Paul Jenkins was born in the West Midlands in 1949. He started his career in art in the early 70s, first sculpting in wood and then finding himself drawn to sculpting in clay and wax, and he studied ceramics at Dudley College of Art.  He has worked as a commercial designer for various companies around the world, including the Metropolitan Museum in New York. There he was commissioned to reproduce the exact size, shape and colour of a rare 1850s teapot from the museum. He has also created more outlandish pieces, such as six 10ft Art Deco figures for the interior of a night club, and he has sculpted several pieces for the National Trust.