Few know offhand what the woman behind the self-named business even looks like because she's made a long, concerted effort to keep her face away from cameras. Rarely has the Tucson, Arizona based designer given interviews in support of her products, and rarer still are the times she's allowed her photo to be taken in association with the company.
In 2012, she did appear in a video feature for Urban Outfitters Television, but demanded that her face not be shown in the short film, which promoted the company's sale of her products. "I do exist. I'm a real person," she said in the short video before admitting to her eccentricities. "I'm crazy. I'm a lunatic. I mean, we have to stop me and say okay, it's enough because one illustration gets hundreds of hours in it. It's really, you know kind of madness."
The notorious recluse began her business in 1979 and reached peak popularity just a few years later, when she opened up her factory and started producing vibrant school supplies with her signature characters and color schemes. In the '90s, the company reached peak popularity and brought in as much as $60 million a year. The glory days have since ended for Lisa Frank Incorporated, but her spotlight shyness hasn't changed a bit. Perhaps the reason for her voluntary seclusion is ...
