Tom Boylan has been making beads for the last 20 years. He started making beads before there was a bead movement and before there were bead stores to offer contemporary glass beads to the public. Tom credits the rise of the bead movement with providing an opportunity to introduce his beads at bead stores and at bead shows nation wide.

Tom is a self taught bead artist. His designs are entirely his own unique creations. Tom does not employ elves, faeries, or bare footed and illegal immigrants to help in the making of his beads. Tom does not consider his beads a "production " commodity. He focuses on quality rather than quantity, and so does not "pump" the beads out in volume. They are made by hand, one at a time, via a sometimes pains-taking process that Tom developed by himself.

Tom mixes some of his color, and buys the rest from commercial glass companies. He would prefer to spend his time making beads rather than spend his time making the glass to make beads.