Julie Tanksley

I am a member of the Dallas Bead Society and have taught classes at my local bead store as well as the Shreveport Bead Retreats. I always loved jewelry and the sparkle, my Father always said "Find something you love and do it". Well in the 60's and 70's I was a little hippie and loved beads but never could find anybody that could really teach me how to make the jewelry that I wanted and my Mother wanted me to be a nurse (I hated the sight of ... Read Full Bio »

I am a member of the Dallas Bead Society and have taught classes at my local bead store as well as the Shreveport Bead Retreats. I always loved jewelry and the sparkle, my Father always said "Find something you love and do it". Well in the 60's and 70's I was a little hippie and loved beads but never could find anybody that could really teach me how to make the jewelry that I wanted and my Mother wanted me to be a nurse (I hated the sight of blood) so that was out. I ended up being a bartender then a hairdresser then I found a person that taught me (in my 40's) how to really make the beaded jewelry that I liked. Then one day my Husband looked at all of the jewelry that I had made and said that I needed to sell some of my pieces, so I took them to work and the girls that I work with loved them. They suggested that I sell them in the Salon that we work in and the customers liked them too. Then I started dreaming about new designs and so I decided to write my own patterns my only problem is that I am dyslexic, and I thought maybe there was others out there like me. So I decided to make my patterns so that even beginners would have an easier time following them. Even now I have to admit some patterns are a little easier than others that I write then I learned that I loved teaching others how to do my patterns and also just the basic stitches in beading that you need to know to start. It is really funny how a business just takes off unexpectedly, I should have listened to my Father all those years ago I think I would have been much happier back then. Anyway I hope you enjoy my patterns as much as I have enjoyed them myself.