One of the reasons I wanted to start a company is because I wanted an environment that I wanted to work in. I wanted people to be able to have a life - for it to be OK to leave for a lacrosse game or a doctor's appointment. So I think women do work differently; it's important to have both men and women. They offer different things.

The easy glamour of the French Riviera in the late 1960s - inspired by Romy Schneider's character in La Piscine - mixed with garden elements. Blueprint, botanical, lattice, Queen Anne's lace and folly prints are paired with cleaner silhouettes and proportions in a fresh palette of green, white and coral.

It was ingrained in me to be gracious.

My biggest challenge every day is to be a great mother and a great businesswoman.

I wanted to help women and their families.

Ambition is not a four-letter word and women have to embrace that.

I wanted stores that would feel like a comfortable room in my apartment, cozy and colorful and different.