Sharon R. Powell is an alumnus of the Gemological Institute of America. She has been in the gem and jewelry business for the last 23 years but has loved the allure of precious stones, minerals and rocks since she was a small child. She began creating pieces of gemstone bead jewelry as a form of therapy when bedridden during pregnancy. It was so enjoyable that she has continued over the years, making pieces from precious stones such as jade, citrine and amethyst to more common varieties of quartz, jasper and amazonite. She creates pieces based not only on color of the gemstone beads, but on ancient meaning and modern attributes as well, believing that this adds to the concept.