The Carrotbox

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

Alice M  ·  Vancouver, BC

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

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Blog > August 2007

Friday, August 31, 2007

Faruk Akin is a designer. In between designing catalogues, logos, furniture, glass vessels, housewares, cookware and clothing, he's come up with over eighty (eight-zero!) collections of silver and gold jewellery, all in a style befitting someone whose background is more in graphic design than jewellery design. Featured here is but a small sampling — don't miss the rest of this Turkish creator's portfolio! (I think the gold pieces are especially good.)


Bonus link: UK jeweller Abby Filer also has a graphic style, though more mod and colourful; I especially love her new rainbow tubes. These "ring pulls" are £70.

Even more jewellery:

Thursday, August 30, 2007

Ooh, I love a good, graphic punch in the eye, and this ring delivers! It's great to see familiar ideas refreshed; I've seen wood & silver rings, I've seen ruler rings and I've seen rings inlaid with vintage materials — but not all at once like this. By Sarah Stanton and Jay Kukor of Michigan's Sarah Stanton Designs.


Bonus link: Briton Maria Morris makes colourful jewellery from recycled printed-steel packaging; the piece pictured here is £53.

Even more jewellery:

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

As someone who cannot stand drinking water that's less than halfway crystalizing into ice, I have a great appreciation for these pieces by Vera Horsman of Vancouver's Solid Jewellery Design. Although, if they're not freezing to the touch, I'll be very disappointed.


Bonus link: this folding ruler ring (sterling silver, CAD$195) is by Judi Patson of Even Design, another Vancouver jeweller.

Even more jewellery:

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Do you have a secret Slinky stash? Is Coil your favourite band? Do you wish all staircases were spiral? Then I may have found your kindred spirit in Prague native Daniela Dobesova.


Bonus link: Austria's Sylvia Goldberger also makes spiral rings, though her rearrangeable "mobile" rings are the highlight of her collection.

Even more jewellery:

Monday, August 27, 2007

The plastic art of Peter Chang: they say seeing is believing but I've been looking at these rings for days and I still don't believe it. The amazing works of this UK artist are currently on display at the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool, England. Go see it (and believe) if you can!


Bonus link: on the other end of the "realism" spectrum is this ring by Brooklyn's Camille Hempel, cast to look like a real finger (US$110). I also love her pillow rings!

Even more jewellery:

Friday, August 24, 2007

Either I need a faster way to get through my queue of rings or people need to quit being so creative! Hmm. Let's go with the former. Here are some random pluckings from my bookmarks:

Top: B. Stimpfl-Abele (Austria)
Bottom: Sim Luttin (Australia)


Top: Lisa Ordina (Exton, PA)
Bottom: Marie-Lise Gasser (Switzerland)


Top: Judith Hoefel (Germany)
Bottom: Susan May (UK)


Top: Patricia von Musulin (New York)
Bottom: Kaja Gjedebo (Norway)


Top: Mimi So (New York)
Bottom: Hablando en Plata (Mexico)


Even more jewellery:

Thursday, August 23, 2007

Oh, hey! Remember pentagons? Germany's Babette von Dohnanyi does! With all those circles and squares and cubes and tubes out there, these five-sided rings are surprisingly novel.


Bonus link: so you still want circles? Fine. You'll find oodles at New Jersey's 309 Designs; this multi-spot ring is just one of many styles.

Even more jewellery:

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Denmark's Gitte Helle gives us a taste of what it would be like if IKEA were to sell jewellery. That taste, it turns out, is sweeter than a meatball covered in lingonberry jam. This cute, colourful piece was made from product parts purchased at that blue and yellow box of wonders.


Bonus link: IKEA may not be in the business yet but Brooklyn's Rosma Gutierrez is one furniture designer who does make rings — this one uses vinyl flooring.

Even more jewellery:

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

These rings are absolutely perfect. I could stare at the balance and proportion all day long — especially the one on the bottom left, which I've come to know affectionately as "bottom leftie." Imagine them on a grand scale, like giant sculptures! As I said: perfect. This moment of zen brought to you by Swiss jeweller Valentine DuBois.


Bonus link: perhaps the opposite of those boxy rings is this "bobble ring" by England's Tina Engell. The balls move around on the chunky band!

Even more jewellery:

Monday, August 20, 2007

If you've ever taken a peek at my personal ring collection, you may have noticed a page dedicated to a gentleman by the name of Robert Dodd. He handcrafts rings out of antique celluloid and has been doing so for an incredible 70 years. Thanks to his sons Jerry and Pete for introducing me to their father's work! Several people have asked me where they can purchase his rings. Well, great news: I now have a few of Robert Dodd's pieces in my shop. It's a great gallery, even if you're just browsing, so check it out! (I took the photo above, so all those pieces are available.)


Bonus link: this repeating oval ring from Hollywood's Dara Waxman is simple but pleasing (sterling silver, US$125).

Even more jewellery:

Friday, August 17, 2007

Elena R. Gaspá and Elvirá H. Mateu owe me a massage. The Spanish duo produces so much amazing work that I spent a good portion of the evening stressing over which pieces to feature here. Good thing I limit myself to rings! Visit Rara Avis Nidus to feast on their bounty of organic metalwork.


Bonus link: Belgian Hilde Van Belleghem is such a minimalist that this "solitaire?" ring (punctuation makes all the difference) doesn't even have a stone.

Even more jewellery:

Thursday, August 16, 2007

Pixelated perforations galore! Hogging the world's supply of corners — but for a good cause — is Barcelona's Nerea Aixàs. How obsessed is this sculptor/jeweller? She's even managed to put corners on her circles.


Bonus link: for a 180° from those stark, jagged metals, turn to the colourful, rounded resin pieces of Argentina's solrojo.

Even more jewellery:

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

These fun, stackable "add up!" slices are brought to you by Germany's Kleinod (but raise your hand if you thought it was Brooklyn-based AlissiaMT). You can purchase rings individually for about €35-40 each or get three for €99.


Bonus link: a bubbly burst of lemon yellow from Chilean jeweller Odette Alfaro, who currently resides here in Vancouver.

Even more jewellery:

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Bears and bulls and people in over their heads? It's almost as though Emma Franklin were inspired by the stock market! (Yeah, probably not.) Visit her site to see more animal heads from this UK jeweller.


Bonus link: Cuban-born Lazaro Diaz also does animal rings, like snake coils for women and this men's fox-head band.

Even more jewellery:

Monday, August 13, 2007

I can't quite get a reading on Jenna Wainwright — somewhat ironic, as she designs for Barometer of New York. Her "jeux-elry" (as she brilliantly calls it) is splashes of '80s and contemporary, urban and folk, metal and, as you can see, plastic lettuce leaves. Pictured above: rabbit ring, silver and plastic toy, US$110.


Bonus link: plastic orange bubble rings by Ohio's Corey Ackelmire — but what you really want to see is her MFA thesis work on toothbrushes and razors.

Even more jewellery:

Friday, August 10, 2007

I wish I could say these rings were made by a professional bounty hunter who crafts Icelandic wool in his spare time. But no, they were made by Quisquilia & Pinzillacchera, a pair of doll- and puppet-makers from Florence, Italy. See? Sometimes, the world does make sense.


Bonus link: more rings made from cup handles! These melanine pieces are from Denmark, by Karen Fly of Särform.

Even more jewellery:

Thursday, August 9, 2007

When I look at Ashley Maury's silver "cocktail rings," I imagine an artist working in Oregon's thriving art scene, creating rings reminiscent of constellations in a dark Alaskan night sky, shaping metal into forms as fluid as the ribbon of a rhythmic gymnast. By complete coincidence, Ashley lives in Portland, has a gallery in Alaska and enjoys competitive gymnastics.

Bonus link: the shop is Japanese but the colourful felt pyramid rings are by NUTS of Germany (¥1,600 or ~US$13 each).

Even more jewellery:

Wednesday, August 8, 2007

I see a lot of jewellers combine silver and enamel in organic shapes but Germany's Sabine Müller is different — because these juicy colours are acrylic, not enamel! The combination of acrylic and metal so often results in jewellery that's sleek and geometric that these botanical creations are, to me, truly fresh.


Bonus link: more in keeping with the usual "acrylic + metal" look (never a bad thing) are these rings from British designer Anne Schilk, £120 each.

And here's one more from the sleek stylings of Australia's Smug Designs, AUD$155.

Even more jewellery:

Tuesday, August 7, 2007


Her other set of rings are topped with glossy black ponytails so, yes, she has heard of leave-in conditioner. Above: strangely appealing tangled tresses by Texas-based Masumi Kataoka.

Another member of the International Society for Dangling Bundles of Hair in the Palm is Australia's Simone Walsh.


Bonus link: this paper heart ring is one of many orgiami works by Yuri and Katrin Shumakov, the married Canadian psychology Ph.D.s behind Oriland.

Even more jewellery:

Monday, August 6, 2007

So this is what a religious experience feels like. Are they all so pretty and snow-coney? London's Kelvin J. Birk drapes his gorgeous rings with decadent clusters of crushed gemstones. Just smashing!


Bonus link: Denmark's Porcelinge specializes in, as you might've guessed, porcelain. Their adorable cup & saucer rings are 260 DKK (~US$45).

Even more jewellery:

Friday, August 3, 2007

Summer heat calls for light and airy pieces that just graze the skin! I may sound like an unimaginative clothing catalogue but Denmark's Mette Vivelsted shows how that overused mantra can apply to your metal jewellery as well. Ventilation: it's hot!


Bonus link: more floating pearls, this time from Germany's Annie Kuschel. Pictured is her "Exactly Inside" ring.

Even more jewellery:

Thursday, August 2, 2007

Lithuania's Solveiga and Alfredas Kriviciai rail against consumer culture with their "disposable life" series. I'm torn — if I laud their anti-materialism, do I have to scrub my mouth with same toothbrush for the rest of my life?


Bonus link: the "Unhinged" ring (which actually unhinges) was inspired by the disastrous travel experiences of Toronto's Gillian E. Batcher, aka PASH.

Even more jewellery:

Wednesday, August 1, 2007

No, this isn't Frank Gehry doing executive office supplies. This is fingerwear from oflux, by Puerto Rico's Aurorisa Mateo. Pictured above, clockwise from top left, are her "Beg," "Inhuman," "Extinct" and "Overkill" rings (US$500-$1,500).


Bonus link: vegans might find the "inhuman," "overkill," etc. names more appropriate for this steak ring by Atlanta's Paige Henderson, US$79.

Even more jewellery:

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