Born: 1939, United States (assumed)
Died: NA
Country most active: United States
Also known as: Barbara Bradley
The following is excerpted from Infinite Women founder Allison Tyra’s book The View from the Hill: Women Who Made Their Mark After 40.
Friends Patricia Miller and Barbara Bradley Baekgaard were in their 40s when they each put in $250 to start Vera Bradley in 1982. Named for Bradley Baekgaard’s mother, the company would become an internationally recognized brand with sales of $500 million. Per Bradley Baekgaard, the idea came from looking around an airport during a layover, when she commented to Miller, “This place could use some color” amid a sea of drab shades. “As we looked at the bags in the airport, none had any feminine detail. We wished for a simple and attractive getaway bag with several compartments and preferably in a bright color,” she said. “We had worked together on a wallpaper business in Fort Wayne but we were basically stay at home moms. I had four children in five years. While we were familiar with popular brands like Laura Ashley and Pierre Deux their travel totes were not available in the Midwest.
“Before anyone could talk us out of it—including ourselves—we drove to JoAnn Fabrics with $500, borrowed from our husbands, and bought as many yards of cotton fabric as we could afford.”
Within their first year, the women had sold $10,000 worth of their colorful bags, which had risen to $1 million by year three. By 2006, the company was shipping $2 million a day in products. The company has also provided tens of millions of dollars to support breast cancer research, with the Vera Bradley Foundation for Breast Cancer established in 1998.