Open Letters
An Open Letter to Lisa Frank
by Annie Stamell
Dear Lisa Frank,
Oh my goodness, Lisa Frank! It is you! It is really you! I am so glad that my letter has reached out to you across the interwebs to the place of your Tuscon, Arizona Headquarters on Lisa Frank Ave – which, yes, you can find on Google (and probably Bing but I’m over Bing so I haven’t tried)! I have so many things to say to you! Most of them are questions!
- Who are you?
- Are you a real lady?
- Do you exist in the flesh or are you just the elusive figure of my childhood dreams? (And when I say childhood dreams, you should know that just two nights ago I dreamt I traveled to the Lisa Frank headquarters in Tuscon, Arizona, whereupon you greeted me on the back of a Pegasus named Magenta Sparrow River-Poodle with a bowl full of rainbow sherbet whilst an animated puppy painted my toenails iridescent turquoise. And you should also know that I am between the ages of 26 and 28).
- According to his bio, Markie the Unicorn lives “in the clouds above the Fantastic World of Lisa Frank” in a place called “Airfluff Island”. Holy smokes! How do I get to this surely magical wonderland in the sky?
- When will you branch out to apparel, but specifically for adult ladies, such as myself?
- What is your daily drug regimen?
- Can I visit you in Tucson, Arizona on Li sa Frank Ave?
- What do you smell like? (I bet you smell kind of like a Strawberry Shortcake doll I got in a Happy Meal a few months ago – you know, like the slightly chemical but addictive scent of strawberries and artificial sweetener and a baby kitten and the residual foam that stays in the tub after you’ve drained your bubble bath? Like that.)
Oh Lisa Frank, I want nothing more than to be your real life acquaintance and to see where the magic happens! And in this case, I literally mean magic and am not making a reference to sex, because truthfully, that would be weird. And I may be weird, but I really like magic. If I come visit you I will bring my diary that my BFF Amy gave me when I was in fourth grade so I can show you how strongly I still feel about the image of two kittens paling around in a Converse high-top, but mostly so I can show you how strongly I feel about you and everything the Lisa Frank brand means to me, after which I will make a strong case for why I should run your adult apparel division to reach out to the twelve-year-old girl inside of us all!
Please tell Markie I say hi and that I too like butterflies and dislike bullies and REALLY like discovering things and want to learn more about collecting stars.
Fondest Regards,
Stamos
Featured Image via Lisa Frank on Facebook
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06.09.2011 |
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Oh, I ADORED Lisa Frank back in Middle and High School! I had Lisa Frank everything! I wrote in multiple little plastic lock LF diaries and have kept them all!
Holy buckets this made me laugh out loud multiple times. Truth!
Oh good! Glad to hear someone else is laughing at my absurd sense of humor!
What a great article! Now I really do wonder if Lisa Frank is a real person. What/whoever she is, she is amazing.
http://www.seekreadblog.com
@SeeKRead
oh my gosh, i loved, and still love, lisa frank! just the colors and the amazing way they came together make me so happy. i think i still have all my LF stuff in a box somewhere
.-*’*-.-*’*-I LOVE LISA FRANK-*’*-.-*’*-.
My mom bribed me into getting my ears pierced at walmart by promising me copious amounts of Lisa Frank stuff. I collected specifically the puppies, unicorns, and pretty horsies.
i can still smell the plastic of my lisa frank trapper keeper! aaaahh, i miss my childhood!
I too had a Lisa Frank diary when I was a little girl. I wish I still had it!
I would be ALL OVER Lisa Frank shirts for adults. I always loved the kittens, unicorns and purple painter pandas with their little cover-alls!
Yes! I’m not the only one.
No way – there are legions of us!
I always keep a sleeve of stickers in my wallet just in case I need to Lisa Frank something (ie wine bottle display at Via Tribunali in Capitol HIll-Seattle, bathroom stalls, etc. ) 4EVER&ALWAYZ LISA FRANK!!!!!!!
SHUT UP. I keep stickers in MY wallet too for pretty much EXACTLY the same reason. You never know when a Lisa Frank hologram will make someone’s day!
lisa frank & judy bloom dominated my pre-teen/teen years and boy am i glad it did.
talk about major lawlz, thanks!
I have a Lisa Frank retractable pencil…on my desk…at work. If my coworkers can’t handle the stationary heat, they can get out of the kitchen, you know?
Should you get to meet with Ms. Frank (I assume she is not married, who could handle that much awesomeness) please tell her that every time I see a rainbow or hip hop crazy cool bears rapping I think of her and smile
I live in Tucson and I have seen with my own eyes the fabled Lisa Frank headquarters… the site which undoubtedly has been the start of many a girl’s life long sticker / stationary addiction and I can tell you that amidst the sweltering hot desert landscape Lisa Frank HQ sits like a wonderful whimsical acid trip mirage where Panda Bear Cheerleaders and Ballerina Bunnies frolic on the wings of Swans inside it’s rainbow colored walls. Fantastic.
Well this sounds like my dream voyage. I think I may need to make a journey to the Lisa Frank headquarters and document the entire experience. It sounds like a desert mirage! Rainbow walls! Acid trips! WOW!
I had NO idea the LF headquarters was in Tucson. I live about 4 hours north of there and you can bet your bottom dollar I’m going to be making a trip there. I can already imagine this huge, amazing Wonka-esque place. And guess what? I’ll get you some souvenirs too! <3
Reading this makes my decisions easier than tkanig candy from a baby.
Clothing!
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2135/1594703666_4d88a72bef.jpg
OMG OMG OMG CLOTHING!
“Magenta Sparrow River-Poodle” made wine come out through my nose. Not as pleasant as one might think.
I still have my Lisa Frank sticker book from over 12 years ago!
My favorite thing you asked: What is your daily drug regimen?
WHUUUUTTT??? LOL.
Annie, I must say, I love this post. I live in Phoenix and am surprisingly tempted to make the short trip to Tuscon to see this magical place called Lisa Frank Ave. But Annie real reason I am posting is because I am very excited to find another astronaut ice cream enthusiast. When at science museums I cant help but buy as many packages as available. The clerk at the gift shop usually looks at me like I am trying to lure kids into a van but alas that is what us Astronaut ice cream enthusiast must endure.
I’m pretty sure I wrote this EXACT letter (on LF stationary of course) sometime in 1996.
Yeah, I wonder if Lisa is a real person or sort of like the author of Nancy Drew, Carolyn Keene, who is actually a pseudonym for several different authors so they could just keep on writing and writing and writing. I also wonder is Lisa is Paul Frank’s (the sock monkey guy) sister? Wife?
Guess who still has their Lisa Frank lunchbox and still uses it sometimes??? THIS GAL.
From WIki:
Lisa Frank is an American pop artist, founder of Lisa Frank Incorporated.
She founded the company in 1979 at the age of 24[1], and her success resulted from her sticker line. The company’s headquarters is in Tucson, Arizona, and is easily visible because of the bright hearts, stars, and music notes decorating the side of the building. There is currently a quarterly magazine also named Lisa Frank.
In 2005 Lisa Frank divorced James Green, the CEO of the company and co-share holder. The court agreed to assign control of the company to Lisa Frank
Now. How do we get this letter to her…
Saw some Lisa Frank stickers at CVS the other day and had a squeal-fest while my boyfriend looked on, thoroughly confused. Like, was this really his first experience with the rainbowbubblebutterflyunicorn wonder of my youth???
P.S. You can get astronaut ice cream at Old Navy…. I KNOW, right?
This letter makes me so giddy!! XD I swear, I was and still am the most obsessed Lisa Frank fanatic/collector/addict imaginable. I mean, I was a nonstop club member and had and loved it all–and thankfully I still, at 23, have and use LOADS of her stuff…always on the lookout for it. The day I am on a cross-country pilgrimage and stop in Tucson, Arizona for a glorious period of worship at the most holy shrine known as Lisa Frank HQ, shall be the most magnificent day of all time.
And yes, I’m quite certain that Lisa is a real person. I have seen her very image on multiple occasions (and no, not in some sort of mystical vision, either.) Thank heavens my tastes in most things haven’t changed much at all since my colorful childhood days. Imagine how dull life could be without the ability to transport yourself to the Fantastic World…? 8-D
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You really make it seem so easy with your presentation but I in finding this matter to be really one thing which I feel I’d never understand. It kind of feels too complex and very vast for me. I’m having a look forward in your subsequent post
I laughed out loud at your letter! I actually worked at Lisa Frank for a year in the early 2000′s. Having grown up in the 80′s-90′s this was like a dream come true. Unfortunately, the working environment wasn’t so good and it’s incredibly impressive to any former employees and those who know LF that I made it an entire year! I won’t quash any of your other dreams about LF- you sound so happy with the images that you’ve created in your mind. She used to offer factory tours at the office on LF Blvd but as of four months ago she liquidated all her inventory and there are minimal, if any, employees at the office. However, you can still see the rainbow painted building with hearts, stars and musical notes on it….and the silver unicorn out front.
pics
http://hollerboard.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=73269
file:///Users/carolynloftus/Image%20:%20Queen%20of%20stickers%20in%20battle%20for%20firm.webarchive
on the first link scroll down to the lisa frank newsletter.
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