The Beginning of Something Very Colorful

Hi! I am Stephanie, and I am currently in week two of my dream internship at Vera Bradley. I am working in Human Resources for the summer, and the beginning of my time here has been spent learning about this amazing company, getting to know my coworkers, and adjusting to my new surroundings and schedule.

To help us get acquainted, here is some more information about me ...

This fall I will be a senior at Butler, where I am a Marketing major with a Communication Studies minor. I am a true Indiana girl at heart, since I grew up on a farm in southern Indiana and then transplanted myself to Indianapolis for college a few years ago, and now I am living in Fort Wayne for the summer. Usually, my summer is spent lounging by the pool, going to small-town festivals and showing cattle, but this one will be slightly different ... and I couldn't be any happier! I also love crafting, being social, and of course blogging!

If you followed Behind the Seams last summer, you probably remember Libby, who just graduated from Butler (Congrats, Libby!). Since ours is such a small school, I actually know Libby and read all of her posts. Before I finished my junior year and she moved on to the next chapter of her life, we met up so she could give me some tips for my summer as the intern blogger.

Libby's Blog Survival Guide:

1. Carry a camera everywhere. You never know when a Kodak moment could pop up. My fellow interns came to realize that if I was around, whatever we were doing was going to be on the blog!


2. Think outside the office. The magic happens inside the Vera Bradley offices, but there is more to the company than handbags. I had tons of fun at the Vera Bradley Classic and being in a Fort Wayne parade. It's a great way to meet new people and share the amazing company culture.


3. Don't be afraid to ask for help. Whether you're brainstorming ideas, proofreading or gathering feedback, learn from the talented people around you! The Web team was awesome and provided me with many entertaining photo opportunities!


4. Last but not least ... Be yourself! Last summer, readers got a true peek at my life, from my work desk down to my favorite shoes!

Libby and I at the Bulldog - A famous Butler landmark!

One of my projects: Web Benchmarking

Cover slide for last week's Web Benchmarking PowerPoint

Checking email and looking at Facebook? Meet my Web Benchmarking project! Web Benchmarking is a review of what Vera Bradley and other brands are doing throughout the web each week. It's a way to keep tabs on other brands and make sure that Vera Bradley is staying strong with our online activities.

There are several aspects of my Web Benchmarking project: Facebook, emails, and a Hitwise chart. In Hitwise, I look at how many visits the Vera Bradley site has (a lot!) in comparison to other handbag companies like Coach, Dooney & Bourke, etc.

For Facebook, my mission was to "like" different brands and then weekly see what kind of content they publish on their pages. Checking up on Tory Burch and J.Crew? No problem!

Vera Bradley on Facebook was busy last week--be colorful events and the Fall 2010 launch!

For emails, I have a special Gmail account that I use to sign up for different brand emails. I have quite a list going, and can always count on a pretty full inbox!


There are several categories that I look for--sales messaging, limited time offers ("Free shipping on all beach towels!"), points of interest, etc. Points of interest emails are my favorite to see because I like seeing what brands are doing besides advertising their summer sales and free shipping deals. It is the wild card category!

Points of Interest: anything interesting!

Back to campus already??

Back to campus emails have been majorly popping up in my inbox since the 4th of July. Seeing school-related emails is a bit bittersweet--it means I'm headed back to Butler University again (yay!) but also that my internship is over (MAJOR boo!). I guess I will just have to ease my pain by buying lots of Vera Bradley school supplies....

The Summer of {Vera Bradley} Love

Hi! I am Libby Bates, and I'm the Web/Retail Marketing intern at Vera Bradley. It's pretty safe to say I've landed my dream internship--I can't think of anything better than a job that combines Vera Bradley, shopping, and surfing the Web!

A little bit about me: I'm an Indiana girl--my home base is in Lawrenceburg and I'm a senior marketing major at Butler University in Indianapolis. Although I've lived, worked, and played in Indiana my whole life, I spent last semester studying abroad in Madrid, Spain. I had a blast living with a "senora" and traveling on the weekend, but was ready to return stateside and start my internship at Vera Bradley. Almost as soon as my plane landed, I repacked my bags, grabbed my new Garmin GPS (a necessity for uncharted territory!), and headed for my summer housing in Fort Wayne... happy to be back to my Hoosier roots!

In this blog, I'll be posting about my summer as a Vera Bradley intern. Sit back and enjoy--and feel free to shop Vera Bradley in between my posts :)