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Lisa Frank Is Back—Here Are 5 Things to Know About the Woman Behind the Iconic Brand

By
Valentina Zarya
Valentina Zarya
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By
Valentina Zarya
Valentina Zarya
Down Arrow Button Icon
June 29, 2016, 3:19 PM ET
Lisa Frank

For those of who grew up in the 80s and 90s, the name Lisa Frank likely conjures up images of lunch boxes covered with rainbow-colored kittens and pencil cases featuring prancing, long-lashed unicorns.

Now, the former queen of school supplies is back with a new product—this time for adults, according to the company’s Instagram account.

 

Frank’s return is well timed. For one thing, a wave of 90s nostalgia seems to have crashed over millennials lately, as evidenced by the return of classic 90s TV shows like Fuller House, foods like French Toast Crunch and fashion items from chokers to flared jeans. Then there’s the surprising proliferation of coloring books for grown-ups, of which about 12 million copies were sold in 2015, according to the Washington Post.

The new coloring books will be available starting next month at Dollar General, according to USA Today.

 

While it’s clear that the coloring books will be catnip for some 90s kids, what’s less clear is whether the brands’ resurgence will bring us any closer to learning who Lisa Frank—the woman—really is. Here are five things we do know:

  1. She is from Bloomfield Hills, a city just north of Detroit that is routinely ranked in the top five wealthiest cities in America, according to Jezebel. She also went to the same ritzy private school as Mitt and Ann Romney.
  2. Lisa Frank, Inc. was founded in 1979 when Frank was just 25 years old. That same year she received her first million-dollar order, reports Jezebel.
  3. There are only two photos of Frank floating around on the Internet, according to Buzzfeed.
  4. At its height in the late 90s, her company made over $60 million a year in sales. That’s compared to $2.3 million recently.
  5. Frank spent the better half of the early 2000s mired in litigation with her ex-husband and former Liza Frank, Inc. CEO James Green.

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Despite Frank herself being shrouded in secrecy, the brand enjoys a sizable social media following, with (840,000 Facebook likes and 62,000 Instagram followers). Its website, however, is currently under construction.

Could this new launch be a signal that Frank is looking to start fresh? One can only hope—the company did not respond to Fortune‘s request for comment.

About the Author
By Valentina Zarya
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