January 2009

Friday, January 30, 2009

"Another world... another time... in the age of wonder..." Ok, I'm not really a fan of fantasy and that's about all I remember from The Crystal Method's sampling on their 1997 album, so I'm afraid I can't quote the rest of the narration from Jim Henson's The Dark Crystal. But you get the gist. These wood and pyrite rings by Dutch artist Paul Beelen have exactly the kind of organic, other-worldly, faerie/elvish vibe that I'd associate with pointy- eared puppets and magical minerals. Below, some more of Beelen's rings in silver and... well, dark crystals:

Bonus link:
For gorgeous modern jewellery featuring pale coloured crystals and organic silver, check out Norway's Bjørg Jewellery.

Even more jewellery:

Andreas Estevan Schreyer (Germany) - crystal & metal
Jill Platner (New York) - organic silver
Brett Manley (UK) - glass bubbles
Doeck & Zo (Netherlands) - beads & bells
Bijoux Manoel (France) - flowers & fairies

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Thursday, January 29, 2009

Korean sculptor Hongsock Lee is a master of geometric form. Pictured above are his "tubing" rings but, blog-theme be damned, I must — must! — post a sample of his non-rings, as well. They're just too gorgeous to be ignored. So, below, his "starlight" pendants:

And now, some more of his rings, just in case the ring gods are watching me and taking notes:

Bonus link:
Speaking of tubes, here's a silver ring topped with a cluster of them. From Uruguay-native Laura Berrutti, now based in Portland, Oregon.

Even more jewellery:

Marisa Arna (UK) - silver & porcelain
Margherita Marchioni (Italy) - pencil crayons
Julie Jerman-Melka) (Fort Collins, CO) - rocks & leaves
Edelyn (Netherlands) - pearls & gems
Michelle Miller (Guelph, ON) - beads & wire

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Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Allow me to indulge in black for just one more day so we can lose ourselves in the collection of Switzerland's Maja Fruithof. Her jewellery is so luxurious, even the striking photography can't upstage it. Pictured are rings in iron, white gold and diamonds (plus green beryl).

Bonus link:
Here's another bold, Swiss-made ring with a green accent — peridot ring by Zurich's Beat Schwengeler, also of Tana Design.

Even more jewellery:

Sarina Suriano (London) - ornate & glamorous
Sugar (Newport, RI) - pretty gems
Ellen Jantzen (California) - animal eyes
S!LK (Netherlands) - silver bracelets
Constanza Parot (Chile) - desert style

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Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Here's a little black spillover from yesterday — but don't worry, it's clean. And pretty! Oxidized silver rings by Costa Rican jeweller Jimena Bolaños, also known as one half of design duo Arrozconmango (alongside Elider Elizondo). Below, her lighter, brighter side:

Bonus link:
Here's another knit ring; this one's by Argentina's Silvina Romero, whose wild and crazy textile creations are a must-see!

Even more jewellery:

I Love Broken (Argentina) - playful pendants
Malababa (Spain) - bold & chunky
Martyn Milligan (New Zealand) - botanical metal
Kathryn Cole (Colorado) - hearts & flowers
Bish Bosh Becca (UK) - beads & charms

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Monday, January 26, 2009

Not all Black Mondays are bad. For this one, we can thank Portuguese artist Manuel Vilhena and his industrial rings in iron and ebony (with touches of amber).

Bonus link: for more black, see London's Jacqueline Cullen, who works with Whitby jet (famously used in Victorian mourning jewellery). This piece is studded with Swarovski crystals.

Even more jewellery:

Lucy Easton (UK) - modern & geometric
Brooke Battles (Oakland, CA) - dark silver
Namu Cho (Baltimore) - Damascus steel
Swish Wish (Puerto Rico) - chains & pendants
Teresa Dantas (Portugal) - art brooches

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Friday, January 23, 2009

She may not be reinventing the wheel, but she's reinventing something almost as old: the pyramid. Visit Massachusetts-based Cristina Pabon-Hurley to see her exploration of four-sided figures.

Above, another fresh spin on the pyramid shape, this time from Israel's Maya Geller. Also pictured are samples from her other collections, including some cool heart-and-arrows.

Bonus link:
Some smooth pyramid rings from New York's Lauren Wimmer (US$150 for silver or $165 for gold-plate).

Even more jewellery:

Azza Fahmy (Egypt) - gems & filigree
Kate Jones (Jamaica Plain, MA) - studded metal
Lisa Hamilton (UK) - leaves & starbursts

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Thursday, January 22, 2009

It came... from the sea! And then evolved legs... and walked on land! Portugal's Liliana Maia arranges miniature plantlife with four- (and two-) legged creatures, encapsulating them in clear acrylic. The result is like seeing a pastoral picturebook sprung into 3D. More of her work below:

Bonus link:
Here's another four-legged ring — bronze beaver with black diamond eyes from Houston's Pocket & Spark (Claire Webb).

Even more jewellery:

Zella Lincoln (Brooklyn) - charm necklaces
Christoph Flück (Switzerland) - clean & modern
Carol Mather (UK) - animal sculptures

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Wednesday, January 21, 2009

It came... from the sea! Some modern metalwork inspired by the salty air: squid fossil rings (top) by Philadelphia's Janine DeCresenzo and copper barnacle rings by Rhode Island's Islay Taylor.

Bonus link:
Fishtail and wave bands by Barcelona-based Scottish jeweller Manuela Lyle.

Even more jewellery:

Rosamunda (Italy) - nautical necklaces
Anna Heino (Finland) - modern metal
Valerie Gates (Massachusetts) - sea glass

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Tuesday, January 20, 2009

While my red, white and blue neighbours to the south are focussed on their new president today, I'm focussed on these red, silver and blue rings by Argentina's Valeria Salum. Another shot of her work below:

Bonus link:
More red, white and blue from her neighbour to the west, Chile's Carla Cortes.

Even more jewellery:

Lana Jewelry (Chicago) - shiny & modern
Joana Simões (Portugal) - silver & wood
Torsten Trautvetter (Germany) - organic gold

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Monday, January 19, 2009

How many skulls? If you said "zero," congratulations, anatomy nerd. A skull without a mandible isn't a skull but a cranium, so what we have here are enamelled silver cranium rings from Japanese accessories designer Eiji Furuya of Garni. (See also his Garni Diner in Ebisu, which just launched last month.) Below are more of his so-called-skulls in colourful acrylic:

Bonus link:
Another Japanese brand with a large selection of (full) skull rings (and skeleton rings) is Magical Design; pictured is the "flaming monk" skull.

Even more jewellery:

Zahavah (Texas) - modern classics
Cresta Glass Ceramics (UK) - simple ceramic
Noortje Barendswaard (Netherlands) - rubber necklaces

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Friday, January 16, 2009

Fluffy white peaks — the perfect topping for both lemon meringue pie and matte silver rings by Germany's Klaus Grosse. Also pictured [L-R] are his "dot," "saddle" and "tongue" rings.

Above [clockwise from top]: more modern, matte silver from London's Adele Brereton, Switzerland's Objekt73 (Barbara Gerber) and Chicago's Susan Elizabeth.

Bonus link: if you like long rings like the saddle ring above, check out Germany's Christina Weskott, who makes pieces designed to cover the knuckle.

Even more jewellery:

Maria Francesca Pepe (UK) - cool & modern
Nancy Dobbs Owen (Los Angeles) - dark gems
Miss Isis (Italy) - long chains

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Thursday, January 15, 2009

They say you can't fit a square peg in a round hole... but what about a hexagon matrix in a curved pod? I like the contrast of sharp corners and smooth arches in these gold-plated rings by London's Scott Andrew Millar — particularly the cups (bottom left), which look like they'd spring open if you squeezed the edges (nevermind that they're made of silver).

Above: these kinetic platinum rings by Germany's Tom Rucker also feature straight lines confined within a curved surface area. The spheres are part of his "GEO.2" series.

Bonus link: go from hexagons to octagons with this stainless steel "dice" ring by Nomination, an Italian jeweller known for their charms (as in bracelets, not personality, though I'm sure they're quite nice).

Even more jewellery:

Origami Bijou (San Francisco) - folded shapes
Brittany Foster (Minnesota) - cutout silver
Christina Hirst (Scotland) - pmc pods

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Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Had the Little Match Girl lived on to win a scholarship and attend design school in Barcelona, her portfolio might've gone something like this. In reality, it's the work of Spanish artist Marta Miguel Martínez-Soria, who lit 35 matches for her 35th birthday and bundled them into a ring. Below, more samples of her work, featuring an eclectic mix of materials.

Bonus link:
Speaking of matches, here's a coiled silver matchstick ring by New Zealand's David Mcleod; view the collection here.

Even more jewellery:

Mia Straka (New Zealand) - modern metal
Kathleen Holland (UK) - wings & feathers
Ana Belchí (Spain) - polymer clay

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Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Berlin's Susanne Matsché knows it's what's on the inside that counts. Hiding beneath her clean, neat exteriors is the jewellery equivalent of frilly lingerie.

Till Baacke is another German jeweller whose rings lead a rich interior life. Shown above are bands from the "chaudfroid" collection; more of his work below:

Bonus link:
Here's another clean exterior with a hidden surprise — a whole other ring, in this case! By Swiss jeweller Hélène Kaufmann Wiss.

Even more jewellery:

Anna Gordon (Scotland) - modern & minimal
Jim Dailing (Portland, OR) - twotone bands
Bron (Netherlands) - gold & gems

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Monday, January 12, 2009

Did somebody order pizza?

What I at first assumed to be recycled bike reflectors is actually coloured acrylic on top of textured silver. This simple but surprisingly novel technique puts a stamp on these rings all her own — "her" being Argentina's Julia De la Rosa. The jeweller also uses smooth silver in interesting shapes, as in some of the pieces above. It's colour therapy for a winter Monday.

Bonus link:
Get more textured colour, this time in the form of dyed salmon skin, from Chile's PaSo (Paula Sotomayor Bulnes).

Even more jewellery:

House of Baulch (Australia) - bold lucite
MIKA (Belgium) - textured silver
Joanne Tinker (UK) - recycled materials

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Friday, January 9, 2009

We're finally beginning to thaw out from under the aftermath of record snowfalls (plural) here, so I'm thinking warm, fuzzy, cozy thoughts — in ring form, of course. Pictured above are felted wool rings with coral beads by Dutch artist Janine Berben.

Bonus link:
It doesn't get any warmer or woollier than this ring that envelops the whole finger by Dutch artist Maike Thönissen.

Even more jewellery:

Stefanie Kruger (Australia) - playful pendants
Prana (Argentina) - coral & gauze
Palleiko Designs (California) - felt & silver

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Thursday, January 8, 2009

I love transparent things. (I'd live in a solid glass house if I could, though I'd have to give up my beloved stone-throwing hobby.) That's why I'm crazy for these rings by Austria's Sabine Aichhorn, who's done with acrylic what I've long wished I could do with glass — embed photographic film! What a great way to add transparent design and colour. More samples below; visit Filmschmuck to see them all (including filmstrip bracelets).

Bonus link:
If you prefer your film developed, you may like these gorgeous photo rings printed on ceramic by Finland's Nikolai Balabin.

Even more jewellery:

Erin May Jewelry (Atlanta) - personalized photos
Mandy Nash (UK) - anodized aluminum
Constanze & Ronald Frese (Germany) - modern classics

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Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Aaaaaand, we're back. Happy 2009, everyone! I'm back to the blog, ready to toil as hard as these ants by British artist Frances Wadsworth-Jones. Visit her site for more ant rings (in her "workers" collection) as well as other entomological pieces.

Bonus link: another London jeweller dabbling in insects is Alice Jewellery Laboratory, with this gold beetle and quartz ring.