Not long ago, Dogeared was simply one of Robin Kramer's favorite brands of jewelry. Now, as the company's new director of sales, it's her career.

"The whole thing was very serendipitous," Kramer said. "For my birthday last year I decided to give gifts to my family and closest friends. I came across Dogeared for the first time and was blown away by their Make a Wish necklace. It was simple. It was clean."

She bought 20 necklaces from Dogeared at retail in March of last year and gave them to friends at her birthday party at the beginning of June. At the end of the month, in a completely unrelated occurrence, a friend e-mailed her about a job opening at Dogeared.

"She said she was with this wonderful company and how it was ready to grow," Kranler said. "When she said the company was Dogeared. I called her immediately. After a phone interview, I knew it was the right fit."

After college in Boston Kramer moved to San Francisco because she fell in love with the city. She stayed for 15 years, working for the Gap, then freelancing for a year. After that, she got a job at an investment banking firm. Then she worked at Williams-Sonoma and Old Navy.