About Us Welcome to my little corner of the world. Jewelry has always been a passion of mine. As a child I would make jewelry for my toy horses and, yes, I did play with Barbies. Although, for them I just stuck cut off straight pins in their heads for earrings. Sorry Barbie! One of my first jobs was as a manager of a costume jewelry store. That was a lot of fun as it combined two things I love: retail and jewelry. I like to make theme displays, and have loads of fun around the holidays. I started making simple necklaces around 1990 and have wanted my own bead shop since about the same time. I loved collecting old world trade beads and have a few still. I still wear my first real stringing necklace and have never grown out of my love of it. It is simple yet attractive. Wire has become a recent passion of mine. I love making rings and wrapping cabochons. I love to go rock hunting and with wire wrapping this allows me to wrap anything I want to wear. Check out Taffy for a good example. My past runs the craft gammit. I was a seamstress for years and dabbled in puff paint, iron on transfers, card making, a little scrap booking and anything that sounded interesting. Too much to list here. Quite often I would make some jewelry to match an outfit I just finished sewing. In recent years my friends would say "Why don't you sell your jewelry?" I thought about it and after selling some of my jewelry to co-workers I decided to go online. What an amazing world this is to have the opportunity to reach out and connect with people through a product that came into existence through my hands. This is my grandmother, Julia Basilla Hill. This is where I derived part of my business name. My grandmother was very special to me and I wanted a business name that evoked a feeling of compassion, tenacity, and spirituality for me. I like the sound of her name. It has a special meaning to me and is just unusual enough for you to wonder where it came from. My grandmother always said I had healing hands. I used to get rid of her migraine headaches just by massaging her neck and head. I endeavor to put this healing energy into my creations as well. I have taken many classes and am always looking for new sources of information. I believe learning never stops. When it does, so do we. Check out my Blog and my Flikr site for more information about me and my work. I see a new generation of art developing in my lovely daughter who creates her own kind of jewelry. You will see that her style is very different from mine. Please read about her in the section below. She is a lovely girl and has a wonderful life ahead of her. Thank you for stopping by and I hope you love your purchase from Basillawerks. Peace and Light Rebecca This is my lovely daughter Hannah. Pronounced Ha-Na. She has a wild spirit and a bundle of passion. She created in great bursts of energy and when she starts a project she usually finishes 4 or 5. I love her fresh ideas and her "no boundaries" creativity. She enjoys making jewelry for her friends and they are getting used to receiving jewelry for gifts. She also paints beautifully and is currently taking a drawing class. I encourage her to explore many different types of art in the hopes that one day she will find the caveat of her natural talent. Thank you Hannah for having a page in my store. I love you!