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A Colorful Way of Living: How to Be More, Create More, Do More the Vera Bradley Way
“This place could use some color!” That’s what 44-year-old Barbara Bradley said to a friend during a layover. It was 1982 and all the women could see was a succession of drab, bulky suitcases being lugged through the terminal. When they returned home to Indiana, Barbara and her business partner got out a few Simplicity patterns and a Singer sewing machine and set to work. That first year Vera Bradley sold $10,000 worth of their colorful quilted bags. Today, the company has revenue of over half a billion dollars.
Barbara Bradley has a message for stop second guessing yourself. Your moment of reinvention is right around the corner. Your potential is endless. It’s never too late—or too early—to redesign your work and life and start again. Whatever it is you’re inspired to do, you can build on what you already know, learn something new, and then go for it!
In this book, Barbara Bradley shares the values that help her to thrive in business, health, relationships...and in every aspect of her personal and professional life. They
Following your strengths / Acknowledging passion as a magic ingredient / Making a friend wherever you go / Being fussy; noticing every detail / Keeping the F in Fun / Making your own luck / Creating a home wherever you go / Leaning on your sisters / And remembering always—there’s enough for everyone.
Barbara Bradley has a message for stop second guessing yourself. Your moment of reinvention is right around the corner. Your potential is endless. It’s never too late—or too early—to redesign your work and life and start again. Whatever it is you’re inspired to do, you can build on what you already know, learn something new, and then go for it!
In this book, Barbara Bradley shares the values that help her to thrive in business, health, relationships...and in every aspect of her personal and professional life. They
Following your strengths / Acknowledging passion as a magic ingredient / Making a friend wherever you go / Being fussy; noticing every detail / Keeping the F in Fun / Making your own luck / Creating a home wherever you go / Leaning on your sisters / And remembering always—there’s enough for everyone.
258 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 4, 2017
17 people are currently reading
515 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
May 18, 2017
I was expecting this book to be more about the roots of the Vera Bradley company. It ended up being more about the business philosophy of the company. Since this isn't my industry, that didn't appeal to me much. However, the way the story was written made it enjoyable to read. The anecdotes were honest and heartfelt. That kept me reading along until the end even though it was not necessarily my area of interest. I also liked seeing all the pretty pattern pages used to decorate the book. That's what I love most about Vera Bradley most anyway.
June 15, 2017
This is, as I said in my earlier comment, a lovely book. In so many ways.
You would expect this to be beautifully designed, and it is. It is full of splashes of pages of color, lovely patterns, and pull quotes in lovely fonts. It has lovely cartouches on the chapter headings, and great drop caps. But if you think Vera Bradley is a fluffy brand made for old women, and that the woman who started it has nothing to offer you, think again.
More than just a business guide, more than just an uplifting ode to women who are trying to juggle too much, more than just a memoir about the building of a business that has become an international sensation - this is all of this and more.
Rarely has a book that is shelved in the business section made me cry. There are chapters here about her life with her second husband that brought tears to my eyes. There is loving tribute to her mother, for whom the business is named.
But there is also good, solid advice about how to run a business, how to live a life, and how to blend the two.
Here's a couple quotes:
"Life is a balancing act where what's most important is how we spend our energy and attention over time, rather than over the course of one day."
"I believe we each have people on our "life's" board of directors - who is on yours? In my experience, when you follow love - that is, when you surround yourself with positive people who give you a charge and bring out your own greatness - your life will light up and expand in directions you never imagined possible."
If everyone who reads this doesn't beat down the door to work at Vera Bradley, I'll eat my hat. Business owners could learn a lot from this about how to run their company. Employee retention is just the tip of the iceberg. It all adds up.
You would expect this to be beautifully designed, and it is. It is full of splashes of pages of color, lovely patterns, and pull quotes in lovely fonts. It has lovely cartouches on the chapter headings, and great drop caps. But if you think Vera Bradley is a fluffy brand made for old women, and that the woman who started it has nothing to offer you, think again.
More than just a business guide, more than just an uplifting ode to women who are trying to juggle too much, more than just a memoir about the building of a business that has become an international sensation - this is all of this and more.
Rarely has a book that is shelved in the business section made me cry. There are chapters here about her life with her second husband that brought tears to my eyes. There is loving tribute to her mother, for whom the business is named.
But there is also good, solid advice about how to run a business, how to live a life, and how to blend the two.
Here's a couple quotes:
"Life is a balancing act where what's most important is how we spend our energy and attention over time, rather than over the course of one day."
"I believe we each have people on our "life's" board of directors - who is on yours? In my experience, when you follow love - that is, when you surround yourself with positive people who give you a charge and bring out your own greatness - your life will light up and expand in directions you never imagined possible."
If everyone who reads this doesn't beat down the door to work at Vera Bradley, I'll eat my hat. Business owners could learn a lot from this about how to run their company. Employee retention is just the tip of the iceberg. It all adds up.
June 26, 2024
This excellent book is a keeper, and shall henceforth be added to my highschooler's reading list. It was an aesthetically beautiful book, as one might expect from Vera Bradley. It was chock full of life lessons, personal life stories, inspiration, as well as the story of the company, Vera Bradley. (Made me think that I would love to work for them some day.)
The only concern that I couldn't shake was her praise of her decision to divorce her first husband. She managed to say nothing negative about him, "except" mentioning that he wanted to retire to a beach at 50 just when she was getting her company started.
My take was that a good husband would have recognized, that after raising his children, it was her turn, and would have been supportive. With his early retirement, they could have been a force in her business AND spent time at beaches as well.
While my heart truly hurt for her, I still have a hard time with the way the divorce was touched on in the book. I had that odd feeling, that based on those few paragraphs, that it would be a bit tempting for some to settle for divorce instead of using the amazing principles in the rest of the book, to keep building their marriages into something truly beautiful.
I would have given 4 stars for the divorce paragraphs alone, but the rest of the book was so excellent, that I don't want the title to get lost in my multitudinous heap of 4 star books.
The only concern that I couldn't shake was her praise of her decision to divorce her first husband. She managed to say nothing negative about him, "except" mentioning that he wanted to retire to a beach at 50 just when she was getting her company started.
My take was that a good husband would have recognized, that after raising his children, it was her turn, and would have been supportive. With his early retirement, they could have been a force in her business AND spent time at beaches as well.
While my heart truly hurt for her, I still have a hard time with the way the divorce was touched on in the book. I had that odd feeling, that based on those few paragraphs, that it would be a bit tempting for some to settle for divorce instead of using the amazing principles in the rest of the book, to keep building their marriages into something truly beautiful.
I would have given 4 stars for the divorce paragraphs alone, but the rest of the book was so excellent, that I don't want the title to get lost in my multitudinous heap of 4 star books.
April 15, 2021
I have always admired the Vera Bradley bags in the airports--the color and the patterns are exactly what I like. So, when I saw this book on a shelf in Wal Mart I just bought it because it sounded inspiring. I was not disappointed. Barbara Bradley Baekgaard and her friend, Pat Miler, were stuck in an airport waiting for their next ride and had plenty of time to watch people. They noticed how boring the luggage and carryon bags were. They decided the world needed more color, so they started the business in the basement of Barbara's house. They bought fabric at Joanns Fabrics and used a Simplicity pattern to cut duffel bags and purses out of colorful material, sewed them up and sold them locally. The business grew from there to a billion dollar business. These women just wanted to add color to other women's lives and had no plans of being this big. I think their business philosophy and carrying attitude was the driving force behind the growth of their company. They named the company after Barbara's mother Vera Bradley. Barbara tells the story beautifully with short chapters, wonderful color and patterns and photographs. She is inspiring and her business philosophy works for nonbusiness relationships. You don't have to be an entrepreneur to use her advice. I highly recommend this book for anyone at any age.
January 23, 2019
This is such a lovely book, and the author is a delightful and inspirational woman. I came upon it completely by chance. I own one Vera Bradley purse, which I have very happy memories with, having used it on a wonderful family trip several years ago and then again recently on a trip with my daughters, marking a new stage of my life.
I somehow ended up browsing the VB website, deciding that now at 56 I could buy some "frivolous" but beautiful bags and accessories instead of my usual practical choices, although to be fair they were all on sale!
Anyway, I saw this book on the website and for some reason it spoke to me.
It has been a pleasure to read. It's beautifully illustrated, exuberant, and filled with stories from a remarkable and spirited woman who lives life to the fullest. In fact, I felt somewhat envious of her life filled with people she loves and relationships she nourishes. But she is an inspiration that it's never too late to create a life you aspire to. She works hard, follows her heart, and is so generous and thoughtful-- how lucky you must be to be her friend, colleague, employee or acquaintance! Thank you, Barbara, for sharing.
I somehow ended up browsing the VB website, deciding that now at 56 I could buy some "frivolous" but beautiful bags and accessories instead of my usual practical choices, although to be fair they were all on sale!
Anyway, I saw this book on the website and for some reason it spoke to me.
It has been a pleasure to read. It's beautifully illustrated, exuberant, and filled with stories from a remarkable and spirited woman who lives life to the fullest. In fact, I felt somewhat envious of her life filled with people she loves and relationships she nourishes. But she is an inspiration that it's never too late to create a life you aspire to. She works hard, follows her heart, and is so generous and thoughtful-- how lucky you must be to be her friend, colleague, employee or acquaintance! Thank you, Barbara, for sharing.
July 25, 2018
If you are in need of positive input to your life or simply an uplifting book, this may be the one.
The book is interesting in detailing the birth of the Vera Bradley Company while drawing out many life lessons and questions to ask yourself. The book itself is very colorful with many pages backed in Vera Bradley designs. Those just made the book more fun to read. I thoroughly enjoyed being entertained by someone who lives life so positively. A very good read.
The book is interesting in detailing the birth of the Vera Bradley Company while drawing out many life lessons and questions to ask yourself. The book itself is very colorful with many pages backed in Vera Bradley designs. Those just made the book more fun to read. I thoroughly enjoyed being entertained by someone who lives life so positively. A very good read.
August 30, 2017
I was lucky to get this book in a giveaway, it is so pretty and of such a good quality!
Each page reveals a new beautiful pattern from Vera Bradley designs.
I like how it is written - simply but smart, personal stories are incorporated into encouraging messages. And mostly - it all makes sense. A pleasure to read.
Each page reveals a new beautiful pattern from Vera Bradley designs.
I like how it is written - simply but smart, personal stories are incorporated into encouraging messages. And mostly - it all makes sense. A pleasure to read.
June 26, 2017
An upbeat autobiography of one of the founders of Vera Bradley industry - I will never look at a Vera bag with the same eyes ever again. I have always liked the colorful bags but never owned one until this year!! Loved her story of the beginnings of this business with an idea of two women friends and then taking action with a borrowed $500!
December 30, 2017
Really enjoyed this book. I randomly picked it off the "Top Picks" shelf at the library because I liked the cover, and had no idea what it was about, and was then very pleasantly surprised. The author organized the book very nicely and it was a quick read because her stories are so funny and inspiring.
May 7, 2017
It wasn't what I expected. I expected it to be more about how Vera Bradley was started and how it came to be what it was today. Instead it's about treating your employees like family and giving your 3,000 employees a $50.00 bill for their birthdays.
June 6, 2017
Although I don't carry Vera Bradley products, I do like to see them. I think the philosophies espoused in this book about dealing with employees, vendors and even one's self are excellent. I hope I was able to do such when I had my store.
July 31, 2017
Never purchased a Vera Bradley item in my life, but this book caught my eye on the library shelf. So glad I checked it out. Easy to read, funny anecdotes, and simple advice - be nice, do the right thing, don't be afraid to make mistakes, and have fun!
August 6, 2017
A nice light read on the business and life philosophy of the co-founder of Vera Bradley. Packaged beautifully, just like her products, this book showcases the values, beliefs and highlights of her life. Makes me want to work for a company like this!
February 9, 2023
Very enjoyable read about leadership, friendship and personal development. What an incredible, inspiring woman Barbara Bradley Baekgaard is. Her humor, positive energy and passion has changed not just the fashion world but her hometown and state for the better.
December 19, 2024
I breezed through this book. I love the colors,the stories & immersing myself in this book made me so happy. I wish they have cards of the pages with the vera prints & messages so I can pick one a day for inspiration
February 20, 2025
Mildly interesting account of the company philosophy at Vera Bradley. Giving two stars because one would be too mean for this sweet lady with corn-fed principles (many of which I agree with!) of relationship building and forging ahead with dreams.
May 16, 2017
great reminder to make life colorful and rewarding and positive
June 24, 2017
I really adored this book! Barb's voice is just so wonderful and this book was both fun and helpful. Glad to be a Vera girl!
July 16, 2017
This is a great book. The author is a very positive person.
September 3, 2017
I loved every single page of this book!
September 17, 2017
Loved the insight into VB corporate culture. But wasn't that interested in her going on about husband.
Wrote a lot of notes and quotes from the book.
Wrote a lot of notes and quotes from the book.
February 8, 2019
Interesting book giving the origins of one of my favorite brands.
March 26, 2019
Good stories
November 9, 2019
I loved this book. As a breast cancer survivor, Fort Wayne resident, and an entrepreneur, I appreciated this book immensely.
August 16, 2021
I felt like this book was very insightful and had a lot of knowledge in how to really push yourself personally. There were a lot of great perspectives.
June 29, 2022
This book was inspiring and uplifting a wonderful read.
March 8, 2023
If you like Vera Bradley bags you'll like this book?
March 27, 2024
Exactly how I hoped the founder of Vera Bradley be. A delightful memoir by a delightful woman.
August 11, 2025
Has it really taken me six years to finish? I feel like I didn’t pick it up regularly until last year. It’s fine. If you enjoy the products, you’ll like the book otherwise probably not.
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September 30, 2025guys... specifically mom (who will never see this)... I didn't like this one. I don't like memoir / self help / anecdotal nonfiction books.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews