The Indie Wed/Wed Altered Pop Up Event

This Saturday, we're heading to the Indie Wed Pop Up, at super cool space in Humboldt Park - The Living Room - to meet folks and have impromptu design appointments.

Want to get in on the wonderland? Head here to buy a ticket, or email amanda (at) gustavreyes (dot) com to request a free ticket! We've got six to give away, so hop on it! Please include your full name and the number of tickets you need, and make sure to email by the end of Wednesday, September 24, 2014.

See you there!

The World in a Ring

O' what a happy Monday! A day to bring ourselves upright once more, to charge into the new week. (Or revive with a cup of coffee and some deep breathing, and then stride gently up to the day's to-do...)

Today, a newcomer to the studio asked, why is it called "Breaking Traditions"? Why, because it turns everything we've been raised to think about an engagement ring on its head!

It isn't about rebellion so much as reimagination: our Breaking Traditions rings use reclaimed, recycled, or ecologically-sourced wood and eons-old minerals, designed to respect our world while celebrating the wearer's own, fresh view. 

"Breaking Traditions"

This "Breaking Traditions" mahogany ring is inlaid with mother of pearl, lapis, malachite, and red coral. 

Mother of pearl is pretty and tough, the iridescent shield that protects the inner pearl. 

Lapis lazuli is the source of a painter's ultramarine, the platonic ideal of blue for artists (and us). 

Malachite is a terrestrial green, a green of protection and healing and growth. 

Red coral comes from the caverns of the ocean, a pulsing vermilion in the deep. 

And in the design, with care and craft, all of it comes together: an emblem for a promise, an honorific of a connection, a signification of who you are and who you mean to be. 

Let us help you celebrate your sweet difference! Wishing you a happy, healthy, productive week! 

What Inspires Us

 It is easy to say that nature plays a huge part in what we do. But it is not just wood that keeps us excited here at Simply Wood Rings. It is every element of Nature that inspires us to create something truly beautiful!

It's 9 am and the day begins with a quick peek out the window. There are two Peregrine Falcons that have found a lovely home, with the help of the Field Museum, outside our window. Everyone here has grown quite attached to the falcons, and we have lovingly named them “Mama and Papa Hawk” even though, we now know there is quite a difference between falcons and hawks. Some mornings the falcons will be there to say hello, and some mornings they are not. But, even if we only get to see a quick shadow swoop by, they fill our day with tons of excitement and happiness.

The falcons are a constant reminder to us of how humans and nature can co-exist. This tall brick factory provides us with a great place for a wood shop, and also closely resembles a cliff face to those birds who are seeking a home here in Chicago. We try to remember this every time we are making a ring.

Check out this live stream from one of nests in the Chicago area: http://1130falcon.click2stream.com/

Special thanks to the Field Muesem for the picture and the link

http://fieldmuseum.org/explore/illinois-peregrines

Something Borrowed...

Something Salvaged

Something Blue

Something Designed

Just for you.

www.simplywoodrings.com

wed with wood; celebrate love now

e.e. cummings is one of my favorite writers. His obscure punctuation choices, his lack of capitalization, his spontaneous line breaks, all contribute to his unorthodox writing style.  But mostly what I love about his writing is the natural rhythm of his verse, despite the absence of traditional structure. e.e. cummings is to poetry what Simply Wood Rings is to the wedding ring industry: inventive, non-traditional, and organically beautiful. We listen to the natural rhythm of the world around us, and use it in our craft. And so on Valentine's Day, in celebration of all types of love, I leave you with an e.e. cummings poem, anyone lived in a pretty how town. In the context of our wooden rings, this poem seems to embody the preciousness of the life cycle, and the idea that we hold dear: love is to be celebrated now. 

anyone lived in a pretty how town (with up so floating many bells down) spring summer autumn winter he sang his didn't he danced his did Women and men(both little and small) cared for anyone not at all they sowed their isn't they reaped their same sun moon stars rain children guessed(but only a few and down they forgot as up they grew autumn winter spring summer) that noone loved him more by more when by now and tree by leaf she laughed his joy she cried his grief bird by snow and stir by still anyone's any was all to her someones married their everyones laughed their cryings and did their dance (sleep wake hope and then)they said their nevers they slept their dream stars rain sun moon (and only the snow can begin to explain how children are apt to forget to remember with up so floating many bells down) one day anyone died i guess (and noone stooped to kiss his face) busy folk buried them side by side little by little and was by was all by all and deep by deep and more by more they dream their sleep noone and anyone earth by april wish by spirit and if by yes. Women and men(both dong and ding) summer autumn winter spring reaped their sowing and went their came sun moon stars rain

Salvaged Rose Wood Ring

The rosewood that we incorporate into our wood rings was salvaged from a local Chicago man who had barrels of it in his garage. He had worked for a company that made xylophones out of rosewood. The thing about making xylophones is that you have to cut the wood to the right dimensions, then test it to see if it will make the proper note it was intended to make. If it didn't make the right note, the wood was scrapped. This particular gentleman couldn't stand to see such a beautiful wood tossed into the trash. So he took it home, and it sat very well preserved in his garage until Gustav bought it from him. Rosewood is now an endangered species. Other folks can't buy this rosewood anywhere. This rarity is what makes people want it even more, let alone the fact that it is a gorgeous, rich-hued wood. We still have these materials that have already been harvested from the earth, and are now disregarded as scraps, ready to be tossed in landfills. Instead of looking for new shiny materials, or trees to cut down fresh, we want to face forward. We can draw out the beauty of this wood that was saved from the landfills. Rosewood has been harvested to near extinction. All we have is what we've salvaged from other people's harvests, and we are able to take this unwanted material, and give it the status of precious, rare, sought after. This rosewood will one day find its way back to the earth; we hope to give it a noble life until then. Simply Wood Rings

We are pleased to present: Simply Wood Rings Behind the Scenes

We recently had a video made for us by one of our own Simply Wood Ring customers and filmmaker, Maren Wickwire. It means a lot to us to be able to show you who makes your rings, and let you know how much we love it! Hope you enjoy getting an inside look into the wood shop!

Ancient Kauri wood and pure fine silver ring

This ring is made from Ancient Kauri wood and 99.9% pure fine silver.

The Kauri wood is the world's oldest wood at 50,000 years old. When I work with a wood that is this old it puts things into perspective in a very real way. I think of life without our minds trappings. Not empty but more full of what life really is. Imagine for a moment what nature has done for us to have this natural miracle of our life from so long ago. This ring gives you a connection to an extraordinary time of pre-historic sunlight, rains and life from so long ago.

by www.simplywoodrings.com

No beginning or end (Teak and Silver Wooden Ring)

A very popular design with nautical people for many years. I have used teak and birch to add to the nautical idea of the ring.

Teak Wood Ring Teak Wood is hard strong durable yellowish-brown used in shipbuilding. The Teak is incorruptible. It holds its own against all that life throws at it. The silver is sterling silver.

www.simplywoodrings.com