Ted Muehling was born in New Jersey in 1953. In 1975, he earned a degree in industrial design from the Pratt Institute in New York, where his mentors included designers Gerald Gulotta, Rowena Reed, and William Fogler. Since 1976, Muehling has been designing jewelry and decorative objects.

In 1990, Muehling opened his first shop on the edge of Soho in Manhattan, where he designs and produces multiples as well as one-of-a-kind pieces. Muehling has collaborated on designs with Porzellan-Manufaktur Nymphenburg, E. R. Butler & Co., Steuben Glass, J. & L. Lobmeyr and Wiener Silber Manufactur—the large majority of which are available at Les Ateliers Courbet.

 Muehling’s honors include two Coty American Fashion Critics’ Awards in 1977 and in 1982. He was a finalist in the first annual National Design Award competition offered by the Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum in 1997, and he was the recipient of the Chrysler Design Award in 2000, and the Pratt Institute Alumni Achievement Award in 2012.