When I was in college it was important to me that in some way, I made a difference. I struggled with this after graduating, and eventually left the hotel industry because I did not feel I was making a difference. I needed to feel I was making an impact somehow, if only in a small way.

I feel it is not the monuments we build, or the money we make, that make a difference. It is the relationships that we have and the way we interact with others- strangers and our own families - that really make the most difference.

We can't change the world through selling jewelry, but we can affect our little portion by the way we sell it. As with most things in life, the process is at least as important as the end result. What good would any of this be, if we didn't enjoy ourselves, and laugh and learn along the way?

These days, I know I am making a difference. I get to watch designers mature, stores grow, and customers become wonderful friends. I may not be shaping the world, but in some small way - a smile here, a laugh there - I am making a difference. Or at least I am always trying.

An old story often repeated tells about a woman walking along the beach covered with stranded starfish, dying from the harsh sun. She walks along, throwing the starfish back in the ocean one at a time. Someone sees her and asks why she does this, she can't possibly save them all. She replies simply "We do what we can."

That's all. We do what we can. And hopefully, if we all do a little, that will be enough.

xoxox, Karen