Lisa Frank on Lisa Frank
September 4, 2015 8:27 AM Subscribe
In "Lisa Frank on Lisa Frank", Carly Mark at Foundations Magazine interviews Lisa Frank about her life and career. Come for the hit of psychedelic Trapper Keeper nostalgia, stay for the alarmingly colorful photos of current-day Lisa Frank HQ.
LF: In college I had to support myself. So, in the beginning, I went to the Indian reservations. I would sell their art and jewelry. I still have a big Native American art collection because of that fact.
Jumping ahead, I would later tell them what to make and realized that everything I told them, versus what they wanted to make on their own, sold. A light bulb went on. I thought, “Oh, I guess I have a really commercial sense.”
Oh, Lisa.
posted by redsparkler at 8:38 AM on September 4, 2015 [6 favorites]
Jumping ahead, I would later tell them what to make and realized that everything I told them, versus what they wanted to make on their own, sold. A light bulb went on. I thought, “Oh, I guess I have a really commercial sense.”
Oh, Lisa.
posted by redsparkler at 8:38 AM on September 4, 2015 [6 favorites]
I know. There are a couple of really WTF things in there but the pictures are SO AMAZING I couldn't not share them. Enjoy your Friday retinal-punching, everyone.
posted by Stacey at 8:47 AM on September 4, 2015
posted by Stacey at 8:47 AM on September 4, 2015
Yeah, wow. I preferred it when I didn't know Lisa Frank was a single person. "I was SOOOO ahead of my time! Leopard print underwear! I beat Japan to girls with big eyes! A million dollar sticker order? Kid's stuff!"
Also, for someone who claims to have sold out a high school senior show to millionaires, that "early work" is insulting crap, even for a teenager, even at the time.
Man, that left a bad taste in my mouth. I hope it doesn't ruin the design work for me.
posted by cmoj at 9:02 AM on September 4, 2015
Also, for someone who claims to have sold out a high school senior show to millionaires, that "early work" is insulting crap, even for a teenager, even at the time.
Man, that left a bad taste in my mouth. I hope it doesn't ruin the design work for me.
posted by cmoj at 9:02 AM on September 4, 2015
Lisa Frank went to Cranbrook!? If you ever need a reminder that forces beyond your control were aligned against you before you were even born, go tour their (admittedly stunning) campus and try to not leave muttering "I never had a shot" under your breath...
posted by Ian A.T. at 9:05 AM on September 4, 2015 [7 favorites]
posted by Ian A.T. at 9:05 AM on September 4, 2015 [7 favorites]
if you don't know anything about lisa frank, her ex husband, or the company, you should read that previously link. it's nuts from beginning to end. here's one tidbit :
One time, after discovering that someone left the office 10 minutes early, an enraged Green [lisa frank's ex/former ceo] instructed the warehouse manager to put chains and padlocks on all the downstairs doors so that "the staff can't escape."
posted by nadawi at 10:33 AM on September 4, 2015 [12 favorites]
One time, after discovering that someone left the office 10 minutes early, an enraged Green [lisa frank's ex/former ceo] instructed the warehouse manager to put chains and padlocks on all the downstairs doors so that "the staff can't escape."
posted by nadawi at 10:33 AM on September 4, 2015 [12 favorites]
She really claims to have "beaten [Japanese artists/designers] to [the fad of putting big eyes on characters]?" That takes some hubris to claim she beat Osamu Tezuka, who began working 10 years before she was born. And of course, Tezuka, I believe, gave some credit in interviews to his admiration of early Disney cartoons...
posted by Slothrop at 10:54 AM on September 4, 2015 [5 favorites]
posted by Slothrop at 10:54 AM on September 4, 2015 [5 favorites]
Yeah, I'm surprised that there's nothing about what a heinously awful employer she is.
posted by Pope Guilty at 11:52 AM on September 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Pope Guilty at 11:52 AM on September 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
I'm not in her demo, but she sounds fascinating - one part heiress, one part bootstrapper, one part schlockmeister and two parts perfectionist. And I admire the vision and the designs, even though I now feel like I need to stare at a blank wall till the after-images fade.
posted by ducky l'orange at 12:18 PM on September 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by ducky l'orange at 12:18 PM on September 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
Reading that Jezebel piece sounds like she got hooked up with an abusive, paranoid piece of shit. Not that it excuses her part (sounds like she's been abusive to employees too), but dang if it isn't hard to get out of an abusive relationship normally... add in that dude is holding the reigns to the only job you've ever really had for 20+ years. That's got to be hard.
Also, in light of the Jezebel piece which seems to suggest she's been a pretty thorough cocaine user over the years these remarks are pretty interesting:
"You read stuff about me; people think it was all influenced by drugs. You couldn’t do what I did if I was on drugs. I don’t know if you’ve seen the Saint Laurent movie, have you seen it? [. . .] I mean, my god! How did he do what he did? He was an alcoholic and a drug addict. He actually lived an amazingly long time for what he did to his body. Anyway, it’s surprising to me that you could be that way. Looking at it I see that he had a business partner. But I was running my business."
Come on now LF, it totally was the coke that had you drawing these tripped out little animals and neon skeletons skateboarding in space.
posted by Matt Oneiros at 1:16 PM on September 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
Also, in light of the Jezebel piece which seems to suggest she's been a pretty thorough cocaine user over the years these remarks are pretty interesting:
"You read stuff about me; people think it was all influenced by drugs. You couldn’t do what I did if I was on drugs. I don’t know if you’ve seen the Saint Laurent movie, have you seen it? [. . .] I mean, my god! How did he do what he did? He was an alcoholic and a drug addict. He actually lived an amazingly long time for what he did to his body. Anyway, it’s surprising to me that you could be that way. Looking at it I see that he had a business partner. But I was running my business."
Come on now LF, it totally was the coke that had you drawing these tripped out little animals and neon skeletons skateboarding in space.
posted by Matt Oneiros at 1:16 PM on September 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
blissfully succumb
to the
whirling blackness of
eternal oblivion
posted by standardasparagus at 1:33 PM on September 4, 2015 [4 favorites]
to the
whirling blackness of
eternal oblivion
posted by standardasparagus at 1:33 PM on September 4, 2015 [4 favorites]
More retinal punching: 1996 Lisa Frank ad starring 13-year-old Mila Kunis.
posted by bakerina at 2:34 PM on September 4, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by bakerina at 2:34 PM on September 4, 2015 [2 favorites]
Worth it for the photo of the headless skateboarding skeleton. I wish I had had that folder in elementary school.
posted by Gordafarin at 7:32 AM on September 5, 2015
posted by Gordafarin at 7:32 AM on September 5, 2015
« Older C-3PO 4 Life | Excavate! Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
SO MUCH COLOR
SO MUCH BRIGHT BRIGHT COLOR
MY CHILDHOOD CAME BACK TO PUNCH ME IN THE RETINA
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:29 AM on September 4, 2015 [5 favorites]