Diane Fitzgerald is a bead collector and jewelry designer who works in a variety of contemporary bead assemblage techniques, including beadwork using seed beads, and bead assemblage with larger beads. Since 1989, Diane has taught a wide range of bead classes at her shop, Beautiful Beads, in Minneapolis, Minnesota and around the country.

As a bead collector, she specializes in contemporary American art glass beads and European and Japanese vintage beads. Diane has traveled to South Africa to study Zulu and Xhosa beadwork and to the Czech Republic, Germany and other areas to learn about the glass bead industry and meet beadworkers and beadmakers. Diane has a graduate degree in Mass Communication from the University of Minnesota with a minor in Design.