Natalie Ho

Natalie Ho makes her delicate pieces from her home studio in Canada.

Hi I'm Natalie!

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

My workspace is just one corner of my apartment. My favourite thing is being able to work in the natural light of the big window there. We have long winters and I find it especially peaceful to work during a big snowfall!

The tools I use most are stored right on the worktop, everything else is stuffed into the shelves below. I have a bench pin clipped to the corner (it’s covered by a dish towel in the photos), and there is a bar height table to the side, in case I want to work standing up.

What do you like about wax carving?

I like how it feels. Handcarving is very calming and meditative for me. The colour and translucency of wax also makes it a really pretty material to work with, the green especially reminds me of jade!

I like removing material more than I like the additive techniques that you need for metal work. Wax gives me the most freedom to do that easily.

How does it suit your style?

I try to emphasise qualities that are uniquely suited to wax carving, like freeform, organic shapes, or highly intricate details.

How did you arrive at your style, which I would describe as delicate and fine

I used to work at startups, where everything was led by speed and force. After leaving that, I wanted to see what would happen if I led my life with gentleness and patience instead. The delicacy of my work comes from wanting to see the effects of such an attitude. My simple designs take a few weeks to develop, maybe a month. The fancier ones usually span one full season, so three or four months.

It took about one year to discover the thinness I use now in my pieces. But I wouldn’t say I am confident using it necessarily. It’s just that I am very interested in experimenting with it! I used to feel quite nervous, but only because I didn’t know how to go about fixing it. Once I learned how to repair things properly, I could go ahead and take bigger risks.

My pieces are 3 dimensional, there’s something to see from every direction. My daily life is quite simple, but when I make jewellery, I let myself be as complicated as I want. It keeps me in balance!

I like adding a surprise detail in my pieces, just for fun! I love when easter eggs appear in video games or movies, you can feel the good humour of the creators. So I try to include something like that in my own work.

I like things that have seen a lot of time, and I wonder how my jewellery might look and feel to a future archaeologist or historian! I am also very inspired by traditional arts and crafts. Chinese bird-and-flower art is one of my favourites. Studying the work of past generations makes me feel connected to my heritage.

What was a breakthrough moment?

I really liked doing the stem of the persimmon in my Persimmon Tree.

I wanted to make a natural-looking connection between the stem and the base of the fruit, without blocking the lovely shape of the leaves. So I have the stem floating above the window at the back of the setting as though attached through the negative space. I’m really happy with how this turned out!

I want to improve the precision of my bezel settings, that way I don’t have to spend as much time filing them down later. Eventually I would like to use wax carving to set up designs for enamelling. I don’t know enough about enamel yet, so I will start with that first!

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

I put the project away and don’t look at it for some time. Working on other things and forgetting about it helps me reset and try again. All of my projects go through at least one major break before completion. After the first few it became inevitable, it's like a rite of passage!

Do you have any wax carving tips and advice?

I use a craft knife for precision carving and a heat pen for broader carving and repairs, I can use them for almost everything. If you need to repair or join delicate waxes with heat, you can use sticky tack to hold the work in place.

And you can find alternatives for some tools. I use a seam ripper instead of a scribe!

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

I’m quite proud of the Plum Blossom Ring I’ve just finished!

Dream piece you want to make?

In the future I would love to make custom pieces for my dearest friends and their moms! As daughters of immigrants who always focused on practical living, I think it would be nice to give them something to enjoy just for the beauty and delight of it. My own mom passed when I was younger, but I know she loved nature and flowers and the beauty of handmade things. I think it would have been so fun to treat her to as many jewels as she liked!

Any last advice to other wax carvers out there?

Compression sleeves or gloves can be helpful for stabilizing your wrists and hands!

Follow Natalie Ho on Instagram to see what she’s making. I dare you not to be amazed when you see how fine she makes her pieces!