rather inauspicious day (throw in a dash of triskadekaphobia and April 4th 2013 is the worst 4/4 ever). Thankfully, Brazilian jeweller Anna Helena Van De Pol De Deus is here to save us with her maneki-neko rings. These lucky Japanese "beconing" cats will welcome good fortune and are way cuter than a horseshoe.

Bonus link:
If you prefer your felines fast and fierce rather than friendly and felicitous, here's a gold leopard ring from another Brazilian jeweller, Jack Vartanian.

Even more jewellery:

• Lillian Too (Malaysia) - feng shui
• Yan Zhang (China) - playful & colourful
• Elkin (UK) - cord bracelets

Edoardo de Falchi / Lisa Catterson

What sound does paper make? Rustle rustle? Shuffle shuffle? How about tictoc? "Tictoc" paper rings from Italy's Edoardo de Falchi.

Bonus link: if you're more the monochromatic type, UK jeweller Lisa Catterson has these rings featuring handmade paper.

Even more jewellery:

• Christophe Burger (France) - paper & metal
• Eina Ahluwalia (India) - intricate gold
• Mirjam Fränkle (Germany) - stark 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