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.

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Blog > June 2013

Friday, June 28, 2013


Please note: there will be no posting on July 1st, Canada Day! Thanks!

Wrapping up the week, the month, and the first half of the year (!) with concrete and colour from UK jeweller Sally Morrison.


Bonus link:
For more concrete jewellery, check out Montreal's Catrie (Éliane-Catrie Blouin-Achim), who pairs concrete with polished silver.

Even more jewellery:

Thursday, June 27, 2013

Here's Thursday's ring. I don't mean today Thursday — I mean any Thursday. It's from UK artist Olivia Creber's "Ring a Day" series, designed "to take you from Monday to Friday." Don't miss her portfolio of provocative work using horsehair and resin!


Bonus link:
where you won't see any hair is in these "Little Women" rings by Kuwait's Muneera Hamed Alsharhan. Meant to resemble pebbles at first glance, each woman is cloaked in an abaya.

Even more jewellery:

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

"Porous Gold | Precious Ruins" is a collection inspired by the ancient kingdom of Kilwa Kisiwani (now a UNESCO World Heritage Site in present-day Tanzania). To see the rest of the work and read about the inspiration, visit Brooklyn's Jenna Pierson.


Bonus link:
Here's another porous piece: this ring features ethically found coral, left unpolished to highlight its natural form. Ring by Bachman's Sparrow of San Francisco.

Even more jewellery:

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Pointer fingers, plants and pistachio-green plastic from Boston- based metalsmith Laura Jaklitsch.


Bonus link:
speaking of (or in) Ps, here's a pea ring, as well as a lentil ring, from German jeweller Britta Knüppel's "veggie jewels."

Even more jewellery:

Monday, June 24, 2013

When it comes to leatherbound classics, you've got Austen, you've got Dickens, and now you've got Jackie Capozzoli. Check out JAKIMAC, the Los Angeles jeweller's line of leather and quartz wearables.


Bonus link:
I can't quite make out the titles or authors but here's a ring with a photo of leatherbound books. It's one of many pretty photo rings from Baltimore photographer Melika Carr.

Even more jewellery:

Friday, June 21, 2013

From (who'd-ever-guess-these-were-) recycled plastic bottles...

...to "hairline" rings, there's a weekend's worth of stuff to explore in the portfolio of Georgia-based Chinese artist Shiying Gao.


Bonus link:
another US-based Chinese artist is Jiarui Lu, who grew up near the Imperial Palace of Shenyang and whose work "always contains elements of traditional Chinese culture and art."

Even more jewellery:

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Maybe somewhere, in an alternative universe, there's an alternate me blogging only about stud earrings.

And maybe she's wondering about an alternate self in an alternate world who blogs only about rings, like this "Stud Ring" by UK artist Kirsty Isla Nicholson.


Bonus link:
here's a more conventional stud ring from UK jewellery shop Bear and Mojo, purveyors of all things spiky, triangular and chained.

Even more jewellery:

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

While this diamond solitaire may sparkle in its box...

...remove the lid...

...and you remove the sparkle, as well. Read more about "Invisible Love" by SashaPure (Taiwanese artist Sasha Tseng).


Bonus link:
Here's another playful take on the diamond solitaire. This "Sillymond" ring with stretchable silicone band is from South Korea's Perfect Sunday.

Even more jewellery:

Tuesday, June 18, 2013


New York-based Sara Cochran's "Insecta" series is "an exploration into the simultaneously unsettling and intriguing aspects of insects."

Entomophobes need not fear — there's plenty more to check out on her site!


Bonus link:
A more subtle nod to our Insecta friends is this "Colony" ring with its golden honeycomb surrounded by white topaz. Ring by London's Gia Belloni.

Even more jewellery:

Monday, June 17, 2013

Let me point you in the direction of some arrow rings (clockwise from top left): handcut arrows from Florida's Claire Sommers Buck, bow & arrow from New York's Fleather Fox, twisted rope arrows from Texas metalsmith Elisha Marie Garza, stackable "native arrow" ring from New York's Torch Song Metals (Emily Sajban), ring with yellow silver arrowheads from Brooklyn's Digby & Iona (Aaron Ruff), and a wrap-around arrow from Ohio's Hero King (Zac Little).


Bonus link:
One more arrow from "Typewriter," a collection that "highlights the development of technology but with the loss of mechanical aesthetics." By UK jeweller Hannah Wain.

Even more jewellery:

Friday, June 14, 2013

Let's do a Friday Five in a Flash! Getting us started are these "Armatae" arrowhead rings by Italy's Gaia Bottari.


"Leverage," inspired by the lever and wedge, by Sweden's Annika Pettersson.


Acrylic on silver by Belgium's Frédéric Rossius.


Androgynous rings by Toronto's Paul McClure.


"Debris" ring with ox hair by the UK's Morag Sumerling.

Thursday, June 13, 2013

These rings are so cool, they blow their own socks off.


Or their own facets off, anyway. For these and many more interesting series, check out Germany's Ariane Ernst.


Bonus link:
Want a softer take on facets? For diamond-shaped rings in leather, as well as other leather goods, visit Hong Kong's Anyway (Amus Leung & Gladys Chun).

Even more jewellery:

Wednesday, June 12, 2013


I may not have a cool bone in my body but Greek designer Eleni Zolia ensures I can put one on.


Bonus link:
Australian jeweller Thea Fortmann's "Sabi" ring is made using rabbit vertebrae "to celebrate the beauty of the passage of time; birth, death and decay."

Even more jewellery:

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Taiwanese jeweller I-Hsuan (Katy) Chen combines "the kinetic and the kaleidoscopic" in her stainless steel wonders. Meanwhile, I find it krummy and downright kruel that she only gives us one page!


Bonus link:
For more stainless steel, check out Australia's The Museum of Small Things, whose rings are 3D-printed (also available in silver).

Even more jewellery:

Monday, June 10, 2013

The inspiration behind this ring is... well, inspired! Can you guess what it is?

The mein idea: noodles hanging from chopsticks!


Visit Australia's Ly Yeow for her "bridge" ring and more.


Bonus link:
Here's another "bridge" ring, this time from New York's Youngeun Han.

Even more jewellery:

Friday, June 7, 2013

Don't let this ring scare you away — New Zealand artist Amelia Pascoe has tons of interesting work to show you! I'm going to restrain myself and post only one image, so please go visit her site for more.

And by "one image," of course, I mean two images. Now go.


Bonus link:
Here's a much duller ring — duller than a guillotine blade, that is! It's a butter knife-turned-ring by Silver Wears (Washington state jeweller Chris Strein).

Even more jewellery:

Thursday, June 6, 2013

Is this what Nina Garcia means by "editorial?" When I look at these rings, I see a proofreader's carets, asterisks and slashes! Rings by Rhode Island-based designer Anjye Wang.


Bonus link:
for more editorial marks (like parentheses and brackets), or punctuation marks like (exclamation points), all set with diamonds, check out New York's Khai Khai (Haim Medine).

Even more jewellery:

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Forget Paul McCartney and his symbolic keyboard — it's ebony and silver that live together in perfect harmony, at least when it comes to Spanish jeweller Gustavo Paradiso.

Visit his site for more, like his metalwork and updated millefiori.


Bonus link:
Making a strong case for ebony (in colour, at least) and diamond is Italy's Luca Cosseddu, with this sleek ring in black horn (plus sparkling tip).

Even more jewellery:

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

If I were to rank musical instruments in order of preference, brass instruments would not be near the top. I often find them too shrill. They just don't have a nice... ring, unlike the array of brass from Oregon's Seaworthy (Marisa Howard Seaworthy).


Bonus link:
find more nice brass at UK shop Eclectic Eccentricity, like this "petal vintage" adjustable ring with a pretty floral pattern.

Even more jewellery:

Monday, June 3, 2013

If you visit the portfolio of New Zealand's Moniek Schrijer, you'll see lots of cool work in concrete, wood, glass and more. (You'll also see my ultimate conundrum: a ring placed on top of a dead bird. Which is like giving a garlic-infused inhaler to an asthmatic vampire.)


Bonus link:
For more wood rings, check out the Ukraine's Zen. Some of their rings, like the one pictured here, feature cork inlays.

Even more jewellery:

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