Mena Messina has been making jewelry since she was in high school.  She fell in love with metalsmithing when she took a summer program at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia where she graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Craft and a minor in Art Therapy.  She continued her studies in Art Therapy in graduate school at Lesley College and worked as an Art Therapist with special needs children.  Her jewelry designing became her focus after completing a body of sculptural designs for Body Sculpture on Newbury Street and other galleries and stores in the New England area as well as Bloomingdales in New York City.  Her work was bought by galleries and stores all over the country through The American Craft Council’s Wholesale/Retail shows.

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Mena is inspired by her environment, whether it be of photographs she took at the Christian Science Center’s outdoor pool of flowing waters when she lived in Cambridge or bales of hay when she moved to the country.  Her work has been sold to many museum gift shops including The Guggenheim, The American Craft Museum, The Chicago Institute of Art, The Philadelphia Museum of Art, etc.

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Mena married glass artist Gary Genetti, genettiglass.com.  Together, they have two beautiful daughters who also inspire Mena's work.  They currently reside in the countryside of Warwick, New York.