Exploring artistically has been my strongest drive as long as I can remember. I always found time to paint, design clothes, knit, and make jewelry throughout school, college, and later, in my career as a research scientist in the field of biotechnology and medical diagnostics. Creative exploration gave me a wonderful outlet and a refuge to express myself through different media. The worlds of art and scientific research never conflicted, they actually enhanced each other.
I never dreamed that I could start my own jewelry design business and have thousands of happy customers.  The opportunity presented itself quite unexpectedly, when I was looking for jewelry in brown to match my favorite outfit for a party and failed to find any I liked at the stores.  So, I made an interesting set in brown beads and leather, and received a lot of compliments and several orders to make the same set. But it wasn't until I designed a few dozen new pieces and had successful sales of my work at the local boutiques and the Stanford Shopping center, that I was inspired to start my own business. My friends at the medical diagnostic company where I worked supported my adventure. Rhapsody in Beads was officially born in 1997, and in 2004 I renamed the company Beadalena to incorporate the “beading like Lena” teaching side of my business.
The inspirations for Beadalena came from my travels to Estonia, a brief stay in Austria and Italy, frequent trips to Oregon and Carmel, all genres of music, especially syncopated rhythms of my childhood, but mostly from the incredible friends of my family, my customers, and my very talented mentors - painters, puppet makers, and artisans. Their high standards of workmanship, aesthetics and design set the path of quality, simplicity, and elegance in all my work.  
I love creating jewelry, when the muse is sitting on my shoulder, and the right design warms my gut. But most of all, I cherish the tremendous reward and fun of sharing my art with my customers and my students. I hope that you will visit my website often and enjoy the happiness my jewelry brings.