Diane Rose Thomas
Owner and Designer

Tomiko Marshall
Diane's Mother and Inspiration

 

Bybella teaching jewelry making in Africa

Bybella jewelry makers in the Phillippines

 

 

Diane’s inspiration for her art and jewelry design first came from her mother, Tomiko, an expert seamstress from Japan. Tomiko continues to sew and create beautiful crafts and loves to gift others with her original designs. Diane carries on her mother’s tradition of creating beautiful handcrafts and sharing them with others.

Bybella was founded in order to help underprivileged women and children support themselves in small business by creating and marketing beautiful handmade jewelry and more recently, items that can be sewn. Founder, Diane Rose Thomas, has spent 28 years living and working with these gifted women in the Philippines, Russia, and the country of Georgia. More recently, she spent some time helping the orphans at the IDP camps in Uganda with jewelry design and sewing skills and has partnered with Village of Hope Uganda. The natural resources of Asia, Russia, Georgia, and Africa, the desire to help develop the artistic and creative talent of these women and children, along with every woman’s natural appreciation of beautiful things was the inspiration behind the idea of jewelry creation and design.

The women and children involved with ByBella are industrious, artistic and creative hard workers striving to better their lives. ByBella helps to provide them with life skills and an industry that assists them in supporting themselves. Many live in conditions of extreme poverty which prevent them from receiving healthcare, adequate food, sending their children to school, or even providing them with shoes to wear.

Each piece of jewelry is an original hand crafted design, fashioned of sterling silver and a variety of fresh water pearls, coral, stones, shells, semi-precious stones and other natural materials. Please enjoy wearing jewelry and participate in helping those who may be less fortunate than yourself!

Diane with jewelry makers in Russia and Georgia