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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Blog > July 2013

Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Welcome to Awesometown, USA. Population: Belnavarro. (Nevermind that Maribel Navarro is actually from Barcelona, just go with it.)


Bonus link:
This ring from Chicago's Atelier Yumi (Maryam "Yumi" Gaber) has a similar vibe. Shown here in clear crystal, it also comes with the pyramid in various semiprecious stones.

Even more jewellery:

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

There are times when I can't even pull my receipt from the gas pump without creating a shredded mess — and so the universe offers counterbalance in the form of UK-based Hong Kong native Kody Wing Hang Chan, whose talent with paper is inspired by the silhouettes of branches and flowers.


Bonus link:
if not for the fact that it's made of silver, this ring looks like it could fit right in with the collection above! Hand-pierced ring by UK jeweller Laura Mains, who's inspired (fittingly) by Japanese paper cutting.

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Monday, July 29, 2013

I love it! But does it come as a full cage?

I love it! But does it come in any other colours?

I love it! But does it come in a little less colour?

I love it! But—

Perfect. Belgian designer Pieter Bostoen covers all the angles with his 3D-printed jewellery.


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Is your idea of the perfect printed ring more floral than angular? Cloudswimmers, also of Belgium, has this flower ring, available in five colours.

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Friday, July 26, 2013

Based in Athens and Berlin, this design duo has an adorable, lighthearted style that's distinctly their own.

Scoot on over to Kiss the Frog.


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prefer a fossil-fuelled method of transportation? Then this tire ring, circumscribed with "To drive is to live is to drive" (and so on), is for you. Ring by Norway's Ailin Rølvåg.

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Thursday, July 25, 2013

It's kind of fitting that these rings were created by RYKA — because if you stare at that name, you start seeing numerous triangles in the letters themselves. Visit Brazilian designer Renata Guimarães for more geometric works in polymer clay.


Bonus link:
For geometric polymer clay rings in black and white, see Les folles marquises (French designer Dorothée Vantorre).

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Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Have you heard (Huey Lewis &) the news? It's hip to be square. But it's hipper to be square-ish with lots of cool angles and spaces and why yes this jeweller is also an architect however did you know? Check out Belgian designer Denise Gielen.


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Here's another square ring from German silversmith Friedemann Haertl, who also has a ring dedicated to the skyline of Bamberg, where he calls home.

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Tuesday, July 23, 2013

A pair of porcelain pairs today. First up: "Lace" and "Dome" rings, above, by the UK's Rose Ellen Cobb.


Rings from the "Rock" and "Jeu de Boules" collections by Belgium's Va-Tout (Line Vanden Bogaerde).


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One final porcelain pair: these "cell" rings are by Grant McRuer, currently a student at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design.

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Monday, July 22, 2013

I was going to call these rings "Picassoesque" but, considering his origins, perhaps "Picassiano" is more apt. Japan's Yukako Katsuyama, on the other hand, might go with "Picasso-poi." Check them out on her jewellery site, Momon.


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So what's the Greek equivalent of "-esque"? Athens jeweller Eleni Maria Kyriazi has collections inspired by the works of Miro (shown here) and Gaudi.

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Friday, July 19, 2013

Amsterdam's Mi-Ah Rödiger "makes jewellery that aims at introspection: more than anything, it needs to be experienced by the wearers themselves. [Her] work stems from a deeply felt need to halt the world for a second. She wants to limit the current overload of stimuli by 'switching off', by isolating certain senses." These rings (from her "Soundscapes" collection) don't do her work justice, so check out her site!


Bonus link:
Perhaps this is all Belgian artist Delphine Boël hears when she chooses to "switch off" outside stimuli.

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Thursday, July 18, 2013

If you ask me, every finger is a "ring finger." But is every ring a ring with a ring finger wearing a ring? Only if it belongs to Rhode Island-based Texan Kamal Nassif.


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first sign that these fingers are sinister (and I don't mean as opposed to dexter)? They're not wearing any rings. Second sign? UK artist Chiara Bet calls them "Creepy Crawlies."

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Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Speaking, as we were yesterday, of corn syrup... there's actually none to be had here because these gummy candies are actually made of resin. Rings by Scotland's Mauve Magpie (Lauren Searle).


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Get another faux sugar fix from Italy's Le Chou Chou Bijoux (Annapaola Rapacciuolo).

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Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Dextrose, corn syrup, citric acid: not the ideal ingredients of a healthy snack, but definitely fit for "Consumption," an intriguing collection from Maine metalsmith Amalia Moon.


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If you have to have whipped cream, wearing it in sterling silver form is a sure way to keep it off your waistline. Ring by Austria's Il Salotto (Susanne Maria Kramer).

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Monday, July 15, 2013

A wasp's nest is normally cause for an exterminator; Vancouver identity designer Adam Kereliuk decided it was cause for a 3D-scanner. Using a real nest as a model, he created this 3D-printed "nest ring."


This gives me a good excuse to remind you of Finnish artist Janna Syvänoja, who has a new site where you can check out her gorgeous, sculptural paper jewellery. (Her real wasp's nest ring, above, made an appearance here in April 2008.)


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Here's another hymenopteran ring, featuring a dead bee, from UK-based Chinese artist Eva Xia (you can see the ring on her blog).

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Friday, July 12, 2013


I'm having trouble constructing sentences that would do these rings justice. Luckily, UK jeweller Emma Burfoot has no trouble constructing, so just go visit her gallery right now!


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New York's Katelyn Riley is another designer for whom construction comes naturally. This is her "Suspension" ring from the "Under Construction" series.

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Thursday, July 11, 2013

Two days in a row of faux-gemstone rings because I freaking love these things okay? Especially when someone can really put her own stamp on a design. Exhibit A: UK jeweller Elise Goldin.


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I guess this would be Exhibit B: emerald-cut metal, with or without spikes, by New York's Kevin Steele Morrison.

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Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Faux-gemstone acrylic rings — they may seem like a relatively recent trend but Nanna Grønborg was doing it back in 1997!

Check out the Danish-born, German-based jeweller for more plastic pieces, as well as the interesting "Res Mutatio" series. (She also happened to do a stint at CADA, featured here last week.)


Bonus link: for a present-day take on the acrylic "diamond" ring, check out this black and gold perspex duo. It's by Irish designer Jennifer Quinn, available in her shop, Ana-Lee (named after her grandmother).

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Tuesday, July 9, 2013

When I think "lasercut rings," my first thought is always of austere acrylic — but UK jeweller Layla Amber reminds me that, on second thought, lasercut rings also come in a warm, natural variety. These "In Bloom" rings feature hand-painted lasercut birchwood.


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Ottawa's N-Product straddles that line with their lasercut rings, which feature the angular geometry seen in many acrylic pieces but which are made of recycled cardboard.

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Monday, July 8, 2013

The only way you could ever get me near chitlins: serve as jewellery. "Bound" ring in copper and pig intestine by New York-based Holland Houdek.


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if you like your pork whole-hog, this roast pig ring is oinking your name. Be sure to check out the rest of Romanian jeweller Gabriela Punct's gallery, which is less meaty than it is full of big, beautiful flowers.

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Friday, July 5, 2013

Every piece has a story to tell when it comes to Trinidadian jeweller Jade Drakes (and one of those stories may or may not be Stephen King's It).


Bonus link:
if you're that one person who doesn't run screaming from clowns, Belgium's Kornelia (Karolien Severins) has this silver clown ring. Visit her site for more, including lots of dancing figures.

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Thursday, July 4, 2013

I guess the stuff really is addictive, because I'm hooked on this "Nicotine" ring by Chinese artist Jichang Chai. Visit his site for many more interesting pieces, all of which are like assembled sculptures.


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Want more smokin' jewellery? Here's the "Smoking Ring" in rhodium, white gold and diamonds by Texas jeweller J/Hadley. Also check her site for her cigar band ring.

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Wednesday, July 3, 2013


Skittles wants me to taste the rainbow but I'd rather smother my fingers in it, thanks. Check out UK designer Annelisse Pfeifer for a whole spectrum of fabulous work.


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these "Magic Colors" rings are an extravagant way to rainbowfy your fingers; each is covered in multihued sapphires. By Germany's CADA (Herbert Kopp).

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Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Where I am, summer's arrived in full, SPF-mandatory force. Around here, that means everyone flocks to the seawall — but for days when you can't get out to the water, nothing quite captures the ocean like, well, literally capturing pieces of the ocean and encasing them in clear resin. Check out Neráidas (Spanish sisters Gemma and Raquel Oliveras), who make jewellery "with the real treasures of the sea."


Bonus link:
for some adorably nautical rings, see Rhode Island's Ravel, who makes stackable rings in shapes like anchors, starfish and waves so you can customize your own "oceanscape."

Even more jewellery:

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