Tad Sewell, a bead collector since the age of twelve, was born on the mainland and transported to the Territory of Hawai`i in her early teens. She graduated from Punahou School and then majored in engineering and architecture at the University of Arizona. She designed homes until the early 1970s when she became a full time mother and began studying art at the University of Hawai`i; painting with Ed Stasack, ceramics with Harue McVay, and sculpture with Jerry Aldland.
In the mid-70s, Tad and a friend started an event planning, decorating, and catering business that became a full time “source of insanity” until 1988 when the partners sold the business.
Since that time, Tad has traveled extensively and collected beads. She is an artistic judge for the Garden Club of America, and as such, travels throughout the country each year to judge shows and to teach classes in all types of arranging (specializing in abstract design).
When not traveling, she lives in Volcano where she assembles her collection of beads into distinctive pieces, each one unique unto itself.