I was born in Chicago and encouraged to create by an artistic family involved in theatrical and wedding couture. My first love was fashion and costume, and although not chosen as a career, the rich fabrics, trims and jewels, detailed design, pattern drafting, and draping that I learned became a large part of my appreciation of personal style and sophistication.

I chose a design/communication education, and have a B.S. in Visual Design from the Institute of Design, Illinois Institute of Technology.  The high quality/high creativity approach of the Bauhaus philosophy of combining craft and technology is a lesson I have carried into my work as a graphic designer, and now into my jewelry.

As a co-owner of Tessing Design Inc. for 35 years, I needed to have a symbiotic business mindset with my clients, so I returned to school and completed my Masters in Business Arts, specializing in Marketing at the Loyola University Chicago Graduate School of Business.

After a fortunate beginning design position with the Field Museum, I began to appreciate anthropology. It inspired me to travel the world, with my husband, Arvid, reveling in the art and artifacts of ancient and modern cultures.  Jewelry has always been a special interest and I have collected both valuable and simply intriguing pieces.

I am presently engaged in mastering a wide range of metalsmithing techniques at Lillstreet Art Center Chicago: etching, folding, repousse and chasing, wax carving and casting, with the goal of creating a unique expressive design blend for each new series of pieces.

My recent fascination is to fold and form metal to pleat, drape, and ruche like the fabric and ribbons I learned to love, creating jewelry as a precious match to the art of fashion.