With a little more than a month to go until the Fall 2008 Vera Bradley Outlet Sale in Fort Wayne, I thought I would talk a little more about what you can expect to find there.  I remember the first sale I attended - I had absolutely no idea what to expect.  This is surprising, considering that I live in the Fort Wayne area, and each sale receives a lot of media coverage by our local newspapers, television news, and even radio stations.  However, none of these media outlets covered the questions I really wanted answered.

So, for this post, I’m going back in time, and remembering back to the questions that I had before I attended my first Vera Bradley outlet sale.  With any luck, hopefully these questions are some of the same ones that you may have, and you will be able to find your answers here.  If not, feel free to leave a comment below. 

Here goes… Read the rest of this entry »

Hey Fort Wayne readers, I have some great news!  Vera Bradley is opening another production facility, this one in New Haven.  The company has hashed out plans to lease the Nishikawa building on Adams Center Road, and will add 490 new jobs over the next two years.

I drive past the Nishikawa building all the time, and think to myself, what a waste!  Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe the building is less than fifteen years old.  Funny thing…my husband actually got a job there when Nishikawa first opened.  He only stayed about two weeks, because a much better job offer came along, and thankfully, he took it (especially considering Nishikawa’s short stint).  But now, Vera Bradley is moving in!  I’m sure you will agree - our economy can use all the help it can get, especially with the migration of good manufacturing jobs out of the city, out of the state, and out of the country!

This is not only good news for Fort Wayne/New Haven - it’s good news for anyone who loves the quality of Vera Bradley products, and the fact that the majority of their products are made here in the U.S.A.  Personally, I wish that ALL their products were made here in the United States, but unfortunately, they are not.  To me, a sure sign of quality is that little tag that says “Made In America”. 

Well, I am glad to hear there will be more Vera Bradley handbags, luggage and other accessories produced here…

I just received word a couple of days ago that the Fall 2008 Vera Bradley Outlet Sale will be held here in Fort Wayne the first week of October (Thursday 10/2 - Sunday 10/5).

If you are a regular visitor to this site, you may already know that Fort Wayne is my hometown. So, of course, I am completely thrilled that I will be able to attend the Vera Bradley Outlet Sale yet again this year! However, I almost feel bad about posting this, knowing that this location is not convenient for many of my readers. Although Fort Wayne usually is the site for the spring event, the fall sale is usually held in another state.

If you are considering making a road trip to Fort Wayne to attend the sale, you may want to check out some pictures I took when I attended it this spring, as well as the price list. The majority of items were 40% off, although I did hear that some things were further reduced as the sale progressed. I only attended the first day, and although I wanted to make a return trip, I couldn’t fit it into my schedule.

For those of you thinking of visiting Fort Wayne to attend the sale, the first week of October is a great time to visit! The autumn leaves are at their peak, and the weather is usually beautiful (as long as it’s not raining). Kendallville, a little town north of Fort Wayne, also has their Apple Festival scheduled for the first weekend of October. The Apple Festival is one of my favorite local events, and I look forward to it all year long. It has hundreds of craft booths, as well as some of the best homemade food you will find anywhere (famous Indiana pork tenderloins, vegetable soup, beef and noodles, apple cobbler, and much more…).

As you can see, I could go on and on, but to make a long post short, if you have any questions about the Vera Bradley outlet sale, or even about Fort Wayne and the surrounding area, feel free to leave me a comment below, and I will see if I can answer it for you…

Hopefully by now, everyone has had a chance to see the new Fall 2008 Vera Bradley Patterns, if not in person, then online.  When I first posted on this subject back in May (my, how the time flies!), it was difficult to determine what pattern was the clear cut favorite among our readers.  Was it the Puccini? Night Owl? Caffe Latte? How about Frankly Scarlet?

Now, it’s time to find out once and for all everyone’s favorite!  How?  Well, voting is the democratic way, of course.  So, in that regard, it’s time for another poll…

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If you read my previous post, you probably know that I am having problems getting the polls to run in the navigation bar over on the right ever since upgrading.  I am still working on the problem, but until I find the fix, the poll will be buried in the post here. 

To wrap things up, have fun voting for your favorite fall 2008 Vera Bradley pattern!  It’s just one way to pass the time until the “real” voting starts in November.  Personally, I think I prefer this over the real elections - at least this is fun!