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.

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

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

Blog > November 2009

Monday, November 30, 2009

Argentina's Marina Massone manipulates metal in a multitude of manners.


Bonus link: silver and ebony rings by Margarita Marcone, who also hails from Argentina. The two should get together and go bulk shopping for monogrammed towels.

Even more jewellery:

Friday, November 27, 2009



Have you heard about the Eggo Waffle shortage? This fascinates me. Not the shortage — I don't eat them — but the article itself (written by anonymous "Staff," so I don't feel too guilty), from the apostrophes in "Eggos" (once extraneous, once missing) to the misspelling of the Kellogg's brand name to the enlightening line, "You stick them in the toaster, then pour syrup on them (some people also add butter)." And then there's the small matter of the headline, in which it is suggested that people "Lego" their Eggos. Lego? Leggo is the neologism which plays on the double-G in "Eggo." Lego is what Italy's Vicolo Pagliacorta uses to make these playful rings.

They also make Italian-flavoured keyboard rings.


Bonus link: if your experience with playing bricks is more digital than analog, you might appreciate this Tetris ring from Massachusetts' Third Project (Juno Elysium).

Even more jewellery:

Thursday, November 26, 2009

For serious city folk only: show your love of gridlock with this double-finger bridge ring! Find it at Little Rooms, where Los Angeles designer Ester Delug displays an interesting mix of urban and Victorian styles (with an emphasis on keyholes).


Maybe you translate "urban" and "style" as "guns" and "pearls." California jeweller Elisa Bongfeldt's industrial rings look like weapons loaded... with cultured finery.


Bonus link: if guns with bullets are out of your comfort zone, Germany's Rita Franze has rings that look more like discs from cap guns (she also has earrings made from real red plastic cap discs).

Even more jewellery:

Wednesday, November 25, 2009



A little hump-day reverie courtesy of Lisa Juen, a German jeweller currently living in China. Her "Reality & Fantasy" series, created with silk floss and enamel on steel, offers an escape from the modern world via a "self-created realm of fantasy."


Bonus link: Italian jeweller Roberto Coin creates a fantasy world of his own, with luxe, gem-encrusted lizards and other creatures that spiral around your wrist or finger.

Even more jewellery:

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Yesterday, you got fingers and hands. Today, you get the whole dang arm... and plenty of 'em! If you need some extra help around the holidays, you may want to look into the "Can I Lend a Hand?" rings made of silver and dollparts by Philadelphia's Maureen Duffy. Check out her site for oversized urban pieces, as well as a terrifying bird-head ring (even if it is a fake bird).


Bonus link:
Shiny gold hands from the "gold digger" series by Pearls Before Swine (Australian jeweller Nikki Majajas).

Even more jewellery:

Monday, November 23, 2009

Not what you'd expect from this blog: a finger without a ring. Since it's a holiday for many of you today, let's take a brief holiday from the rings as well and turn instead to Dutch artist Fien de Graaf, who casts body parts in porcelain plaster to create anatomical jewellery (pictured above is a cast finger).


Bonus link:
What you do expect from this blog: a finger (or five) on a ring. Hand ring by Spoilt Victorian Child of Austin, Texas.

Even more jewellery:

Friday, November 20, 2009

Behold the "fluffy cocktail ring" with peacock down by Cheyenne Weil. And if you need a real cocktail to celebrate this weekend, you're doubly in luck — the Oregon artist serves up a cocktail recipe with each of her cocktail rings (this one comes with instructions for a ginger lemon drop). Cheers!


Bonus link: here's another cocktail ring made of (pea)cocktail feathers. From the PADE collection of Los Angeles jeweller Pade Vavra.

Even more jewellery:

Thursday, November 19, 2009





Absolutely rockin'. Miami's Triian Burbank (sculptors Trisha Brookbank and Brian Burkhardt) create "modern era gems" that may look like rocks but are actually created from synthetic materials, which they sand, polish and top with Swarovski crystals. Did I file this under "favourites"? Yes. Yes, I did.


Bonus link: if it's space rocks you're after, check out London's Saretta (Sarah Bond) for the "Meteorites" collection. Rings available in various combinations of gold and silver.

Even more jewellery:

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

I still have rain on the mind — but not because of the weather. It's because of Belgian jeweller Caroline Swolfs, who created her entire collection while constraining herself to a single, simple shape: "The Drop."


Bonus link:
Skip the rain and get right to the source with this adorable cloud silhouette ring in solid wood. By England's Lost at Sea.

Even more jewellery:

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Vancouver had a great summer and early fall but, in the past week, we've been drenched with reminders that we do in fact live in a rain forest. But that's ok because, without rain, we'd have no forests — and without forests, there'd be no inspiration for woodsy jewellery like these "Raw" rings by Karine Rodrigue (who lives way on the other side of the country in Québec).

Above, her "Jardinière multicéphale" ring with interchangeable botanical tops. See more on her blog, Naphtalene Fabrik.


Bonus link:
Here's another sylvan piece: solid sterling pinecone ring from the "Cone" series by UK jeweller Alexandra Simpson.

Even more jewellery:

Monday, November 16, 2009

Last week, we saw red with silver — let's do it again, but this time with bronze! UK jeweller Sarah Rhodes entwines bronze, enamelled wire and a touch of ostrich egg for a pleasing balance of metal and colour.


Bonus link:
This piece may not use real eggshell but it was inspired by one. Ring by Phioro, aka UK metalsmith Clare Victoria Pardoe.

Even more jewellery:

Friday, November 13, 2009

If you were told to think flowers, felt and enamel, you'd probably picture a burst of colour. Seattle's Laura King, however, takes the opposite approach, creating rings in restrained white with just tiny spots of yellow. It's the shapes that are bursting instead. See more on her site, Dixie Darling.


Bonus link:
Here's a colourful felt ring from New York fiber artist Tegan Ford, in the form of a double-finger pin cushion!

Even more jewellery:

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Mug trees! On rings! Mug trees on rings! These cups runneth over with cute. For miniature saucepans, ladels and most everything short of the kitchen sink, visit UK jeweller Rachel Llewellyn. Below, her "biscuit barrel" ring with tiny silver cookies.


Bonus link:
For rings with a higher calorie count (like this cookie topped with whipped cream), check out UK shop Meow Box and their miniature non-edible edibles.

Even more jewellery:

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Silk, pearls, pink and red — but not suffocatingly feminine. Paris design duo Jia Style combines those elements in just the right proportions, keeping things fresh and modern.


Bonus link:
For another take on silk, see UK jeweller Emily Hartley. Her work features silver petals lined with printed silk inserts.

Even more jewellery:

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Have you started your holiday shopping? Remember: rings make great gifts :)

They also make great pets. Plastic and metal rings from the "Animal" series by Taiwan's haoshi design studio.


Bonus link:
Do you like your animals less... dimensional? Check out this adorable flat cat ring from Italy's Hudesa Kaganow.

Even more jewellery:

Monday, November 9, 2009

Brown paper packages tied up with string? That's nice, Maria, but these are a few of my favourite things. Fabulous string rings by UK-based Hungarian jeweller Eszter Máté. Lots more on her site, including spiraling acrylic and colourful pompoms.


Bonus link:
How 'bout being "tyed" up with a bow instead? Colorado's Tyes by Tara is all about neckties and bowties, including ones for your fingers.

Even more jewellery:

Friday, November 6, 2009

Pool, billiards, snooker — no matter what you call it, I suck at it. I'd be perfectly fine with all the world's pool balls being carved into jewellery, especially if the results are as great as these sculptural "Snooker" rings by Danish jeweller Allan Scharff.

He also has several collections of gorgeous metalwork, like these "Ricefields" rings, above. While you're visiting, make sure to check out the "Buddyguards" series for some playful gem settings!


Bonus link:
Here's another set of stacking, undulating bands in multi-tone metal. "Eye of the Deer" rings by French jeweller Sophie Vuldy.

Even more jewellery:

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Like one of my favourite indulgences, salted caramel, these rings are all about contrast. Decorating the pierced black metal is—did you notice?—a motif of what is normally white and fluffy: bunnies!

Above: more bunnies (and carrots and hearts), this time in wood and polymer clay. All rings above by New York's Allyson Bone.


Bonus link:
Speaking of white and fluffy, here's a white and fluffy felt ring by London-based Japanese fashion designer Satoshi Dáte.

Even more jewellery:

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Industrial rings don't often make me feel industri-ous but something about these pieces makes me want to spring into action. They're like little devices designed for rolling, pressing, stamping or whatever else goes on inside those big factories with spewing smokestacks. All rings by New York's Talya Baharal (whose site featuring collaborative work with husband Gene Gnida I mentioned previously here). Don't miss the rest of her series, including organic work that resembles skin and tissue.


Bonus link:
If you like that spiral ring, French jeweller Christophe Verot has a similar piece, as well as other work in resin and silver.

Even more jewellery:

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Crystals, silk thread and lacquer make for a dark and stunning combination. Rings by France's Aoi Kotsuhiroi (don't miss the human hair necklaces!).


For a lighter take on raw crystal rings, see Dutch jeweller Malu Berbers. She also has a great, albeit ring-free, series in white PVC and cotton thread.


Bonus link: RoughDiamonds.dk delivers on its name. Danish designer Maya Bjørnsten does gorgeous work with unpolished gems, keeping things simple and organic.

Even more jewellery:

Monday, November 2, 2009

How fitting: a liquid container recycled into a flower that grows on water. Turkey's Gulnur Ozdaglar takes plastic bottles and turns them into all sorts of gorgeous vessels, buttons and jewellery, like these clear lotus rings.

Above, another flower ring made of recycled bottles (pop, milk and shampoo) from Pennsylvania's Kathy DellaValle.


Bonus link: German designer Mirjam Hüttner collaborated with goldsmith Sabine Schwippel to create this wedding band made from a recycled TetraPak box.

Even more jewellery:

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