Article: Vera Bradley very popular Growing handbag empire includes new store at The Greene.

Yes, Virginia, there was a Vera Bradley. But no, she's not directly responsible for the pretty new store at The Greene that's filled with hundreds of colorful cotton handbags bearing her name.

That credit really belongs to two friends -- Barbara Baekgaard and Patricia Miller -- who were waiting to board a flight in Atlanta in the early 1980s, looked around and determined that women travelers needed some pretty and feminine travel pieces. Their little company was named for Baekgaard's mother, now deceased.

Today the quilted empire, based in Fort Wayne, Ind., has grown to include everything from an extensive line of the popular patterned handbags to travel accessories and limited-edition ...

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