Photo courtesy of Brad Perry

Bio of Artist

Tenley is a jewelry designer and creator. She lives in a small fishing village on Rutherford Island in Midcoast  Maine. Tenley uses lobster shells from local lobstermen in her community as the focus for her jewelry. Born in Southern California, she was first inspired to create jewelry upon discovering the natural beauty found in abalone shells.  From there she delved into working with pearls and semi-precious gemstones.  Tenley spent her summers in Maine and moved here permanently in 2005. Tenley earned her BA from Kenyon College in collaborative major combining the disciplines of biology, economics and political science. Research for her thesis brought her back to the
Maine coast, examining the lobster industry from three perspectives: that of the lobstermen, the natural habitat/biological influences and the overall government regulations on the lobster industry. Her interest in shells, nature-created beauty and lobster fishing in Maine synthesized into Lobster Designs. 

Tenley is a mostly self-taught jeweler. She apprenticed briefly while living in Philadelphia, learning the art of PMC, Precious Metal Clay. Much of Tenley’s early work in beaded jewelry has been sold in and around Philadelphia including venues ranging from the Rittenhouse Hotel to local craft galleries in New Hope, Pennsylvania. While Tenley’s focus is dedicated to Lobster Designs, her past creative work has encompassed floral design at two of our country’s top event companies as well as studying and working in Biological Illustration.

Her varied interests in shells, marine biology, nature-created beauty, socioeconomics of historic towns and trades and lobster fishing in Maine synthesized into Lobster Designs.