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| Summary: Vera Bradley handbags and Vera Bradley purses, along with Vera Bradley luggage, are fun and feminine, yet functional. Vera Bradley handbags and Vera Bradley purses are carried by women from all walks of life, from shopping mall to boardroom. |
The story of the Vera Bradley Designs company is a true rags-to-riches tale, in more ways than one. The founders, Barbara Bradley Baekgaard and Patricia Miller, have taken their creativity and sense of style to new heights, creating a line of purses, luggage, accessories, and house wares that feature their distinctive soft fabrics and pretty patterns.
Baekgaard and Miller are longtime friends from Fort Wayne, Indiana. While on vacation in Arizona in 1982, they noticed that most of the luggage they saw in the airport was very masculine in appearance. Citing a need for a more feminine look, they began designing their own, made of quilted cotton and featuring bold, intricate patterns. Naming their company Vera Bradley after Barbara’s mother, they pitched in $500 and together began their incredible journey from basement seamstresses to fashion icons.
The very first Vera Bradley line included handbags and carry-alls, and were all designed and sewn by Baekgaard and Miller in their homes. They held several home parties where they displayed and sold their items, and word traveled quickly. As the orders poured in, the two ladies scrambled to find seamstresses, suppliers, and business advice to keep up with the demand for their innovative products.
Within three years, Vera Bradley Designs reached over $1 million in sales. Clearly they had tapped into a lucrative market, targeting businesswomen and the fashion-minded set who wanted pretty, clearly feminine accessories. Miller and Baekgaard have won several awards for their designs and business sense, including “Entrepreneur of the Year” in 1987, courtesy of Ernst & Young.
The current Vera Bradley line includes nearly 1000 items, ranging from purses and luggage to table settings and cases for eyeglasses and cosmetics. All are quality pieces, made from their signature quilted cotton fabric and featuring alluring, feminine prints. Their factory is still located in Fort Wayne, but you can now find their products at authorized retailers worldwide.
Vera Bradley is also instrumental in raising funds and awareness for breast cancer. A portion of all sales of their New Hope line of products goes directly to The Vera Bradley Foundation for Breast Cancer, and in 2004 alone they raised over $140,000 for the fund.
Now, more than twenty years after they began, Vera Bradley Designs continues to grow and thrive. Barbara Baekgaard and Patricia Miller have become idols to anyone with a dream to be a fashion designer, having taken their company from a home-based small business to a multi-million dollar accessory giant.
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