Anabel Kawai: Onc311 Jewelry Design

Anabel Kawai, better known online under her business name Onc311 Jewelry Design makes her fun filled pieces in her home studio in Japan.

2 photos side by side. Left an Asian dragon in a circle shape made from green injection wax. He has confused expression and his claw is in the center of the circle made by his body. Right the queen of hearts from Alice in Wonderland in green injection wax. She's carrying a septer in one hand and has a crown on her massive amount of hair. Her facial expression is angry

Hi I'm Anabel!

And I make the majority of my jewellery through wax carving! I design, carve, set stones, and polish all of my pieces.

Photo of Anabel Kawai working at her bench with an insert in the top right corner of a different photo so you can see her face. Anabel has short dark hair and is wearing a grey turtleneck sweater

I recently renovated one of the rooms in my house to my studio. It’s a very small space but it has everything I need!

Anabels studio. On the left is a standalone bench under the window and on the right side is a long bench divided in separate work stations. Tools are on the wall

I have a standalone silversmith bench and a long desk that’s divided into separate work stations. The corner is set up with a torch and extraction for soldering. A loose bench top for wax work that goes on top of the desk to make it a more comfortable height to work at. And the rest of the desk is for administration and wrapping things. Hand tools are stored on the wall.

2 side by side photos. Left standalone jewellers bench with microscope and various papers with designs. Right desk with a soldering station in the corner and a wax working bench next to it. Handtools are stored on the wall

I want to get more machines but I don’t have the space available at the moment...I need to conquer more space in my house for my studio!

What do you like about wax carving?

I like that it’s an easy material to manipulate. You can do, undo, and redo easily. It’s cheap compared to metal, perfect to trial your way through a new design at a low cost. And you don't need much space to work with it.

How does it suit your style?

I like to make small pieces that are very detailed. So I found this soft wax that is ideal for this kind of design: injection wax.

collage of different stages of making a hummingbird. Left 3 photos with different stages of the wing progression in green injection wax. From top to bottom the wing gets more detailed and articulated. Middle wings attached to the body and small peek at the tail made from wire and green injection wax. Right finished hummingbird casting in silver on a hand.

The one I use has different grades of hardness. I start the whole piece with medium hardness and I use a harder wax mix the more detailed it is.

How did you arrive at your style, which I would describe as filled with personality

I attended a wax carving course. I tried to follow the steps and make the pieces as described in the manual but I couldn’t. I’m not good at memorizing or remembering the steps to make a piece. It’s also a struggle to make the same design over and over again. That’s why my pieces are always slightly different. It’s my weakness but also my strength!

4 pairs of cats made in turquoise injection wax. Each pair is similar but different. Left cats are stretching towards the side, bottom cats are back to back, top cats are lying flat on their back and right cats are stretching long on their bellies

I enjoy making fun pieces. Even when I make monster creatures, they don’t look scary. They’re realistic but magical at the same time. I like to make designs that bring you joy when you see them, the same joy that I feel when I’m making them.

side by side photo of the same dragon piece. Left Asian style dragon in a circle shape made from green injection wax. He has confused expression and his claw is in the center of the circle made by his body. Right same dragon cast in silver. Polished with oxidisation in the recesses. The claw is now holding a red bead.

In the beginning, I only made animals and creatures that I really enjoy making. But I realized that the market is very narrow if I only make those kind of pieces. Now I spread the designs to a more reachable market, while staying true to my style. Details and personality always find a way into everything I make.

I'm still trying to find the balance between sellable items and things that I really want to make. In the end, we have to sell to be able to continue with our passion. Be as true as you can be to yourself!

What was a breakthrough moment?

My biggest breakthrough was when I combined hard wax with injection wax. Before using hard wax, I made everything from soft wax. This didn’t work for all of my pieces. I would get it done, but it would be difficult for some designs.

Close up of a circle of hard green wax with details done with soft wax on top

Now I combine the 2 to make it easier for myself. For example, if I want to make a ring I start with a hard wax ring tube, then I add some details with the soft wax.

I like to learn new techniques and not be stuck with only one. It’s faster to combine and switch between different techniques, like building up with soft wax and carving away with hard wax, than to try and make everything the same way.

Same for wax, I like to try different waxes and find their strengths. That way I can use the wax that’s best suited for the design. When I want to make geometrical shapes and precise sizes, I use hard wax. When I want to make irregular and fluid shapes I use the soft one.

In the end, it all melts down the same!

I do want to improve my skills with hard wax. And I want to learn to work with Mitsuro Hikime next.

What do you do when things don’t go to plan?

This happens often. You imagine your design in your mind but when you execute it it doesn't go the way you thought. If it’s a custom-made order with an approved design, I redo it over and over until I get the exact design. It’s all a learning experience!

But if it’s a free design, when something goes wrong, I study the piece and try to adapt the accidentally born design into a new piece. Many of my final designs were created by accident. I like to think that they are happy accidents!

Do you have any wax carving tips and advice?

To polish my hard wax pieces I use 3M sponges from #250 to #1000 grit to make the surface smooth. At the very end, I rub over it with a stocking for the final polish.

Close up of bench with different grit 3M sponges

This technique doesn't work for soft wax! For soft wax I use benzine with a paint brush to polish and smooth the surface. Be careful not to buy a smelly benzine because you can get really dizzy with the strong smell. I use a transparent benzine, the one that’s used for cleaning.

And if you work with soft wax, in winter it’s more difficult because of the cold. It breaks all the time, so be careful.

What’s the piece you’re most proud of?

Probably the last piece that I had to make for my wax certificate. It’s the Red Queen of Alice in Wonderland.

2 photos side by side. Left the queen of hearts from Alice in Wonderland in green injection wax. She's carrying a scepter in one hand and has a crown on her massive amount of hair. Her facial expression is angry. Right the same piece cast in silver, polished with oxidisation in the recesses. A ruler behind the piece shows it's only 30mm tall

Dream piece you want to make?

Secretly I dream about making a big piece of Youkai, they are Japanese monstrous creatures. It will be like a 3D canvas of 15cm x 8cm with many Youkai on it. They will emerge a little bit from the surface, some of them will be outside of the frame. It’ll be amazing when it’s done!

Any last advice to other wax carvers out there?

Watch a lot of videos on Instagram and YouTube and practice, practice, practice. Nowadays you can learn a lot with only one click!

Follow Onc311 Jewelry Design on Instagram to see what she’s making. I dare you not to smile and be delighted when you see her fun filled work!