For the past three years, Petris has run her own business, Asly's Treasure Chest, from her Willow Glen home. She sells beaded handbags, cell-phone holders and jewelry, many of which she designs herself. And occasionally she will alter a pre-made item's design to suit her taste.

Although she occasionally sells her bags to individuals, most of her business is wholesale. Several local boutiques, including Barbarella and Elite Image on Lincoln Avenue in Willow Glen, carry her merchandise. The purses range from $10 to $60, depending on their size and design.

Like most self-starting entrepreneurs, Petris' beginnings were humble. She first sold her bags at college flea markets, along with items from her home that she no longer wanted. While peddling her goods at a flea market at Ohlone College in San Mateo, Petris casually told a buyer that she wanted to expand her operations. The woman connected her with a marketing representative, Margo Wells, who helped Petris take her business out of the flea market and into upscale boutiques.

"The first time she took my bags, she sold 150," Petris says.

Although she had little prior business experience--Petris worked as a marketing representative for a technology firm in her 20s--she says she was a quick learner.

"I have had to learn everything from scratch," Petris says. "It's amazing how much I've learned in a short period of time."

She may have had to work hard to get her business off the ground, but Petris says the effort has paid off.

"My husband planted a seed, and it just happened," she says. "I wanted to be home more, and I thought this was an opportunity I couldn't pass up."

No longer a one-woman operation, Petris relies on the assistance of eight marketing representatives. Her business has grown beyond Silicon Valley, and she frequently displays her merchandise in casinos and fashion expositions throughout the country.

To design her signature purses, Petris blends the traditional Cantonese craft of hand beading with Western fashion sense.

"It is an ancient art that has been modified for Western culture," she says.

Petris' business frequently takes her to China, where she can observe production firsthand. Many of the workers come to the factories from the countryside and take the patterns back to their villages to work from home.

Connecting with the people who make the bags allows Petris to make sure the workers are not laboring in sweatshop conditions.

"I have been to the factories, so I know the people are well-treated," she says. "Many also get housing and food."

Petri's desire to travel was inspired by her family's immigration from Uruguay when she was 11 years old.

"One of the reasons I wanted to travel was because I missed my country," Petris says. "I left at an age when I had a lot of memories."

Today, however, Petris says she enjoys being able to live in a country that affords her the opportunity to run her own business. And while she may enjoy globetrotting, Petris takes pleasure in being able to work from her home.

"I am here with my family," she says. "That's important."

For more information on Asly's Treasure Chest, visit www.aslystreasure chest.com.