Vera Bradley Makes History

Northeast Indiana will be well represented in this year's Rose Bowl parade January 1, 2009. Fort Wayne-based Vera Bradley will be featuring its Spring 2009 collection, including its newest breast cancer awareness pattern, while holding the 17th spot in the 89 float lineup. Vera Bradley's participation will mark the first time in history a fashion collection has been introduced during this event.

Founded by Barbara Bradley Baekgaard and Patricia Miller, Vera Bradley is a fashion retailer producing quilted cotton travel sets, handbags and accessories. This homegrown business has exploded in recent years and Vera Bradley's patterns can be seen in such television series as Desperate Housewives, Brothers and Sisters, According to Jim, Samantha Who and appears in more than 20 feature-length films, including the recent teen cinema phenomenon High School Musical 3. Vera Bradley patterns have also made their way to celebrity gift lounges at the 2008 Tony Awards, 2008 Daytime Emmys and 2008 Sundance Film Festival.

This year's float is being designed by Festival Artists Worldwide and centers around the theme "Hope Grows", furthering their message and hope for a breast cancer free future. After a dear friend lost her battle with cancer, co-founders Barbara and Patricia founded the Vera Bradley Foundation for Breast Cancer and began producing limited edition breast cancer patterns that are sold with partial proceeds supporting the foundation's research and awareness campaigns. “The Vera Bradley Foundation for Breast Cancer is committed to eradicating breast cancer as a life-threatening disease by providing financial support for research and research-related projects.”

Participating in the Rose Bowl parade is one more avenue in which this flourishing northeast Indiana company is using its success and influence to continue their fight against breast cancer across the country. We all look forward to seeing one of our own in the infamous Rose Bowl parade on New Year's morning!

[Also, keep your eye out for Fort Wayne-native and breast cancer survivor Heidi Floyd who will be featured on the float alongside Sex and the City actress, two-time Emmy award winner, Tony Award Winner and breast cancer survivor Cynthia Nixon as well as two other breast cancer survivors hailing from Pasadena.]