“Rocks, shells, eggs, and insects all inspire me, and humble me as a designer. I try to keep shapes restrained, abstracting forms in nature, transforming them.”

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 diverse materials as precious and semi- precious metals and stones, pearls, ceramics, stone, plastic, and wood.

Rhett Butler of E.R. Butler & Co. created this collection using computerized lathes allowing for precise control of the beautiful curves that make these pieces so elegant. Ted Muehling was intrigued by the classic but delicate shape of a Biedermeier candlestick found at a flea market, and impressed by the precision of nineteenth-century lathe work. The Biedermeier candlestick form is based on three basic shapes: the egg, an attenuated rod, and a trumpet form. Permutations of these convex and concave shapes have yielded 5 different pieces. By combining and varying these, Muehling has created 17 different candlesticks that can be used individually, in symmetrical pairs, or in groupings of 3 or more. They are available in oxidized bronze, gold or sterling silver plate. The darkened bronze accentuates the silhouette, emphasizing a neoclassical origin, while polished or pumiced silver or gold enhances the play of light on the forms. Our current pieces are listed below.