Born on 10 February 1938 in Roskilde, was the daughter of the antiques dealer Arnold Jensen (1911–1987) and his wife Henny Marie née Bøgeholdt. On 19 August 1960, she married the schoolteacher Erik S, Pedersen with whom she had a son, Jesper, in 1964. The marriage was dissolved in 1972. As a young woman, she was exceptionally energetic, engaging in car racing with her brother and hiking in the Himalayas.[1]
In 1954, she began an apprenticeship with the silversmith Poul Bang. On completing her training in 1959, she was awarded the silver medal for her competence as an artisan. She then worked as a jeweller with Bent Stålgård until 1972, after which she took a two-year course in experimental design at the Goldsmiths' College in Copenhagen (1973–75). While there, she was a co-founder of the creative group known as May Be which exhibited in the Gammel Strand Gallery.[1][2]
In 1975, together with her friend Birthe Jörgensen, she established B & B, a studio and shop in Copenhagen's Gothersgade opposite Rosenborg Have. Although the two worked in quite different styles, they complemented each other, Jørgensen adopting a more traditional approach while Stenbak created far more exotic and imaginative pieces. In 1983, Jørgensen left the partnership to participate in her family's hotel business, leaving Stenbak to run the business alone until 1996. Her shop became generally known as Aladdins Hule or Aladdin's Cave. In the 1980s, she collaborated with the flower-painting artist Tage Andersen, exhibiting her work in his shop on Kongens Nytorv. In 1988, the two created a stunning table decoration for Rosenborg Castle in connection with an exhibition related to King Christian IV.[1]
Stenbak has exhibited in Denmark's Design Museum, the Geological Museum, Rosenborg Castle, Marienlyst Castle and in Antwerp's Diamond Museum.[2]