Lions and tigers and bees--oh my!

My weekend: pulling a giant bee balloon through downtown Fort Wayne and hanging with the orangutans and a baby giraffe. It's not a typical scene in Indiana, but Fort Wayne definitely delivered in the adventure department this weekend!

Colors hits the Three Rivers Festival parade!

On Saturday, I was part of the "bee" colorful Vera Bradley group for the Three Rivers Festival parade. We had quite a lineup: a girls' dance team, people passing out Vera Bradley goodies, the Queen Bee balloon, Majic 95.1 FM, and the fabulous folks from the Riley Children's Hospital in Indianapolis.

Interns Tiffany, Megan, and Karen with Foundation Events Coordinator Lynda and her daughter, Tori.

The Queen Bee is in flight!
(For a full picture of the bee, check out this picture from a previous parade year--I couldn't get a good shot since I was always under it!)

Tethering was a lot harder than I thought it would be! We practiced our "elbow, elbow, wrist, wrist" wave beforehand, but once someone pulled out the gloves for those tethering, I knew my hopes of dazzling waves were gone. Downtown Fort Wayne has a lot of low wires and traffic lights that require special attention when maneuvering a giant balloon! The crowd was great--they warned us of our obstacles and cheered when we made it through.

Our bit of trouble, a tangle in a traffic light, left the crowd on the edge of their lawn chairs. Foundation intern Karen and I ended up getting our lines chopped and thought we were going to get to use our waves until we quickly had to re-grab our lines! Of course, we planned it all for the dramatic effect :)

Karen and Megan, already tethered on the balloon.

On Sunday, I left behind the urban jungle of Fort Wayne and entered the real jungle with my aunt and cousins. They drove up from Zionsville, Indiana, and were excited to check out the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo... and visit me!

Caroline and I are animals at heart!

I can't remember the last time I have been to any zoo, so it was definitely time for a visit. We packed a lunch and were able to catch an otter feeding and an animal show--featuring a goat with a craving for my cousin Michael's zoo map!

One of my favorites, the giraffes.

Bill the lion: taking a catnap in one of the few shaded areas in the African Journey.

It was a great visit and didn't start getting too hot until we hit the African area--which was Fort Wayne's answer to the Sahara Desert! It was the perfect setting for the zebras, wildebeasts, and leopards, but not for four sweaty visitors.

We decided to hightail it to some air conditioning and headed to Jefferson Pointe. My cousin Caroline is a huge fan and she couldn't wait to see the Vera Bradley store. I'm not one to pass up a trip to the Jefferson Pointe store so I was happy to lead the way! (it may or may not have been my 3rd visit to the store in 4 days...)

One very happy girl!

The weekend ended with a delicious trip to Zesto ice cream and a walk around the University of Saint Francis. I couldn't have asked for a better weekend: fun, family, and fro-yo!

Michael giving a thumbs up for candy--and color!

Forget ninety degree weather... fall is here!

Fort Wayne may still be hot, but my mind is on fall... fall colors, that is! Yesterday marked the launch of the new fall 2010 colors and styles, and the Vera Bradley offices were buzzing with excitement--and color!

The Customer Service desks welcomed color with open arms.

Some members of the web team came into the office at 11PM on Wednesday night to get the site ready to go with fall items. They updated verabradley.com and Vera Bradley on Facebook, youtube, and Twitter in the wee hours of the night so when Vera Bradley fans woke up on Thursday, it would be like Christmas morning...in fall!

As a treat for their hard work, Dave (of birthday fame) took us to Jefferson Pointe to see the Vera Bradley store and to have lunch. I have been to the store quite a few times this summer and loved seeing new products lining the shelves this time around. My mental wish list grew by the second--I know I will be going back to school in style!

I'd choose Very Berry Paisley any day!

Emily and Nissa enjoy a sweet treat at the candy station.

I loved being a part of the fall launch! The web team did a great job of transitioning the site and it was fun to hear about their late-night adventures (I heard Steak 'n Shake and a meat and cheese tray were involved...) And talk about dedication--they didn't leave until 3AM on Thursday!

The web team at Jefferson Pointe--looking good in our "be colorful" t-shirts (check out other employees sporting color on Facebook!)

Standing tall for Vera Bradley :)

"Live, Learn, & Intern!"

Was anyone able to catch the Jumbotron shout out to the interns ("Live, Learn, & Intern!") at Parkview Field last night? (Or hear our cheers after we saw the message?)

Vera Bradley definitely had an intern presence at the Tincaps game, the fifth event of the intern program with the Fort Wayne Chamber of Commerce. We braved the heat to enjoy burgers and mac-n-cheese...and good company, of course!

Thank goodness for the shade!

"Go Tincaps!" Megan was a fan :)

I have to admit--I have been to more baseball games this summer than in the last five years... combined! I think my urge to "root, root, root for the home team" and reconnect with America the Beautiful has definitely grown after being abroad last semester. All of that paella and flamenco dancing now has me wanting to be an all-American girl!

Cam (smiling big!) and his fiancé, Jamie

Brian: "We've gotta do thumbs up." Agreed--I like your enthusiasm!

Kyle, John, and Cam

A very colorful weekend: Southlake, Texas

This weekend, Nissa and I packed our bags and headed to Southlake, Texas for a be colorful event. Vera Bradley was one of the sponsors for the Stars & Stripes event in Southlake Town Square and had a tent full of random acts of color for the crowd!

When Nissa and I arrived, the weather was taking on a color we didn't quite want to see.... dark gray. Locals told us that the weather had been pretty volatile for the last couple of days, and we were probably going to be getting a bit wet!

Unfortunately, clouds were also coming to Southlake!

And then the rain came....

When the crazy weather started, Connie, the assistant store manager at the Vera Bradley store in Southlake, welcomed us to Texas!

Nissa and I frantically moved our boxes of goodies out of the rain--a hard task when you have more boxes than space and everything is WET!

Fortunately, the rain finally stopped. And not only did the rain stop, but the weather turned beautiful! The rain cooled the air temperature (good thing because it was HOT!) and the sun started shining. As the crowds of people started streaming in, we were finally able to set up our tent.

Southlake Town Square: rain or shine!

In addition to Connie, store team members, their friends and family, and friends of other employees volunteered to spread "Random Acts of Color" to the crowds. They were giving colorful lollipops with an offer of saving $10 off a purchase of $50 or more in the Southlake store in July--just in time for the new fall colors coming on Thursday, July 8th! In the tent we had mini bottles of water in Vera Bradley colors and new fall catalogs to get people excited about Vera Bradley.

Colorful ladies in our colorful tent!

Happy street team members (wearing Barcelona--new for fall!)

Spreading "Random Acts of Color" (wearing new fall colors Very Berry Paisley, left, and Hello Dahlia on right)

Despite the bad weather conditions earlier in the evening, tons of people still came to walk around and check out the tents. There were so many things to see, eat, and do: food booths (Chik-fil-A, Dippin' Dots, funnel cakes, and more!), inflatable games for the kids, and face-painting! There was also a live band that kept the tunes coming after the sun went down.

Live music--with dark clouds!

Vera Bradley loves Southlake! We thought we would try to recreate the teaser video... complete with lots of color!

My very tall friend! (with new fall color, Slate Blooms)

Nissa and I...being colorful!

It was really fun getting to talk to everyone who stopped by our booth. We met a woman who was visiting her family but is from Fort Wayne too--and works for Vera Bradley at the Adams Center Road location! I love listening to everyone's connections with Vera Bradley: favorite patterns, recent purchases, and future purchases. We had quite a few husbands and dads that came up to grab a catalog because they knew their mothers/wives/daughters were fans!

Nissa even gave the Chik-fil-A cow a random act of color!

Very cute color recipients

And now, for the main event.... fireworks!

We ended the day with a late dinner and many sighs of relief that the rain didn't ruin our plans! The next morning, we went back to the Vera Bradley store to say bye to Connie and do a little shopping. My purchases: a Ditty Bag in Calypso and Pocket Folders in Carnaby :)

The Vera Bradley store at Southlake Town Square

Then it was back to the airport to fly home to Fort Wayne. By the end of our trip, we had been through four flights in 48 hours, the Texan heat, a downpour in the midst of setting up our tent... and a fun event! Our random acts of color made a lot of people happy--kids got a sweet treat, moms got a sweet deal, and we got to hang out in Texas! It was a definite success for everyone!

Color is coming: Texas bound!

This weekend Vera Bradley web designer Nissa and I will be traveling to be with the be colorful team in Southlake, Texas! I won't spill any of the details, but I am looking forward to a crazy mix of Texas + Vera Bradley + 4th of July fun--talk about an unbeatable combination!

Now on to packing.... will it be too hot for cowboy boots?

Shopped 'til I dropped

My purchases for Vera Bradley: Large Duffel and Clutch Wallet

Yesterday I was assigned an important task: online shopping....with a corporate credit card... at my favorite stores.

Have I mentioned how amazing this internship is yet??

Yes, I did spend the day armed with the credit card, but it was for business, not pleasure, and all items will be returned! Vera Bradley is taking a closer look at our packaging for web orders and want to see what other companies are up to. When all of my packages arrive, we will have a big meeting and look at what I ordered! Everyone will open a box and the entire opening process will be documented: is there a gift box? What does the tissue paper looked like? Is the packaging pretty?

Even just thinking about a J.Crew gift appearing at my door makes me happy!

Checking out a Janie and Jack pint-sized apron... all in a day's work!

Seeing so many different check-out processes really started making me fussy! I became quite the demanding online shopper: I want to be able to see graphics or my item the whole time I am filling out the shipping and billing forms AND want an online confirmation email sent to me seconds after I place the order. My critical eye is being fine-tuned by "behind the scenes" experiences with web and retail... I am well on my way to becoming an expert shopper!

I highly recommend a little online retail therapy as a treat. (And for those who don't have a corporate card, our summer sale is still going strong!)

A VIP intern lunch

There was a definite bustle around the training room at Industrial Road around lunchtime on Friday. The china plates were set (on Poppy Fields tablecloths, of course) and catered food was delivered. Why? The interns had two special guests, co-founders Barbara Bradley Baekgaard and Patricia R. Miller, joining us for lunch!

Everyone was very excited about this lunch--I saw the news on a few intern Facebook profiles and Mike even wore his tie... on a Friday! Human Resources ordered a delicious spread and the guests of honor were great. They kept thanking us for being there and working for the company, but I was thinking "no, thank YOU!" Without them, my life wouldn't be as colorful!

I was lucky enough to sit next to Barb and we talked about the Providence store. She was there the week before Shannon and I made our trip to the east coast. I told her that two girls came to the opening and said they had met her the week before when she was making the finishing touches on the store!

Interns with co-founders Pat and Barb, in center.

One of the questions that they said they hear a lot is "Did you ever dream that it would get to this?" Pat's answer: "We never put a ceiling on it." Barb said that when they started, even when they were sewing on a basement Ping-Pong table, they treated it like a business and not just a hobby. They held booths in gift shows and enlisted friends and families to spread the word and sell. Now, there are more than a thousand employees and Vera Bradley stores across the country... proving that the best things ARE happening at Vera Bradley!

After lunch, we had a short meeting and have plans for an intern competition in the future.... go Industrial Road interns!

We are in it to win it... more details to come!