arbara Bradley Baekgaard remembers the very first time Vera Bradley hired a male employee. She had cofounded the company with Patricia Miller in 1982, and for the first eight years of the handbag maker’s existence, it just so happened that its sewing, creative and distribution roles were entirely staffed by women. But eventually, operational needs in Vera Bradley’s warehouse required some gender diversification, and Baekgaard recruited a retired police officer named Bob.
Beatrice MacCabe joined Vera Bradley in 2016 after spending 15 years working for and with brands like Vince Camuto, Diane von Furstenberg and John Galliano. Now Vera Bradley’s chief creative officer, MacCabe says that she’s been struck by the lack of a hierarchical environment at the company, which she and others describe as a place where heads of divisions will just introduce themselves as “working in design” or “alongside so-and-so” rather than “leading the design team” or “so-and-so’s boss.
Vera Bradley cofounders Barbara Bradley Baekgaard and Patricia Miller in the early days of the company.Vera Bradley began as a two-woman basement operation and expanded to a team of some 20 sewers working out of their own homes. As the company grew, it eventually moved into an office and warehouse and evolved into a more professional operation.