The Carrotbox

The Carrotbox is obsessed with rings. Please enjoy your stay.

Alice Matsumoto · Vancouver, BC

While the shop is metal-free, the blog is not! Links are never repeated so there's always something new.

I post only what interests me. No ads, no paid promos.

AD-FREE SINCE 2003

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Please pardon any formatting issues in the archives (caused by changes to the template over the years).

Blog > September 2010

Thursday, September 30, 2010    
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Aaaaaaaand ACTION!  In her "Live Action" collection, Thai jeweller Jittrakarn Bunterngpiboon encourages participation with your ring, bringing you into its creation. The "Build ME" box (above), for instance, can be unfolded into numerous shapes.

Above: more of her interactive jewellery, including pieces from her "Play" collection.


Bonus link: Scotland's Hazel White is a designer and researcher who creates interactive jewellery (like this light ring) to study "the aesthetics, meaning and functionality that jewellery can bring to wearable technology."

Even more jewellery:

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Wednesday, September 29, 2010    
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So just what, exactly, is Ryan Thomas Peters offering?


Well, this "teething" ring, for one. For two, and three, and even four, visit the Rhode Island designer's site!


Bonus link:
Add to your collection of meta-statement rings with this "SOLD" piece from New York's Miansai (Michael Saiger), a jeweller who works with bullets, razors and wartime relics.

Even more jewellery:

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Tuesday, September 28, 2010    
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These decorative planters would look nice by the front entrance.


Of course, you'd have to be careful not to step on them. Shrunken vase rings in ceramic and silver by Spain's dterra (Roberta Ferreira, originally from Buenos Aires, and Jener Laura, a native Barcelonan).


Bonus link:
If you've got vases, you need flowers. Aline Kokinopoulos of France has lots of botanical silver pieces inspired by her garden (as well as miniature city rings).

Even more jewellery:

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Monday, September 27, 2010    
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Looks like this...


...was attacked by this.


But, not to worry — they're all part of one happy family created by Brazilian designer Fernando Akasaka (whose "Le blob" collection I also mentioned in passing last November).


Bonus link: for another spiky ring, check out this "SuperStud" created by Stephen Webster for Urth, a Beverly Hills jeweller that buys its gold directly from miners and reinvests profits back into the communities where the gold was mined.

Even more jewellery:

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Friday, September 24, 2010    
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"Personalized jewellery" doesn't have to mean monogrammed rings or a pendant stamped with your birthdate. UK designer Jess Jones offers a more subtle solution with her "Time" rings, a "jewellery system which allows the wearer to mark a significant piece of time." Enter your data (date, time, etc.) into a computer program and it uses the numbers to create a unique shape for your ring. Personalized but private.


Bonus link: here's a ring personalized with someone else's dates. The numbers in this Jimi Hendrix tribute ring represent his birth and death (40 years ago last week). Created for a client by Maine's Chaya Studio.

Even more jewellery:

Thursday, September 23, 2010    
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The cure for a chilly, drizzly day? Cozy colour. Rings in knit wool, silk and magnets by Amsterdam's Rivka Dieho.


Bonus link:
If you're yearning for something a bit more luxurious than regular wool, there's this piece lined with cashmere. Ring by Rhode Island's Maurie Polak.

Even more jewellery:

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Wednesday, September 22, 2010    
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Now that summer is officially over, it's time for rain, rain and rain. I should be sick of the wet stuff but I can't get enough of these "Plink!" rings by Italy's Luisa Bruni.

Of course, the plus-side of living in rainy Vancouver is that when it's dry, it looks a little like this.


Bonus link:
A clear sky wouldn't hurt right about now. Maybe I can appeal to the weather gods with these blue sky rings by Norwegian jeweller Lise Schønberg.

Even more jewellery:

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Tuesday, September 21, 2010    
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Dominique Thomas-Vansteenberghe has lots of jewellery for your fingers... but no rings. That is, you won't find any circular bands in her gallery. The Belgian jeweller revels in non-traditional shanks, from T-bars to vesica pisces to an unclosed, twisting line, all designed to adorn your fingers. Just no rings.


Bonus link: Denmark's Superstar in Fashion (Ann Lund Würtz) also has plenty of multi-finger rings, though hers do use the familiar bands of a typical ring.

Even more jewellery:

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Monday, September 20, 2010    
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I can't quite decipher Israeli artist Tamara Navama's "I Am Writing" series. With those tangled connections of copper wire, perhaps it's a commentary on email and modern communication. Or maybe it's just stylized chicken scratch. Either way, visit her site for more.


Bonus link:
There's no way you'd miss what this ring has to say. German artist Tom Schmelzer's ring is embossed with letters so sharp, they cause pain to the wearer. Visit his site to find out why.

Even more jewellery:

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Saturday, September 18, 2010    
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See what's new this week in the shop!

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Friday, September 17, 2010    
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Can you spot the rings? Taiwanese illustrator, animator and jeweller NizA Huang incorporated all three areas of her expertise in her "Hello Puppet" series. Visit her site to see the video and the jewellery pieces that make up her marionette.


Bonus link: when you're done assembling that puppet, you can start to work on one of Israeli jeweller Dafna Schwimmer Dagan's many puzzles, like this heart comprised of three separate rings.

Even more jewellery:

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Thursday, September 16, 2010    
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Variations on a theme: UK jeweller Olga Konopka plays with many iterations of gold dots on silver.


Meanwhile, Spain's Claudio Paniagua uses the same two metals to explore circles and spheres.


Bonus link: here's another ring with gold dots on silver — only this time, the dots are actually Braille. Designed by Hong Kong's Codigo Mio, a collaboration between jeweller Carol Carmen Xavier and product designer Gareth Joe.

Even more jewellery:

Wednesday, September 15, 2010    
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In the artist's own words:

"I am particularly interested in how entomology and lepidoptery collections are displayed in uniform alignment in cabinets and drawers. Drawing aesthetic inspiration from this, I create geometric structures that imitate the display cases that the insects are butterflies are held in."

That artist? Scotland's Allyson Gee.


Bonus link:
Looking for a more vegan-friendly butterfly ring? Germany's Anna Sue Lorenz has this version in silver. She has a whole series of square rings topped with various figures.

Even more jewellery:

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Tuesday, September 14, 2010    
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Have a seat and get cozy with Fanni Vékony.

The Hungarian jeweller also has a harder, industrial side, showcased in a series featuring fiber optic wire.


Bonus link: Washington State's Grain Design doesn't use fiber optic wire but reclaimed electrical wire. The sustainable design company is made up of Chelsea Green, Brit Kleinman, Sami Nerenberg and founder James Minola.

Even more jewellery:

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Monday, September 13, 2010    
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What's this?


Does this clue help?


How about now?


Combine all three "skull parts" rings and you get — surprise! — a skull. Rings by Japan's Aquvii.


Above, some girly skulls from London's Noemi Klein (top left), Los Angeles' Catherine Michiels (bottom left) and Japan's Bohem (right).


Bonus link:
For more skulls and jaws, including the "Pearl Story" series that mixes pearls with gold bones and diamond-studded skulls, see Florida's Luis Morais.

Even more jewellery:

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Friday, September 10, 2010    
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When it comes to making jewellery, London's Mahtab Hanna has the Midas touch. Visit her site for a gallery of amazing sculptural work.


Bonus link:
Perhaps if Midas had owned this ring, he would've avoided his curse. This "Alchemist's Wedding Band" by Texas metalsmith Ana M. Lopez depicts the fabled practice of turning lead into gold.

Even more jewellery:

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Thursday, September 9, 2010    
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Are you ok with white after Labour Day? I sure am, especially when it comes to this ring in recycled styrofoam by Chinese jeweller Bai Yang Qiu. She has lots of jewellery made from recycled material, like the "$¢ent" necklace of perfume samples!


Ok, what if it's white as in Henriette White? The South African jeweller, who now resides in Holland, made these bright rings using perspex and aluminum.


Bonus link:
There are no archaic rules about black or blue after Labour Day, so I can safely present the UK's Blue Barkes and her slate rings with inlaid silver and sapphires.

Even more jewellery:

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Wednesday, September 8, 2010    
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For little kiddies, back-to-school means fresh crayons — something Rowena Murray probably used to draw the images that now adorn her jewellery. The UK artist used her own childhood drawings as patterns on her rings, encasing the figures in Perspex or engraving and enamelling them onto the surface.

Above: another callback to her childhood, this ring was inspired by her "fascination with the lifecycle of frogs and the experience of holding them in the palm of your hand."


Bonus link:
If your only interest in frogs is their potential princeship, this is the piece for you. Ring with lips and frog by Italian goldsmith Stefano Pedonesi.

Even more jewellery:

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Tuesday, September 7, 2010    
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It's the first day of school.


Time to venture out into a new world!


"They grow up so fast, don't they, Mildred?"

Rings above by Slovakian jeweller Hany Kašičková.


Bonus link: if you're past school age and it's just another day at the office, you may want to check out the fashionable and functional pushpin rings from Dutch designer Sjoerd Vroonland. (At the very least, see his collection of chairs!)

Even more jewellery:

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Monday, September 6, 2010    
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Yes, these are rings.



You just have to have the right perspective.


Argentina's ISKIN has many collections of simple, modern jewellery (including all the ones above), with pops of colour in acrylic and leather.


Bonus link:
Here's another simple U-ring with a strong emphasis on line. Silver ring by Dutch metalsmith Dick Monshouwer, who now resides in Norway.

Even more jewellery:

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Saturday, September 4, 2010    
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See what's new this week in the shop!

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Friday, September 3, 2010    
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Even "artificial" plastics originate from molecules found in nature. In "Natura e Artificio," Italy's Massimo Ottavio Pavan (aka MOP) aims to return some of that plastic to nature (in form, at least) with these blooming rings made from Corian. As the flower grows, so does the proportion of plastic in relation to the silver.

Above, simpler pieces, also in Corian, from his "Collection ONE."


Bonus link:
We go from Corian to Korean with the "Droppings" ring from Seoul's Jung Eeeun, who was inspired "by the way that wax melts from a lit candle."

Even more jewellery:

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Thursday, September 2, 2010    
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If you like your wood IKEA style — that is, good ol' M(edium) D(ensity) F(ibreboard) — Juan Pablo Rodriguez is your man. The Barcelona-based Colombian architect/woodworker made these rings with MDF and enamel.


Bonus link:
This sleek ring by Peruvian jeweller Gonzalo Palma reminds me of an IKEA bench (but it's made of metal and not MDF, so it's perfectly safe for outdoors).

Even more jewellery:

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Wednesday, September 1, 2010    
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How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? I have no idea, but I do know someone who could and would etch wood: South Africa's Genevieve Motley. Get back to nature with her wooden rings in bird and botanical motifs.


Bonus link:
California's Knotty by Nature (Erin Bordenave) also does wood rings. Her "chaotic" rings are painted, then deliberately made to look weathered.

Even more jewellery:

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