If It's Hip, It's Here (Archives)

above: a preview of the The Cupid & Pysche Valentine's Day Rings in the making

Not everyone can afford to spend two month's salary on a diamond ring for their significant other on Valentine's Day (sorry DeBeers). So here's a much less expensive alternative that may be a novelty but it will still make your loved one's heart go a-flutter.

Hong Kong-based handmade accessories designers Shannnam (chan io yau riyo and kwong ho sun howard) have encapsulated miniature worlds in resin to wear upon your finger. For this coming Valentine's Day, they've released a new limited edition collection, Cupid & Psyche, which consists of eight limited edition rings in which sweet couples, young and old, bask in the comfort of one another's company.

“Cupid and Psyche” Valentine’s Day Limited Edition Rings

Until We Don't Meet Again and the Path We Went Through:

The Promise (in four possible variations; Child, Autumn, Maple, Sakura):

Smell The Taste and Until we Don't Meet Again (Spring):

Other views of the Cupid and Psyche Valentine's Day Rings:

The rings are 100% handmade and come in two sizes, small and medium. Presently Shannnam has two collections, Fragmented Chronicles and the limited edition Cupid and Psyche rings.

Their Citizen Rings, shown below, are not yet available for sale:

The Fragmented Chronicles Rings Collection:

You can customize the tiny narratives by choosing from their miniature figures, making them even more personal.

above: The cast of characters from whom you can choose

all images courtesy of Shannam.

Shop their online store

An affiliated shop who sells the rings:
M O O I Shop
G/F NO.25 Haven Street,
Causeway Bay Hong Kong
Tel: +852 2882 1384
Mon-Sun 13:00 - 20:00

Artist Kim Cogan is one of my favorite fine artists. His painterly depictions of Brooklyn, San Francisco and other urban centers capture the grit of city life with an elegance and loneliness that stirs the soul. The large scale oil paintings feature rooftops, intersections, subways and other elements of the city, but usually devoid of people. When rendering figures, they are not engaged with others, but instead in the acts of the ordinary (smoking, walking, biking) making the viewer feel like a voyeur in these intimate moments of the mundane.

above left: Kim Cogan at work on Manhattan Bridge in Fog and above right, American Dream, his latest painting (2012) for the Resolve Show at Joshua Liner Gallery

His painterly style simultaneously conveys energy along with a certain calm. The vacant midnight moments and late night neon sign stores portray the fact that cities never sleep, even when people do.

Recent works (2011):

Stop at Lorimar:

Spot Lite:

Paradise Deli:

Mission Intersection at Midnight:

Mission Intersection at Midnight (detail):

Night Rider and Dark Corner:

Open Late:

Third Rail:

Williamsburg at Midnight:

Passengers:

Contortionists:

Brooklyn Rooftops:

Small View:

Manhattan Bridge with Fog:

Bronx River Crossing:

Lower East Side Rooftops:

Rooftops in Brooklyn:

Late Afternoon:

Sunset:

Earlier works (2009-2010)

Last Chapter:

Smoke and Garden of Eden:

Sweet tooth:

:
Nick's Luncheonette:

Grey Day:

He shared a look at his process here on his blog.

And in this video, a demonstration of his painting process: Mission Intersection At Midnight. The painting took over 3 months to complete.:

The artist's site
Art Prints: www.827ink.com
Kim Cogan is represented by Gallery Henoch and the Hespe Gallery