Final post of 2009!

I'm taking a holiday break — this is my last post of 2009! Have yourselves a great New Year! Here's a final ring roundup to close us out:

First up is Jantje Fleischhut. I already mentioned this artist a few weeks ago as part of my Amsterdam report but, at that time, her site was not yet ready. Well, it's ready now! She is one of my all-time favourite jewellers.

"Fin #5" in silver, glass and dyed feathers by North Carolina's Angela Bubash.

Spiral-bound ring by the UK's Niko Pilarinos.

Botanical gold by Los Angeles metalsmith Valerie Mitchell.

"Tilted Cathedral" by New York's Francine Grenci.

Free-form metal and diamonds by Dallas jeweller Demotionart (Ludwig Schwarz).

Bar rings by English jeweller Katzie Hughes (now in Germany).

3D-modelled rings in gold and wood by Italy's D'Arc Studio.

Simple lines by Denmark's Anette Dreyer.

Fortune ring with paper fortune by Sweden's Lo Jewellery.

Even more jewellery:

• Aline Vandeplas (Belgium) - art pieces


• Conry & Wilcox (New York) - modern classics


• Diana Porter (UK) - silver & gold


• Hans Appenzeller (Netherlands) - metal & gems


• IndigoStar (Vancouver) - crystal charms

Leslie D. Boyd / Adrienne Wiegmann / Ginga Squid

Here's a hand-held device that doesn't require batteries: "Anger" by New York metalsmithing student Leslie D. Boyd.

Above, more palm-side prettiness, this time by Maryland's Adrienne Wiegmann: "Sanctuary" (top) and "Courage" rings.

Bonus link: here's a ring reminiscent of a palm tree by New Zealand's Ginga Squid (Vicky T. Hunt), who works with a variety of natural materials like coconut and wool.

Even more jewellery:

• Laura Prieto-Velasco (Chicago) - art jewellery


• Elisa Gulminelli (Argentina) - organic metal


• Genevieve Yang (California) - dotted silver


• Rachel Hawkes Cameron (New York) - clear acrylic


• Roque (UK) - interchangeable gems

Caren Hartley / cute.little.disaster

It's that time of year — are the receipts piling up? Perhaps you can turn your spending records into a gift for yourself! UK metalsmith Caren Hartley takes collected receipts and turns them into the gorgeous "picnic" ring, above (shown both open and closed). Below, more of her rings in recycled paper — this time, vintage postcards:

Bonus link: even the paperclips you use to keep those receipts organized can become a ring, as demonstrated by the Ontario crafter behind cute.little.disaster (part of a "60 Rings" project).

Even more jewellery:

• Wild Ivy Designs (Maine) - recycled paper


• Falck Jewels (Los Angeles) - magazine cutouts


• Little Object (UK) - circles & pegs


• Naked Label (New York) - feathers & chains


• Julita Alvarez (Argentina) - paint & wood

Melanie Eddy / Colleen Corinne / Duffy

Three hits of silver to take you into the weekend, starting with: bursting silver ring by London's Melanie Eddy.

"Finger corsage" by Ohio metalsmith Colleen Corinne.

Claw-shaped knuckledusters by London's Duffy.

Bonus link: here's a silver ring designed to take the hits. Anvil ring by Melissa Rallis of California's Kiss My Ring, where olde world, medeival themes reign supreme.

Even more jewellery:

• Mollystuff (Ohio) - modern silver


• Joanna Baxter (Vancouver) - antique inlays


• Zoe Duthie (Scotland) - framed vintage


• Patricia Peckinpaugh (Texas) - bold & regal


• Susie Barnes (Australia) - rubber & glass

Meredith Robb / Chus Bures / Ivete Cattani / Marlene True / DMH Design

Not all sprouts come from Brussels. These come from the bench of Halifax jeweller Meredith Robb.

Some more non-Brussels sprouts by [clockwise from top left]: Spain's Chus Bures, Brazil's Ivete Cattani, North Carolina's Marlene True and Oregon's DMH Design.

Bonus link:
Here's a ring in silver, rubber and plastic with some longer, finer sprouts by Texas artist Natalie Macellaio.

Even more jewellery:

• Urban Spark (UK) - sprouting urchins


• Marion Vidal (Paris) - chunky & colourful


• Emma Carroll Etc. (Chicago) - leather clusters


• Birdhouse Jewelry (New York) - metal & charms


• Weston Metal Studio (Colorado) - contemporary silver

Carolyn Tillie / Kimberly Anne Johansen

If Carolyn Tillie invites you over for dinner, don't say no. The San Francisco jeweller and food writer shows a penchant for the finer, tastier things in life with her sushi- and champagne-themed jewellery.

She's got dessert covered, too. For more on her gastronomical side, see her food and wine blogs.

Bonus link: this fish may not be sushi-grade but it's certainly well-crafted. Alberta's Kimberly Anne Johansen has lots of piscine jewellery, like this silver and copper "Descent" fishtail ring.

Even more jewellery:

• Flying Crane Designs (San Francisco) - marine animals


• Jodi Henry (Florida) - modern & minimal


• Charlote Filshie (Australia) - acrylic & metal


• Corrina Smith (UK) - silver & aluminum


• Wil Le Cher (France) - spirals & dolphins

Emi Ando / Yuki Ferdinandsen

We had a blink-and-it's-gone sprinkling of snow over the weekend. San Francisco's Emi Ando offers a more permanent installation with her "Snow" rings made of sterling and fine silvers, pearls and cz. Below, her scrolled "Last Letter" ring stamped with (backwards) Japanese hiragana.

Bonus link: sticking with cold precipitation, check out the "Arare" collection by Copenhagen's Yuki Ferdinandsen. "Arare" is Japanese for "hail" (while "yuki" is a near homophone for "snow").

Even more jewellery:

• Metalscapes (Maine) - snowflakes & horses


• Yuki Mitsuyasu (UK) - clever concepts


• Jordan Askill (Australia) - cool & sculptural


• Yakira Rona (New York) - modern gold


• Madeleine Chisholm (Vancouver) - silver clusters

All for the Mountain / Thomas Feichtner

Imagine that New York's Chrysler Building were left to weather atop the Tibetan Himalayas — you might get a sense for the aesthetic of Los Angeles designers All for the Mountain. Recommended if you love triangles! Pictured above are their "Palace Brick" and "Sacred Mystical Mountain" rings; below, their "Drip Crown" rings.

Bonus link:
This jewel outline ring by Austria's Thomas Feichtner reminds me somewhat of the Chrysler Building's jewel-like crown.

Even more jewellery:

• Jennifer Carroll Wilson (San Fran) - architectural metal


• Brokenfab (UK) - beaded triangles


• M8 by Marc Mann (Germany) - seaglass & LEDs


• Jeni Burgess (New Zealand) - sculptural silver


• Andrew Hamilton Crawford (New York) - translucent resin

Stacey Lee Webber (The Coin Smith) / Mitsuhiro Okamoto

If someone offers a penny for your thoughts, do you give them your two cents? Maybe money management isn't your strong suit. Someone who is good with coins is Wisconsin artist Stacey Lee Webber (aka The Coin Smith), whose work goes beyond any coin jewellery I've ever seen. Her portfolio is definitely worth a visit.

She even sculpts with coins; the screwdrivers above are from her "tools" series.

Bonus link:
Japanese designer Mitsuhiro Okamoto also makes coin rings — but he has a yen for euros instead of cents.

Even more jewellery:

• Lucky Sixpence (UK) - cutout coins


• Beth E. Coiner (South Carolina) - botanical metal


• Soyeon Kim (Illinois) - art pieces


• Tangerine Treehouse (California) - copper trees


• Luis Acosta (Netherlands) - paper clusters

Rebecca Little / Louise Douglas / Zwetelina Alexieva

When the simple band isn't so simple: "twill" ring by UK jeweller Rebecca Little.

"Sea lace" ring by New Zealand's Louise Douglas.

"Thorny" ring by Bulgaria's Zwetelina Alexieva.

Bonus link:
Speaking of thorny, this "subway" ring by New York's CJ Recht (Mindy Recht) is designed to ward off anyone who dares invade your personal space.

Even more jewellery:

• Victoria Delany (UK) - birds & bands


• Alienology (Los Angeles) - wavy acrylic


• Laurel's Bench (Indiana) - modern metal


• Michael Colero (Toronto) - simple glass


• Carlee Santarelli (Los Angeles) - lace & fabric

Autumn.products / Katharina Ludwig

Have you ever been somewhere so cold that your hair froze? Australia seems an unlikely location for such an event but it's Sydney's Autumn.products (Kristian Aus) who came up with these icy, frosted acrylic silhouette rings based on — how cute is this? — hairstyles!

Bonus link:
For a ring that really is frozen, check out the Netherlands' Katharina Ludwig and her ice jewellery.

Even more jewellery:

• Tess Blenkinsop (UK) - frosted glass


• Mctega (Los Angeles) - colourful clusters


• Stephanie Schneider (Germany) - metal & mohair


• Hazel Smyth (Elizabeth Herff) (Texas) - modern gold


• Jette Zirpins (Mexico) - silver & beads

Hannah Havana / Kate Bauman

A little toilet humour for your Tuesday: bathroom-lock-style engagement ring by Hannah Havana of UK collective Garudio Studiage.

Bonus link:
For some serious engagement ringery, check out this quadruple ring piece by Maine artist Kate Bauman.

Even more jewellery:

• Diana Warner (New York) - bridal & cocktail


• Maria Lewis (Sweden) - modern metal


• Julia Montanarini (Brazil) - bold silver


• Pristinesmut (UK) - fashion textiles


• Astrid Keller (Germany) - pleated magazines

Rana Mikdashi / Batia Wang

November in Vancouver was all grey, like this.

But December is turning out to be all bright and sunny, like this! Aside from illustrating my riveting accounts of meteorology, Lebanese jeweller Rana Mikdashi does nice work in silver, gold and enamel (with some bone and polymer clay thrown in as well).

Bonus link:
This gorgeous piece by Batia Wang, a jeweller from Uzbekistan but now based in Israel, is like rays of sunshine for your finger.

Even more jewellery:

• Alicia Jane Boswell (Idaho) - lacey enamel


• Gabriella Casemore (UK) - modern petals


• Jika James (New Mexico) - sculptural metal


• Karma el Khalil (Lebanon) - gold & gems


• BuenoStyle (Vancouver) - vintage style

Florie Dupont / Lauren Diggs

Is there such a thing as a calciumsmith? There is now. Geneva- based Florie Dupont works with bones, teeth and another white, structural substance, plaster.

Bonus link: if those teeth are a bit crooked for your liking, you might appreciate this ring by Arizona metalsmith Lauren Diggs — she made it out of her friend's old braces!

Even more jewellery:

• Jennifer Trask (New York) - botanical bone


• Liz Oppenheim (San Francisco) - modern silver


• Bex Rox (UK) - chains & onyx


• Sophie by Sophie (Sweden) - metal & pavé


• Liz Henry (Mississippi) - briolettes & wire

Erika Hartje / Blue Poppy

Precious jewels don't always come in diamond form. These rings by Spain-based Uruguayan jeweller Erika Hartje contain the world's most expensive... spice! That would be saffron — which, as I recently discovered, is derived from one of my favourite flowers: the humble crocus.

Above: silver ring with more affordable spices — organic ground cloves, cayenne pepper and wasabi powder — in resin, by California sisters Erin Lockwood and Jill Redman of Blue Poppy.

Bonus link:
This piece has got some spice of its own. Press the trigger and the "Stunning" ring will shoot pepper spray about 2-3 feet.

Even more jewellery:

• Blanca Monrós Gómez (New York) - seeds & tendrils


• Nettie Kent (Massachusetts) - organic metal


• Amanda Paige Alderson (Australia) - embedded resin


• Goodman Morris (UK) - modern classics


• Sonia Bandulet (Montreal) - tubes & circles

Sophia Mann / Emily Thatcher

IMPACT. Sophia Mann's aptly-named ring, based on artist Jenny Saville's paintings of distorted flesh, was made by manipulating clay through nylon. Gnarltastic! The Swiss jeweller also makes an impact with her refreshing beadwork:

Bonus link:
Some more distortion from UK jeweller Emily Thatcher, whose "companion" rings feature clean and simple bands bent pleasingly askew.

Even more jewellery:

• Wendy Wallin Malinow (Oregon) - bright & quirky


• Neunique (New York) - gunmetal fishbones


• Sally Pawson (UK) - dots on pastel


• Like Beau (California) - crosses & lions


• Pushan Designs (Toronto) - playful silver

Esther Brinkmann / Peter Hoogeboom

"As a vase contains and values a flower, a ring contains and values a finger." That's the idea behind Swiss artist Esther Brinkmann's "fingervessels." Pictured above is one of her "bell" fingervessels; below are samples from her "sphere" series. Check out her site for much more!

Bonus link: speaking of vessels, Dutch jeweller Peter Hoogeboom's ceramic "friendship" jug pendant comes with two cup rings.

Even more jewellery:

• KleinReid (New York) - vessel pendants


• Ingrid Dijkers (Michigan) - dolls & eggs


• Sylvie Beaulieu (Québec) - silver & glass


• Ariane Rocher (UK) - metal & cabs


• Bess Kristoffersen (Denmark) - modern aluminum

Marina Massone / Margarita Marcone

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:

• Maria Medici (Argentina) - contemporary metal


• Emma Bracefield (Vancouver) - simple & modern


• Gintare (California) - pretty crosses


• Ana Verdun (UK) - silver & gold


• Helga Mogensen (Iceland) - fish & driftwood

Vicolo Pagliacorta / Third Project

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:

• Maria Haralambidou (UK) - playful necklaces


• Simone Richmond (Vancouver) - texturized silver


• Timothy McMahon (New York) - bubbles & medals


• Objet Trouvé (France) - chains & charms


• Wingo Designs (South Carolina) - enamel pendants

Little Rooms (Ester Delug) / Elisa Bongfeldt / Rita Franze

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:

• Astali (New York) - clustered bullets


• Tonia Welter (Germany) - USB jewellery


• Becca Williams (UK) - houses & clouds


• Adrienne Grafton (Pennsylvania) - enamel & copper


• Impish Betty (Japan) - dainty gold

Lisa Juen / Roberto Coin

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:

• Deganit Stern Schocken (Israel) - sculptural art


• Elisabeth Heijnen (Netherlands) - organic enamel


• Louise O'Neill (UK) - modern classics


• Jemma Wynne (New York) - bold & glam


• Roulette 18 (Chicago) - Bali silver

Maureen Duffy / Pearls Before Swine (Nikki Majajas)

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:

• Barbie Rocks (Beverly Hills) - Barbie silhouettes


• Daniel Nagels (New Zealand) - potatochips & pyramids


• Folia Jewels (North Carolina) - simple silver


• Verdeagua Alhajas (Spain) - gems & pearls


• Poya by Rachel Balfour (UK) - birds & charms

Fien de Graaf / Spoilt Victorian Child

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:

• Gold & Citrus (San Francisco) - body chains


• Etten Eller (New York) - modern gold


• Justine Brooks (Vancouver) - organic silver


• Lis Toft (UK) - glazed ceramic


• Jesse Taylor (New Zealand/Japan) - simple metal

Cheyenne Weil / Pade Vavra

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:

• AH Jewelry (Virginia) - peacock feathers


• Liz Hancock (UK) - gold on silver


• LULU (Chicago) - vintage style


• Susanna Galanis (New York) - link necklaces


• Frauke Stadtmann (Germany) - contemporary metal

Triian Burbank / Saretta

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:

• Kelly Cimber (Miami) - agate geodes


• Jessica Winzelberg (San Francisco) - stone pendants


• Rosemary Lucas (UK) - silver moons


• Emilie Loyauté (Paris) - simple gold


• Formia Design (Virginia) - contemporary metal

Caroline Swolfs / Lost at Sea

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:

• Tamara Comolli (Germany) - pavé teardrops


• Tamba Designs (New Jersey) - organic & oxidized


• Fleur Goedendorp (Netherlands) - artful neckpieces


• Rebekka Notkin (Denmark) - clean gold


• Fluidity Design (UK) - simple silver

Karine Rodrigue / Alexandra Simpson

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:

• Hidemi Asano (UK) - bamboo & branches


• Scosha NYC (New York) - modern metal


• Colleen Mauer (San Francisco) - simple & organic


• Teresa Estapé (Spain) - art necklaces


• Felicia Liban (Florida) - cloisonné enamel

Sarah Rhodes / Phioro (Clare Victoria Pardoe)

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:

• Enchanted Hen (New Mexico) - decorated eggshells


• Le blob (Brazil) - fluid silver


• Judith Bloedjes (Netherlands) - modern porcelain


• iWear (Florida) - nuts & diamonds


• Minimal Marzipan (UK) - copper & bronze

Laura King (Dixie Darling) / Tegan Ford

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:

• Moufelt (Oregon) - cheerful felt


• Liana Pattihis (UK) - coral enamel


• Stephanie Tomczak (Seattle) - organic copper


• Kelleigh Carlyle (Tennessee) - chains & briolettes


• Papier Colle (Pennsylvania) - colourful paper

Rachel Llewellyn / Meow Box

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:

• The Automatic Crystal (UK) - porcelain peanuts


• Liesbet Bussche (Netherlands) - jewellery installations


• Lillot (New York) - metal & thread


• Linda Blair (New Zealand) - distressed silver


• Gaffelkonst by Bo Ekström (Sweden) - forks & spoons