For Emily Adams Bode Aujla, the past is never really past. The designer behind Bode has built a brand language based on this maxim, combining textile history with personal narrative to create pieces that are at once heirloom and modern talisman. So, when Instagram tapped her to design this year’s Instagram Rings award, a trophy in the form of a piece of jewelry that is meant to recognize the platform’s more adventurous creatives, she looked inward before creating something outward.
Instagram Rings is a creator award program all about celebrating those who take creative chances with their content, aiming to shift culture rather than merely reflect it. Launched in 2025, the initiative gathers a panel of judges — last year’s included everyone from filmmaker Spike Lee to rugby Olympic medalist Ilona Maher, and this year’s feature cosmetics mogul Isamaya Ffrench and surprise guest judge A$AP Rocky — who nominate their favorite creators and vote for a final list of winners. Those awarded with an Instagram Ring get a digital ring added onto their profile, and can customize their profile pages with custom colors and like button features. Most importantly, they receive a physical ring; last year’s was designed by Grace Wales Bonner, and this year’s is by Bode.
The resulting literal ring is a design at once personal — based on Bode’s Irish heritage — and wearable, built with materials symbolizing good fortune. In conversation with Highsnobiety, Bode talked about her intention to create a keepsake grounded equally in memory and craft, founded on the idea that luck is something we can make for ourselves.
Highsnobiety: How did it come about that Bode was tapped to design this year’s ring?
Emily Adams Bode Aujla: I had seen that Grace Wales Bonner did the one last year, and I have always followed her work and appreciate everything that she does. I do both men’s and women’s, but I liked that a designer like Grace, who works within a similar menswear space, had done a ring before. It’s also such a cool opportunity in that the ring is an award, but it’s also wearable.
Highsnobiety: Totally. Bode has a unique DNA — that patchwork spirit is ingrained in everything from the brand whether it be a mixed textile quilt or a western fringe jacket. How are you approaching jewelry with that same DNA?
Emily Adams Bode Aujla: My entire practice really focuses on preservation and historical narratives. My collections revolve around personal narratives, but so much of how I design is rooted in history and thinking about the preservation of crafts. My very first collections were things made to be one-of-a-kind, like you mentioned, but the practice has really evolved to be more about how collecting and archiving shapes who we are as people.
Highsnobiety: How did that process manifest into this particular ring?
Emily Adams Bode Aujla: The starting point was actually thinking about this ring that my aunt was given from my grandfather in her late teens or early twenties. It was a little pinky ring with “Yukon” embossed on it that he got from his travels. I was looking at my own collection of jewelry and then what's within my family’s — from my mom and her sisters — to understand what pieces are cherished throughout the years.
I’ve always collected antique jewelry, and I’ve had an affinity for commemorative pieces since I was a kid. I have a collection of charms given to me from my parents from a young age; they would give me a charm every time we traveled somewhere, or for my birthday. My sister and I both accumulated such a special bracelet that both of us can now pass down to our kids. I wanted to create something that feels like that.
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Highsnobiety: What are some of the historical narratives manifest in the design?
Emily Adams Bode Aujla: It really started with thinking about what a commemorative piece of jewelry looks like, and what would I be really excited to think about and wear. This idea with the four-leaf clover is that you create the circumstances for luck through exploring your own creativity. I thought that was such a wonderful notion that could link to this project, especially for this award.
I was also thinking about souvenir jewelry from the Victorian era. Both sides of my family actually have history in Ireland, and I’ve met with genealogists there, to understand those roots. I fell in love with this narrative around the good fortune of the Connemara marble, which is from the west coast of Ireland. There’s this wonderful folklore around the Connemara marble, it’s believed to bring good fortune and protection, and I love including a stone like that over a precious gemstone because of its significance. I really wanted to include that stone alongside the symbol of the four-leaf clover in the form of a unisex ring.
Highsnobiety: That handwork is something that Bode focuses on as the brand, and it’s so exciting to see this take shape in a piece of jewelry. Are there any jewelry projects in store for Bode?
Emily Adams Bode Aujla: No, not really. My aunt was a master goldsmith and I grew up around jewelry, so I will always be thinking about jewelry and fine jewelry and how that would make sense for the brand. It’s something that I love doing, but there’s nothing coming in the immediate future. You know, we have a million balls in the air at any given moment.
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