52 White Street New York, NY 10013
Tuesday to Saturday, 12 to 6 pm
ph: 212.431.3825
Since 1976 Ted Muehling has been designing jewelry and decorative objects
inspired by organic forms found in nature. With the help of a small staff in his
New York City studio, he produces multiples as well as one-of-a-kind pieces
using such materials as precious and semiprecious metals and stones, pearls,
plastic and wood. An intimate observer of the natural world, Muehling has been
inspired since childhood by plants, shells, reptiles, insects, birds and other
treasures discovered during walks in the woods and along the seashore where
he grew up. He has described his work as an ongoing effort to experience the
familiar anew, “to see an egg, a leaf or a shell as if for the first time.” Muehling
was born in New Jersey, in 1953. He studied design at Pratt Institute in New
York, where mentors included Gerald Gulotta, Rowena Reed and William Fogler -
designers who encouraged an appreciation of form, proportion, and pure beauty,
and who advocated the power of design to enhance everyday life. Throughout
the late 1970’s and 1980’s, Muehling has attracted attention for jewelry that
refined such natural elements as rice grains, olive branches, pinecones, and
insect wings. His eye and intuition gradually led him to expand his repertoire
of iconic forms and create spoons, lighting, and other decorative and functional
objects. In 1990, Muehling opened his first shop on the edge of Soho in
Manhattan. His unique presentation encouraged potential partners for
design projects of increased ambition and scale. Muehling’s collaboration
with Porzellan-Manufaktur Nymphenburg in Germany, for example, has
resulted in a broad range of functional production objects in porcelain.
An ongoing ten-year dialogue between Muehling and E. R. Butler & Co.
has produced an elegant production line of candlesticks and hardware in
bronze,silver, porcelain and glass. Steuben produced decorative objects,
some of them hand cut from massive pieces of blown lead crystal, and
a line of barware. In his most recent collaboration, with Lobmeyr Glass,
Ted has created a new line of glassware that exploits the engraving
and hand painting skills of this venerable Viennese glassmaker.
Ted Muehling’s studio and store is located at 27 Howard Street in
New York City where one can view the collections in glass, porcelain
and metal as well as jewelry. The best way to experience the range
of his design is to visit the store where you can see, touch and
experience the familiar anew.
