September 2007

Friday, September 28, 2007

Italy's Giorgio Cecchetto studies geometrical abstraction, volume and surface, creating jewellery that is seriously gorgeous.

But his work isn't all serious.

Bonus link: for more gold but less volume and surface, turn to Lana Fertelmeister; this "Fiamma" ring with diamonds is US$667.

Even more jewellery:

Jane Moore (UK) - bright & cheery
Virginia Stevens (Cranston, RI) - silver circles
Tawny Phillips (London) - modern silver
Angela Gotborn (Sweden) - colour & gold
Zielony Kot (Poland) - costume jewellery

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Thursday, September 27, 2007

If beetles and orchids could mate, I think they'd produce something like these giant rings by Swedish jeweller Anna-Stina Åberg. Her distinctive shapes would still look nice scaled down but I like that she goes for the bold statement!

Bonus link: Switzerland's André Schweiger is another whose portfolio displays an insect influence; pictured here is one of his scarab rings.

Even more jewellery:

Kayo Saito (UK) - light & delicate
Alisa Miller (Chicago) - bubble clusters
Vita Life (Italy) - deluxe cuffs
Toby and Max (Oregon) - stamped silver
Delisch (Santa Cruz, CA) - pearl clusters

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Wednesday, September 26, 2007

One look at these rings and I start smelling campfire (which means I start craving roasted marshmallows). Considering the forcefully natural element of her designs, it's no surprise that Munich's Mari Ishikawa originally hails from scenic Kyoto.

Bonus link: if you prefer your twigs to be more polished, New York's Rebecka Froberg has a "polished twig" ring (really), US$224 for white or yellow gold.

Even more jewellery:

Justin Duance (UK) - chunky wood
Grap (Japan) - charming silver
Jacek Jendrych (Poland) - modern silversmithing
Susan Kinzig (San Francisco) - graphic inlays
Kuoting (New York) - beads & filigree

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Tuesday, September 25, 2007

This isn't just your usual caged enamel bee-on-branch silver and copper chain ring. It's a caged enamel bee-on-branch silver and copper chain ring that's a removable portion of a mixed media wall-mounted sculpture. So if you already have a few caged bee rings and you're trying to justify adding another to your collection, there you go. "The Good Bee" is by Seattle's Jennifer Stenhouse.

Bonus link: for a more wearable chain ring, check out the wrapped stone "Raj Ropes" ring by Nashville's Judith Bright (US$58).

Even more jewellery:

Claire Troughton (UK) - silver leaves
Melissa Muszynski (San Francisco) - colourful & geometric
Kenda Kist (Raleigh, NC) - silver and briolettes
Jocelyn Broyles (Carmel, CA) - simple & modern
Anneli Aaltonen (Finland) - metalsmith

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Monday, September 24, 2007

What a difference a day makes. Yesterday, I had mushrooms on the mind thanks to The Omnivore's Dilemma. Today, I have mushrooms on the mind thanks to Swedish jeweller Elin Ryd. (Gosh, what ever will tomorrow bring?) These marvelous creations are made of silver, she explains, "and colour." Yes.

Bonus link: this ring reminds me of a food I don't eat: hotdogs (it's still cute, though). By New Jersey's Ayala Jewelry, US$120.

Even more jewellery:

Rose Haylland (Paris) - veggies & flowers
April Higashi (Berkeley, CA) - enamel jewellery
Suzanne Potter (UK) - botanical silver
Laura Beth Love (Whitehall, PA) - broken china
Sharyn Wolf (New York) - tribal beads

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Friday, September 21, 2007

Wheeeee! I am head over heels for these playful yet refined pieces by Lisa Vershbow, a jeweller based in Washington, DC but currently residing in South Korea (her husband is the US ambassador). I cheated a bit — that second item is a bracelet, not a ring — but it could be a ring for a Brobdingnagian, and it's a great representation of her style.

Bonus link: caged ball ring by Hungarian metalsmith Zsuzsi Wolf, also based in the DC area (Alexandra, VA, to be precise).

Even more jewellery:

Adele Kime (UK) - fab-u-lous fibers
Marion Barclay (Scotland) - anodized aluminum
Shelley Michal (New York) - beads & stones
Maier and Beck (Germany) - matte gold
Hayjac Designs (Pleasanton, CA) - personalized charms

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Thursday, September 20, 2007

I like to think that a bunch of unemployed atoms spontaneously combined to form these molecular rings. Truth is, they were designed by Italy's Rosario Merola, now based in New York. His "flower rings" are stainless steel with onyx and jade (left, US$105) or onyx and pearls (right, US$110).

Bonus link: for more steel works — or, rather, Steelwerks — turn to Montreal's Chris Myers (he also "werks" with titanium).

Even more jewellery:

Made with Molecules (San Francisco) - actual molecules
Luzzious (London) - domes & arches
Swear Jar Design (Boulder, CO) - cute resin
Carol-lynn Swol (Bloomington, IN) - folded tyvek
Sarah Hutchison (UK) - metal florals

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Wednesday, September 19, 2007

I love the balance of tough and delicate in these rings from Brooklyn's AESA Jewelry. The shapes are also interesting: organic yet vaguely pixellated. But really, they had me at "chain shank."

Bonus link: UK jeweller Tracy de Chevron Villette has a gorgeous collection which includes this delicate hollow hydrangea petal ring with diamonds (£160 or $316).

Even more jewellery:

Tina Thor (New York) - bold quartz & metal
Frank Tjepkema (Amsterdam) - art jewellery
Alena Asenbryl (UK) - acrylic clusters
Katie Yankula (Seattle) - silversmith
Rutigliano Design (Lyme, CT) - circles & sprouts

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Tuesday, September 18, 2007

This ring absolutely grosses me out — and I love it! Japanese artist Masako Onodera uses rubber, metal, glass, wool, plastic and pearls to create jewellery and sculptures that are, in her own words, "grotesque and peculiar but oddly appealing." Pictured is her rubber and wool "eruption" (eww) ring.

Bonus link: psyuxe, also of Japan, follows a more "cute and dainty" aesthetic as in this ring from their "crown" collection (¥8,400).

Even more jewellery:

Michele White (UK) - ginkgo shapes
Gloria Askin (Baltimore) - polymerclay flowers
Mountain Mountain (Japan) - schools & flocks
Rebecca Mooney (Brooklyn) - pearls & quartz
Toby Jones (Australia) - everyday objects

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Monday, September 17, 2007

These rings are so great, I can't stand it! They just make me want to do this for hours and hours! The UK's Karen-Ann Dicken, who comes from a family of architects, uses the principles of triangulation to create strong, geodesic structures that are scaled down to jewellery size. Her pieces are amazing and the photos simply must be seen in enlarged format, so go visit her website!

Bonus link: Dutch jewellers Linda Hoogenboom and Harry Brookhuis also have an architectural style, albeit more Guggenheim Bilbao than Buckminster Fuller.

Even more jewellery:

Rust Belt (San Francisco) - reclaimed chains
Archive Jewelry (Los Angeles) - graphic charms
Gaby Wandscher (Germany) - porcelain pendants
Niki Kavakonis (Toronto) - architectural silver
Alan Ardiff (Ireland) - animated & playful

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Friday, September 14, 2007

Time for some more random pluckings from my bookmarks:

Robert Nazimek (Poland)

Catarina Hällzon (Sweden)

Joanna Gollberg (Asheville, NC)

MFJ Designs (Toronto)

Irina Fiszelew (Argentina)

Elaine Cox (UK)

Goldfingers (Denmark)

Even more jewellery:

Kate Wimbush (UK) - acrylic weather
The Black Spot Books (Philadelphia) - vintage illustrations
Allyson Smith (New York) - gold & gemstones
Jayne Redman (Cumberland, ME) - multi-tone metalwork
Mimeru (Japan) - rabbits & deer

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Thursday, September 13, 2007

I've just discovered that I can be completely excited (oooh!) and utterly soothed (aaaah) at the same time. That's what happens when I look at these pieces by Poland's Olaf Szukałowicz. Muted tones of wood and resin combine to lovely effect! See the rest of his collection on his site, Kwiat Paproci.

Bonus link: Ontario's Britt Olauson makes all sorts of things with wood, including this ring with a sparkling stud.

Even more jewellery:

Mayumi Matsuyama (Japan) - modern & geometric
Christine Warren (UK) - silver circles
JL Walsh (Bozeman, MT) - chunky chains
Belinda Newick (Australia) - pillowy pebbles
Romeo & Jewels (Los Angeles) - crystal pendants

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Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Bold, graphic prints and irregular angles keep these flowers fresh and not too sweet. Germany's Miriam Arentz puts ovals, quadrilaterals, enamel and etching to good use in her collection of tropically-patterned rings.

Bonus link: another not-too-sweet flower ring is this rustic sterling piece by Basak Ozuygur, an Istanbul native currently residing in NYC.

Even more jewellery:

Circa Sixty Three (Washington, DC) - loud lucite
Vanessa Ward (Scotland) - metal & fibers
Marie Asbjørnsen (Norway) - recycled trash
Jaclyn Mayer (New York) - classic & modern
Henrietta Fernandez (UK) - lasercut botanicals

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Tuesday, September 11, 2007

I can live with not being able to wear metal rings but if I couldn't wear metalloids, it'd be over. Metalloids include silicon — an element which, in its various forms, is found in glass, ceramic, plastic and this silicone rubber loop ring by Scotland's Sinead Buckney (£28). So let's hear it for the second most common element on earth! (Number one most common, oxygen, you're not so bad yourself.)

Bonus link: these tactile rubber bands (rubber and silver, to be exact) are by San Francisco silversmith Jessica Davies.

Even more jewellery:

IXO (UK) - organic metal
Michaela Kirchner (Germany) - statement necklaces
Isabel Jewelry (Wyoming) - hammered silver
Dana & David (New Jersey) - gold & diamonds
Anna Whitmore (Sonoma, CA) - silver & beads

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Monday, September 10, 2007

If you live within a 720 mile radius of Vancouver, BC, you may have heard me squealing over these sublime pieces by Japanese jeweller Akiko Kurihara — in particular, those glass and resin wonders that seem to glow with fire (top left). Also pictured, clockwise from top right, are her "transmission" (silver & acrylic), "grain" (glass & gold) and "asago" (polypropylene & silver leaf) rings.

Bonus link: all that squealing has left me tired and hungry. What's not helping? This parfait ring by Chicago's Angela Biagi.

Even more jewellery:

Jules Smith (St. Thomas, VI) - modern metal
Toby Graham (Portland, OR) - jasper landscapes
Carolyn Bensinger (Cambridge, MA) - brushed metal
Gilly Langton (UK) - simple geometry
Deity Jewels (Los Angeles) - semiprecious beads

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Friday, September 7, 2007

Every time I started to write about Mette Saabye, I'd end up putting it off until "next time." I finally figured it's not about my words, anyway — it's about her rings and certain... let's say... "strategically-placed" diamonds. Ahem. The Danish jeweller likes to mix fine gold and playful fantasy as in this "High Tea Pug Dog" ring from her "Childhood Treasures" collection.

Bonus link: this ring by Japan's Moto Nakaba focuses on the other end of the dog. See the gallery for a series of decidedly un-dogly creatures.

Even more jewellery:

Crunchy Jewels (Brooklyn) - chain necklaces
Jenny Deans (Scotland) - modern silver
Ikuyo Tsunoda (Seattle) - modern & minimal
Leila Batten (London) - folded paper
Iggy & Lou Lou (Australia) - ceramic charms

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Thursday, September 6, 2007

Like all cocoons, this "cocoon" ring terrifies me. What's it made of? Is there something inside? Are those airholes? Eep. I just have to picture it scaled down to human hand-size to see it for what it really is: a gorgeous ring by Vancouver's Barbara Cohen.

You know what else terrifies me? Red starbursts. No, not really. Above: "Estrella" ring by Colombia's Lina Hernandez.

Bonus link: Australian jeweller Shauna Mayben Swanson shows us another great example of disctinctive simplicity with this twisted ring.

Even more jewellery:

Stellanova Jewelry (San Francisco) - naturalist curios
Leoworks (Brooklyn) - boldly delicate
Purple Pomegranate (UK) - vintage buttons
Diane Allison (Australia) - pills & pearls
Kacey K (New York) - matte gold

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Wednesday, September 5, 2007

These acrylic "comma" rings by Scotland's Laurie Gemma Baird would be the perfect back-to-school gift for that friend who gets riled up over egregiously bad grammar. (That would include me — anyone need my mailing address?) I don't go around correcting people, of course, so I have years of comma splices bottled up inside. I'm pretty sure that if one more website tells me, "You are not logged in, log in now," I will log a fork into my eye. Hmm... I wonder if she does a two-finger semicolon version.

Bonus link: got your commas down pat? Great. You can graduate to these Latin phrase rings by Finland's Anna-Leena Haaramäki.

Even more jewellery:

Alice Whish (Australia) - metal petals
The Pinkhare (Raleigh, NC) - colourful tin
Elizabeth Eric (New York) - semiprecious stones
Suzanne Crudden (Toronto) - coffee beans
Christina Goodman (Alameda, CA) - wearable paintings

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Tuesday, September 4, 2007

I'm often most impressed by those who do a lot with very little. Case in point: these brushed gold rings by Denmark's Anne Manna are a perfect example of how you can be minimal and distinctive simultaneously.

Some more from Anne Manna (above).

Germany's Erik Urbschat is another purveyor of pleasingly simple design.

Bonus link: an interview with Australia's Danyka van Buuren, in which she discusses this cool plastic ring derived from a typographic font.

Even more jewellery:

Angela Spencer (Brooklyn) - crochet earrings
Eva Bragsjö (Sweden) - chunky silver
Zsiska (Netherlands) - chunky resin
Aprosio & Co (Italy) - gorgeous beadwork
Nancy Yeaw (Philadelphia) - birds on silver

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Saturday, September 1, 2007

Oh my god... does your calendar say "September," too??

A quickie for the long weekend: love these hollow glass works by Denmark's Carolina Vallejo (you have to wait for the homepage image to refresh itself).