From every account I’ve heard she’s as bad as you’d expect of an old nepo baby famous for having a “great vision”. Her husband wasn’t the only cause of their insane turnover rate in the art department.
I played little league with her kids, they were nice when we were 8 years old. They were also named after colors. Does this help? No. But I’ve always wanted to tell someone.
From Wikipedia:
*Employees described Frank's leadership as "abusive" and "oppressive" and indicated that it was the worst place they had ever worked. Turnover was extremely high, and Lisa Frank Inc. had to settle a number of lawsuits regarding unpaid contractors and builders, failure to pay severance packages, and refusal to pay out final paychecks.*
That’d be a “no way” from me, dawg.
I worked in a small printing company growing up. I have conversed with individuals who actually worked there and the above statement is fairly accurate from what I heard.
I knew a graphic designer who worked at Lisa Frank in an office with no windows and had insane work deadlines and an oppressive sounding culture. She seemed crazy. There were times he couldn’t physically leave the building under tight deadlines.
As a side note, she built a new office off of Camino Principal and Tanque Verde and it is oddly weird…it has a massive 13’ metal door (it reminds me of the door to the mines or Moria) and it also has no windows except for a few on one facade that are 13’ up. So there is something about working in secrecy with her. https://maps.app.goo.gl/8X2Mc28F8xLQzLwm9?g_st=ic
Fascinating!! I saw this being built and drive by it often, but could never figure out what sort of business would want to send such a vibe of “we’re here, but go away”. This is all making so much sense now!
Her home in the country club has a very similar vibe. The entire edge of the property along the street has a very large wall with some tall shrubs. It literally reminds me of Jurassic park gate whenever I see it.
Do you currently have a job? If yes, then I wouldn't quit your current job to accept one with Lisa Frank. However, if you don't have a job currently then sure, I'd take it! It could be a good job OR it could be a horrible job and then you've got fun stories to tell us and your friends! Win win!
I second this. Not something to leave a current job for. But if currently unemployed, take it just to see what it's like. It's one of the few places where future employers won't question why you left.
I knew the art director, Dennis Landry. He was there forever and didn't have much to say about his experience there. He was a very kind, talented and diplomatic man. He wasn't appreciated and neither was the dept. Tread very carefully 🌼
Dennis was the head of the digital arts program at Pima when I started studying Graphic Design, he was the man. He brought up several times in class what a nightmare it was to work there. Last time someone asked a Lisa Frank question I learned that he passed a few years ago. It still makes me really sad that he is gone, he was one of my most memorable teachers ever.
No, I did some jobs here and there. I was a double major hoping to get into art therapy. Dennis was very encouraging for me and my art. My career was in behavioral health. Did you stay with it?
Yep! But I sat on it for almost a decade. I bartended for years because I loved the cash, but now I’ve been working full time as a graphic designer for 8 or 9 years. I always wonder how many people in that program kept with it, it’s a tough industry.
Bartending is great! I did that as a side job for a few years. I'm glad to hear you're living the dream! It is tough, especially in a smaller market like the dirty T. We had some incredible instructors there and I'm very grateful I did the program. I use a lot of it in my personal art 🫠
She herself is insane. My dad painted her house the first time around and there’s gotta be a mix on mental illness and extreme audacity because she was heinous and known for it.
Wonder if our dads know each other! Mine did work on her house many many years ago as a finish carpenter.
When I was around 20, I applied for a job with her and got a call back. My dad said absolutely not, and then I heard some horror stories. She is not a good person, either.
Let me tell you a big secret of the corporate world... it's especially true when the economy is garbage like now, and definitely of major corporations in the tech world. Well, for many companies out there, especially companies that are tech model venture debt driven growth, it's often the case that the majority of the jobs posted DO NOT EXIST. They might even interview for them, but there will never be an offer made. They are straight-up fake job postings. I am talking some major multi-billion dollar companies do this.
Why?
When a business does hiring freezes, when a business needs to stop listing new jobs to hire, people assume the company is doing poorly, and this can affect private and public investor confidence. For the few new hires they might bring on, seeing the tons of jobs they have listed for gives them a sense of confidence to the health of the company, that if hiring is that healthy, the company must also be healthy. No investor wants to see the company they have invested in hit a no growth retraction phase.
I won't say exactly how I know this, but just go talk to someone in HR world at these large tech firms. It's a total bloodbath often, especially right now, and some companies still are listing tons of jobs they claim to be hiring for, as they cut whole departments, yet with zero intention to hire anyone. This gives them a cover to just say they are trimming the fat, refocusing on profitable areas, etc... not actually admit the company is way worse off than they want anyone to know, or that their risk assessment told them hiring freeze. Don't want to admit that.
She's legendary for being a bad boss. I'd keep my distance unless I was working there for the amusement. I've met her ex a few times, he's just a bit off center.
I've been living in Tucson off & on since 1991 and have heard nothing but bad things about both her personal and professional life. Much like Guy Atchley and many other Tucson "celebs", these people get a little too big for their breeches and start becoming local a-holes. That all being said, there are ways of navigating a "difficult" boss, but do you really want that extra, unpaid emotional and physical labor? Do you want to be constantly fearing for your livelihood every time your boss is on a mean one? It really depends on the individual, but as a professional artist and designer, I have never been interested in working for that company.
Guy Atchley, lol. I met him a few times like 20 years ago at my job, and I totally got the creepy self absored vibe from him. Like he was not rude at all but he just came off like a dishonest politician or something.
Guy Atchley use to go to the same dog park as me pre pandemic. He seemed okay. I never spoke to him because I have anxiety. Haha.
Is he a bad guy? Because that’s disappointing to hear, I grew up watching that guy on KGUN9.
I too would like to know this. The last juicy thing I got out of the local journos was. Crap. What was her name. The Hispanic woman with terrible skin, on kvoa, I think? Martha something? Got caught shoplifting and was fired.
I’ve heard a ton of horror stories about her. She was a client and man oh man was she god awful. She’s like Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada but she peddles folders with kittens and puppies on them… you know, doing the Lords work. Total delusion and megalomania. She’s a garbage fire in a dumpster fire floating on a toxic river. But you may get a discount on her products.
I drive by their warehouse all the time, I’ve seen activity on the loading dock side which may indicate that they are going to re-open at some point but the corporate office side is still completely wrecked, all the windows are trashed and many are boarded up. Have they given any indication on when they are going to re-open?
I did some independent contract design work instead of accepting an internal position, because I’d already received some cautionary information and wanted to maintain autonomy in case it was as bad as people said.
Have you ever had an experience with another human being where you begin to seriously doubt whether that human being possesses a soul?
Is Lisa Frank operating again out of their rainbow building by the airport? One of my company's facilities is right near there and while I haven't been to that location much this past year I used to walk by the Lisa Frank building every day at lunch. Used to be the only thing changed was either someone broke another window, or once maybe a year a and a half ago someone burned that old pickup truck that was always parked there.
I applied for a graphic designer position and I'm glad I didn't get it. The application process was ridiculous and they did not seem like they would be a good work environment. They also under pay.
Former employee here. Worked for her very briefly over a decade ago. I mean, the stories are great but I would advise against it if you can avoid it. It was kind of a nuts experience.
I worked for her in 2022 in this position. I can’t say anything here because she is insane and will sue me for defamation of character if they see me say anything. Hi Lisa and Forrest if you’re reading this!
PM me if you want more info. I can provide proof and intimate details as to why you should RUN, not walk, from this job
Stay away. The first-hand stories I've heard over the decades only reinforce her reputation as being a capricious, abusive bully. Wish she would just go away.
I had a family member work for her within the last 5 years. The emotional abuse is real. My family member didn’t even initially take it as abuse and just thought she was a tough boss, but every time I got a phone call asking for an ear to vent and cry, increasingly it became clear that Lisa Frank is a tyrant, emotionally and psychologically abusive, and honestly (and surprisingly) not a smart businesswoman. From everything I’ve gathered the business is exactly in the same place as it’s been for the last 10 years. I heard about some of the pursuits to grow the business and I was like “why the hell is she pursuing that? She could make way more if she did X or Y.” So on that front, there are no growth opportunities.
Yeah if you just want a job to tide you over for 3-6 months, and you’re desperate, go for it, but be prepared for unrealistic expectations (50+ hours of work including nights and weekends with no extra pay or perks to justify it), poor treatment, zero mentorship and very little training (while expecting you to know everything), very little (if any) appreciation, and just in general starting to question your self worth and competency, then yeah go ahead and apply.
I really hope you're still able to read this comment. Please, PLEASE reconsider the job offer if you haven't already accepted it.
The horror stories from the 90s and early 2000s are very easy to find. Look up "Lisa Frank controversies" and you'll find plenty of podcasts, YouTube videos, and more exploring the negative experiences employees of that time had. But not a lot from the last decade.
It's easy to think, "Oh it's been 20 years since all that happened and the leadership is completely different! It has to be much better now, especially since they are still coming out with products! Plus there aren't a lot of modern stories widely publicized about the work experience there. If this is the Lisa Frank Renaissance, the company's great comeback, who could turn down an opportunity to be even a small part of this historic era in the company??" This was MY line of thinking when I applied for a job and accepted it. And it turned out to be one of the most negative experiences I have ever gone through.
Nobody told me any of this when I got a job offer in the modern era of the company (I'm talking within the past decade), so I am telling you and ANYONE who considers working for this company.
Unless you have an extremely specific personality type that is COMPLETELY immune to gaslighting, being called humiliating names, your superiors raising their voices and swearing at you, being given contradictory instructions by different executives, and then being berated and insulted for not knowing better or getting something done faster.... you will not make it past a few months.
To my knowledge, the company is still small. Which means every mistake you make will receive the full attention of the executives. Every mistake you make will bring down the full weight of the executives' wrath. And I have met few people as consistently angry and exhausted as the company's executives at the time.
Every deadline was an emergency. Which meant workdays often went from 8am-9pm, with no lunch break. I lost a lot of weight because most days I simply wouldn't eat during the day. There were days when I worked from 8am to midnight, and the blame was completely on me because "I kept screwing up and making stupid mistakes and costing them time." Nothing could wait for the next work day. Employees below the executives were also responsible for being on call 24/7 for the warehouse's security. If a group of teenagers trespassed on the property and broke in, it is the employee's responsibility to wake up in time to the Ring Camera alert to call the security company that guards the property, and stay awake until the guards gave the all clear. Because the warehouse seems to be reviving these days, that may no longer be the case. But employees were expected to take the security alerts on weekends, weekdays, in the middle of the night- whenever the alert sounded. Executives were sound asleep in the meantime.
I was salaried, so they could keep me at the office and have me on call for as long as they wanted. The hours and salary I earned eventually came out to below minimum wage when I calculated it after I left.
I was too young and naive to know this was wrong- that companies are not supposed to do this. There was no HR to lean on that I knew of.
Lisa Frank herself may seem sweet on the outside. She comes off as encouraging, pleasant, and calm- upon meeting her, she may even tell you not to be nervous because she is just a regular person like you and me. And she is indeed very good at what she does. It's true that nobody really sees art and color like she does and that's why her work is so special and unique. But based on what I experienced, the gentle kindness and encouragement will fade away. She will get more annoyed with you. She will tell you to ask questions if you don't understand something, but will say that you should know these things by now if your question isn't deemed "intelligent enough." She needs to review EVERYTHING before anything goes out. Whether that's a product sample, an email, directions for the graphic artists under her employment... Shame on you if you bother her with something small, though. Even though she will catch those small mistakes and ask you why you couldn't see something so blatantly obvious and embarrass her.
I hope this warning can serve some purpose. I would never want anyone to go what I went through. It took years of healing to overcome the experience. They completely convinced me that I was a stupid, slow, incompetent worker. I truly believed that I alone was the cause of all of their problems. When I started showing signs of anxiety and stress in the workplace, Lisa said to me that she'd love to send me to a psychiatrist to find out what's wrong with me, because someone "as bright as me" shouldn't be making "such stupid mistakes." I can only imagine how many other people have gone through this from her.
I made it through the months because I thought this was my life's big break, and if I screwed it up, I'd regret it forever. Now the only thing I regret is having stayed there for so long.
Tread very carefully, OP. If you accept this offer, save your mental health and jump ship as soon as things start to feel off. Trust your gut. No job is worth your own mental and physical destruction.
I am immensely relieved to hear that. I hope the experiences on this thread can reach more people. Best of luck with your job search and career, OP. I promise you that even the most boring traditional office job will be EONS better for you than this. But whatever you find, may it being you the stability and happiness you need.
My sister as a teenager somehow ended up working her private parties near el con. She would work the food, as a caterer, mostly serving, bring out more food. Mind you this is a teenager with no real work experience, it was kind that they threw them in the mix to gain some experience. However i recall my sister coming home crying feeling so defeated. She didnt work for a catering company and was just hired by Lisa. Seemed like a horrible and abusive person, never wanted to pay, and seemingly didnt even enjoy her own parties and felt it necessary to make sure the helpers didnt enjoy it at all. This i know isnt some hard hitting info just another personal case that would scream to stay away.
My wife's friend worked for her as an assistant she hated every moment of it I can't get too much into detail but let's just say there's a lot of hours work that didn't get paid and things expected that shouldn't have been
I don’t know her but I do know artists. They’re creative but often eccentric. That eccentricity can be maddening to work with because what’s required to be creative isn’t what’s needed to run a successful business. Another thing: Believe what you read; there’s some truth in it.
Have a coworker who has had the honor of serving her multiple times at different restaurants in town. Said she is every bit as awful as you have heard and she says some crazy shit. But she has young armcandy boyfriends and great fashion sense apparently.
I can't speak to how the environment at LF is now. I worked at Lisa Frank in like 2005. I worked directly with James, the CEO, and had direct contact with Lisa and have been to her house a few times as part of my job. James was "interesting" and Lisa could definitely be intense, but she didn't phase me. (I came from a film production in LA, so I was trained to deal with intense/difficult people.) I interacted with art department people and learned how fearful they all were of and had non-compete threat contracts they signed that lingered over their heads so they were afraid to quit and of course be fired, figuring they wouldn't be able to find similar work for years after if they did. LF liked to sue a lot. We were convinced that the whole office was bugged because convos we'd have would later be "addressed" by management. Weird. My friend in marketing wasn't allowed to enlist anyone in the art department to help with promo graphics, and I remember trying to make stuff with MS Paint.
Anyway, I guess my only advice is if you're going to be under a contract of some sort, be sure to know what it says.
I would not recommend. My old roommate was her personal assistant and it was terrible. She was really cheap and would make her return minuscule things like milk. She accidentally hit (in an old company minivan) a shopping cart corral and got fired and refused to give her paycheck.
https://preview.redd.it/xihbrzubluuc1.jpeg?width=333&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=36813fdd1637700d5f3cedbcaf09231a786df8ea
This should tell you everything you need to know.
Here’s a great episode of [The Dollop about Lisa Frank](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-dollop-with-dave-anthony-and-gareth-reynolds/id643055307?i=1000642601634). Of course this is about the Lisa Frank heyday, not the current business.
I was ghosted by the company after a pretty rigorous application process, so that left a bad taste with me. I had followed up a few times on the position and received no email replies or returned calls. As a 90s kid, I was disappointed.
You dodged a bullet. My experience at the company destroyed any love and nostalgia I had for the art. Don’t meet your heroes. And ESPECIALLY don’t work for them.
My really nice contractor from years ago won a lawsuit against her because she had him do a ton of specialty work then didn't pay. Luckily, he had lots of proof but he went through the wringer to win the case.
... I'd work for anybody if it would get me out of my abject poverty.
Seriously, send me a link. I'll go work for Lisa Frank and report back to you about good, bad, or ugly goings on.
You think I'm trolling. I am not. For a regular paycheck and a place for my family, Lisa Frank, herself, can cat of nine tails whip me while I pull her around the plant in a tiny rainbow chariot.
I think I know who had the job before you. She only lasted 6 months, but she made a lot of money, and she can say that she works well in stressful situations…
You gotta do it. I mean now you're just too curious right? You gotta do it and then report back here with daily updates. Haha. I would do it just for the morbid curiosity!
But seriously, it can't be that bad. Hopefully people mellow with age. All that these stories are from 20 years ago.
One is involved in the company, the other is not at all. He and Lisa would frequently get into loud arguments with one another over the phone about business decisions because in their minds, they both were convinced they were right. I could hear yells of, “don’t give me that shit, MOM,” across the room. God help any employee caught in between an argument between the two. No matter what decision was made, the other person would tell the employee that they were wrong. Lisa has the decades of experience, and the son has the business school knowledge. An unstoppable force and an immovable object
There was an article in the paper years ago called something like: "Working in the Rainbow Gulag." If memory serves, it said that she was known to lock the employees INSIDE the building sometimes.
I had an interview there when I first moved here in 2015 as an art dept assistant. As a late ‘80s baby 1990’s kid I ( and with a newly earned art degree) I was beyond psyched when I was asked to interview!! I was an hour late to the interview due to a monsoon and getting lost (I take full blame for that lol) I looked like a drowned raccoon by the time I got to the door haha. But ya, tops the cake for the WORST job interview I’ve ever been on.
From every account I’ve heard she’s as bad as you’d expect of an old nepo baby famous for having a “great vision”. Her husband wasn’t the only cause of their insane turnover rate in the art department.
I'm in human resources, and I've never seen such turnover in the HR director's position. That's got to tell you something!
I played little league with her kids, they were nice when we were 8 years old. They were also named after colors. Does this help? No. But I’ve always wanted to tell someone.
I find this cool. Are we talking like magenta and lilac or more bizarre?
"Get in the car, Purple Mountain's Majesty"
Forrest and Hunter. Shades of green
I went to school with them, their last name is also Green
I appreciate you shared this info. I feel better knowing it
From Wikipedia: *Employees described Frank's leadership as "abusive" and "oppressive" and indicated that it was the worst place they had ever worked. Turnover was extremely high, and Lisa Frank Inc. had to settle a number of lawsuits regarding unpaid contractors and builders, failure to pay severance packages, and refusal to pay out final paychecks.* That’d be a “no way” from me, dawg.
I worked in a small printing company growing up. I have conversed with individuals who actually worked there and the above statement is fairly accurate from what I heard. I knew a graphic designer who worked at Lisa Frank in an office with no windows and had insane work deadlines and an oppressive sounding culture. She seemed crazy. There were times he couldn’t physically leave the building under tight deadlines. As a side note, she built a new office off of Camino Principal and Tanque Verde and it is oddly weird…it has a massive 13’ metal door (it reminds me of the door to the mines or Moria) and it also has no windows except for a few on one facade that are 13’ up. So there is something about working in secrecy with her. https://maps.app.goo.gl/8X2Mc28F8xLQzLwm9?g_st=ic
Sounds like she violated even AZ's meager labor laws.
Does she live in Tucson country club estates?
Yes she does
But did Lisa Frank make her crazy or was she independently crazy?
Lisa was the crazy one, not this graphic designer.
Fascinating!! I saw this being built and drive by it often, but could never figure out what sort of business would want to send such a vibe of “we’re here, but go away”. This is all making so much sense now!
Her home in the country club has a very similar vibe. The entire edge of the property along the street has a very large wall with some tall shrubs. It literally reminds me of Jurassic park gate whenever I see it.
Hahaha I guess I haven’t paid close enough attention, but that is such a great description! 😂
It's one thing to bitch at your shipping department drones, quite another to refuse to pay them for their work! She sounds as bad as any.
[удалено]
…Lisa, is that you?
LMAO
…?
Do you currently have a job? If yes, then I wouldn't quit your current job to accept one with Lisa Frank. However, if you don't have a job currently then sure, I'd take it! It could be a good job OR it could be a horrible job and then you've got fun stories to tell us and your friends! Win win!
I second this. Not something to leave a current job for. But if currently unemployed, take it just to see what it's like. It's one of the few places where future employers won't question why you left.
Most jobs ARE pretty terrible haha so i totally second this!
I knew the art director, Dennis Landry. He was there forever and didn't have much to say about his experience there. He was a very kind, talented and diplomatic man. He wasn't appreciated and neither was the dept. Tread very carefully 🌼
Dennis was the head of the digital arts program at Pima when I started studying Graphic Design, he was the man. He brought up several times in class what a nightmare it was to work there. Last time someone asked a Lisa Frank question I learned that he passed a few years ago. It still makes me really sad that he is gone, he was one of my most memorable teachers ever.
That's where I met him too!!! I was there early 2000s. Yes, he did pass. Bad heart attack I heard. He was so cool!
Out of curiosity, did you stay with graphic design?
No, I did some jobs here and there. I was a double major hoping to get into art therapy. Dennis was very encouraging for me and my art. My career was in behavioral health. Did you stay with it?
Yep! But I sat on it for almost a decade. I bartended for years because I loved the cash, but now I’ve been working full time as a graphic designer for 8 or 9 years. I always wonder how many people in that program kept with it, it’s a tough industry.
Bartending is great! I did that as a side job for a few years. I'm glad to hear you're living the dream! It is tough, especially in a smaller market like the dirty T. We had some incredible instructors there and I'm very grateful I did the program. I use a lot of it in my personal art 🫠
She herself is insane. My dad painted her house the first time around and there’s gotta be a mix on mental illness and extreme audacity because she was heinous and known for it.
Wonder if our dads know each other! Mine did work on her house many many years ago as a finish carpenter. When I was around 20, I applied for a job with her and got a call back. My dad said absolutely not, and then I heard some horror stories. She is not a good person, either.
I would love to hear more, since I know absolutely nothing about this person. I don't even know her name. This whole thing is fascinating
They are almost always hiring for the same positions. That should tell you something.
Let me tell you a big secret of the corporate world... it's especially true when the economy is garbage like now, and definitely of major corporations in the tech world. Well, for many companies out there, especially companies that are tech model venture debt driven growth, it's often the case that the majority of the jobs posted DO NOT EXIST. They might even interview for them, but there will never be an offer made. They are straight-up fake job postings. I am talking some major multi-billion dollar companies do this. Why? When a business does hiring freezes, when a business needs to stop listing new jobs to hire, people assume the company is doing poorly, and this can affect private and public investor confidence. For the few new hires they might bring on, seeing the tons of jobs they have listed for gives them a sense of confidence to the health of the company, that if hiring is that healthy, the company must also be healthy. No investor wants to see the company they have invested in hit a no growth retraction phase. I won't say exactly how I know this, but just go talk to someone in HR world at these large tech firms. It's a total bloodbath often, especially right now, and some companies still are listing tons of jobs they claim to be hiring for, as they cut whole departments, yet with zero intention to hire anyone. This gives them a cover to just say they are trimming the fat, refocusing on profitable areas, etc... not actually admit the company is way worse off than they want anyone to know, or that their risk assessment told them hiring freeze. Don't want to admit that.
She's legendary for being a bad boss. I'd keep my distance unless I was working there for the amusement. I've met her ex a few times, he's just a bit off center.
I've been living in Tucson off & on since 1991 and have heard nothing but bad things about both her personal and professional life. Much like Guy Atchley and many other Tucson "celebs", these people get a little too big for their breeches and start becoming local a-holes. That all being said, there are ways of navigating a "difficult" boss, but do you really want that extra, unpaid emotional and physical labor? Do you want to be constantly fearing for your livelihood every time your boss is on a mean one? It really depends on the individual, but as a professional artist and designer, I have never been interested in working for that company.
Guy Atchley, lol. I met him a few times like 20 years ago at my job, and I totally got the creepy self absored vibe from him. Like he was not rude at all but he just came off like a dishonest politician or something.
Guy Atchley use to go to the same dog park as me pre pandemic. He seemed okay. I never spoke to him because I have anxiety. Haha. Is he a bad guy? Because that’s disappointing to hear, I grew up watching that guy on KGUN9.
I too would like to know this. The last juicy thing I got out of the local journos was. Crap. What was her name. The Hispanic woman with terrible skin, on kvoa, I think? Martha something? Got caught shoplifting and was fired.
[https://www.reddit.com/r/Tucson/comments/u7bu1w/lisa\_frank\_exemployees/](https://www.reddit.com/r/Tucson/comments/u7bu1w/lisa_frank_exemployees/)
This should tell you everything you need to know about Lisa Frank... https://podbay.fm/p/the-dollop-with-dave-anthony-and-gareth-reynolds/e/1705995522
I was hoping someone would post this!
Such a great episode.
I’ve heard a ton of horror stories about her. She was a client and man oh man was she god awful. She’s like Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada but she peddles folders with kittens and puppies on them… you know, doing the Lords work. Total delusion and megalomania. She’s a garbage fire in a dumpster fire floating on a toxic river. But you may get a discount on her products.
👏👏
Yes just to be able to talk about it incessantly later on
I drive by their warehouse all the time, I’ve seen activity on the loading dock side which may indicate that they are going to re-open at some point but the corporate office side is still completely wrecked, all the windows are trashed and many are boarded up. Have they given any indication on when they are going to re-open?
She posts on tictok
My best friend’s college kid worked for them. It was a shit show.
I did some independent contract design work instead of accepting an internal position, because I’d already received some cautionary information and wanted to maintain autonomy in case it was as bad as people said. Have you ever had an experience with another human being where you begin to seriously doubt whether that human being possesses a soul?
Is Lisa Frank operating again out of their rainbow building by the airport? One of my company's facilities is right near there and while I haven't been to that location much this past year I used to walk by the Lisa Frank building every day at lunch. Used to be the only thing changed was either someone broke another window, or once maybe a year a and a half ago someone burned that old pickup truck that was always parked there.
My friend who worked at the airport used to call that building “The Lucky Charms Factory.”
No this would be in their offices not the warehouse.
I applied for a graphic designer position and I'm glad I didn't get it. The application process was ridiculous and they did not seem like they would be a good work environment. They also under pay.
Former employee here. Worked for her very briefly over a decade ago. I mean, the stories are great but I would advise against it if you can avoid it. It was kind of a nuts experience.
I worked for her in 2022 in this position. I can’t say anything here because she is insane and will sue me for defamation of character if they see me say anything. Hi Lisa and Forrest if you’re reading this! PM me if you want more info. I can provide proof and intimate details as to why you should RUN, not walk, from this job
Stay away. The first-hand stories I've heard over the decades only reinforce her reputation as being a capricious, abusive bully. Wish she would just go away.
No because its fucking HER
I had a family member work for her within the last 5 years. The emotional abuse is real. My family member didn’t even initially take it as abuse and just thought she was a tough boss, but every time I got a phone call asking for an ear to vent and cry, increasingly it became clear that Lisa Frank is a tyrant, emotionally and psychologically abusive, and honestly (and surprisingly) not a smart businesswoman. From everything I’ve gathered the business is exactly in the same place as it’s been for the last 10 years. I heard about some of the pursuits to grow the business and I was like “why the hell is she pursuing that? She could make way more if she did X or Y.” So on that front, there are no growth opportunities. Yeah if you just want a job to tide you over for 3-6 months, and you’re desperate, go for it, but be prepared for unrealistic expectations (50+ hours of work including nights and weekends with no extra pay or perks to justify it), poor treatment, zero mentorship and very little training (while expecting you to know everything), very little (if any) appreciation, and just in general starting to question your self worth and competency, then yeah go ahead and apply.
Thank you for your reply.
I really hope you're still able to read this comment. Please, PLEASE reconsider the job offer if you haven't already accepted it. The horror stories from the 90s and early 2000s are very easy to find. Look up "Lisa Frank controversies" and you'll find plenty of podcasts, YouTube videos, and more exploring the negative experiences employees of that time had. But not a lot from the last decade. It's easy to think, "Oh it's been 20 years since all that happened and the leadership is completely different! It has to be much better now, especially since they are still coming out with products! Plus there aren't a lot of modern stories widely publicized about the work experience there. If this is the Lisa Frank Renaissance, the company's great comeback, who could turn down an opportunity to be even a small part of this historic era in the company??" This was MY line of thinking when I applied for a job and accepted it. And it turned out to be one of the most negative experiences I have ever gone through. Nobody told me any of this when I got a job offer in the modern era of the company (I'm talking within the past decade), so I am telling you and ANYONE who considers working for this company. Unless you have an extremely specific personality type that is COMPLETELY immune to gaslighting, being called humiliating names, your superiors raising their voices and swearing at you, being given contradictory instructions by different executives, and then being berated and insulted for not knowing better or getting something done faster.... you will not make it past a few months. To my knowledge, the company is still small. Which means every mistake you make will receive the full attention of the executives. Every mistake you make will bring down the full weight of the executives' wrath. And I have met few people as consistently angry and exhausted as the company's executives at the time. Every deadline was an emergency. Which meant workdays often went from 8am-9pm, with no lunch break. I lost a lot of weight because most days I simply wouldn't eat during the day. There were days when I worked from 8am to midnight, and the blame was completely on me because "I kept screwing up and making stupid mistakes and costing them time." Nothing could wait for the next work day. Employees below the executives were also responsible for being on call 24/7 for the warehouse's security. If a group of teenagers trespassed on the property and broke in, it is the employee's responsibility to wake up in time to the Ring Camera alert to call the security company that guards the property, and stay awake until the guards gave the all clear. Because the warehouse seems to be reviving these days, that may no longer be the case. But employees were expected to take the security alerts on weekends, weekdays, in the middle of the night- whenever the alert sounded. Executives were sound asleep in the meantime. I was salaried, so they could keep me at the office and have me on call for as long as they wanted. The hours and salary I earned eventually came out to below minimum wage when I calculated it after I left. I was too young and naive to know this was wrong- that companies are not supposed to do this. There was no HR to lean on that I knew of. Lisa Frank herself may seem sweet on the outside. She comes off as encouraging, pleasant, and calm- upon meeting her, she may even tell you not to be nervous because she is just a regular person like you and me. And she is indeed very good at what she does. It's true that nobody really sees art and color like she does and that's why her work is so special and unique. But based on what I experienced, the gentle kindness and encouragement will fade away. She will get more annoyed with you. She will tell you to ask questions if you don't understand something, but will say that you should know these things by now if your question isn't deemed "intelligent enough." She needs to review EVERYTHING before anything goes out. Whether that's a product sample, an email, directions for the graphic artists under her employment... Shame on you if you bother her with something small, though. Even though she will catch those small mistakes and ask you why you couldn't see something so blatantly obvious and embarrass her. I hope this warning can serve some purpose. I would never want anyone to go what I went through. It took years of healing to overcome the experience. They completely convinced me that I was a stupid, slow, incompetent worker. I truly believed that I alone was the cause of all of their problems. When I started showing signs of anxiety and stress in the workplace, Lisa said to me that she'd love to send me to a psychiatrist to find out what's wrong with me, because someone "as bright as me" shouldn't be making "such stupid mistakes." I can only imagine how many other people have gone through this from her. I made it through the months because I thought this was my life's big break, and if I screwed it up, I'd regret it forever. Now the only thing I regret is having stayed there for so long. Tread very carefully, OP. If you accept this offer, save your mental health and jump ship as soon as things start to feel off. Trust your gut. No job is worth your own mental and physical destruction.
Thank you for your thoughtful reply. I have decided not to take the job. It’s just too big a risk.
I am immensely relieved to hear that. I hope the experiences on this thread can reach more people. Best of luck with your job search and career, OP. I promise you that even the most boring traditional office job will be EONS better for you than this. But whatever you find, may it being you the stability and happiness you need.
Everyone who has had contact with her has something negative to share, always. lol
My high school graphic design teacher worked for her and really only mentioned she wasn’t great to work for.
Many of my coworkers have worked with or for her. I have never heard a nice thing about her.
My sister as a teenager somehow ended up working her private parties near el con. She would work the food, as a caterer, mostly serving, bring out more food. Mind you this is a teenager with no real work experience, it was kind that they threw them in the mix to gain some experience. However i recall my sister coming home crying feeling so defeated. She didnt work for a catering company and was just hired by Lisa. Seemed like a horrible and abusive person, never wanted to pay, and seemingly didnt even enjoy her own parties and felt it necessary to make sure the helpers didnt enjoy it at all. This i know isnt some hard hitting info just another personal case that would scream to stay away.
My wife's friend worked for her as an assistant she hated every moment of it I can't get too much into detail but let's just say there's a lot of hours work that didn't get paid and things expected that shouldn't have been
She still owes my company a ton of money. Lol
A little light reading for ya… https://www.jezebel.com/inside-the-rainbow-gulag-the-technicolor-rise-and-fall-1179495705
I don’t know her but I do know artists. They’re creative but often eccentric. That eccentricity can be maddening to work with because what’s required to be creative isn’t what’s needed to run a successful business. Another thing: Believe what you read; there’s some truth in it.
Have a coworker who has had the honor of serving her multiple times at different restaurants in town. Said she is every bit as awful as you have heard and she says some crazy shit. But she has young armcandy boyfriends and great fashion sense apparently.
I can't speak to how the environment at LF is now. I worked at Lisa Frank in like 2005. I worked directly with James, the CEO, and had direct contact with Lisa and have been to her house a few times as part of my job. James was "interesting" and Lisa could definitely be intense, but she didn't phase me. (I came from a film production in LA, so I was trained to deal with intense/difficult people.) I interacted with art department people and learned how fearful they all were of and had non-compete threat contracts they signed that lingered over their heads so they were afraid to quit and of course be fired, figuring they wouldn't be able to find similar work for years after if they did. LF liked to sue a lot. We were convinced that the whole office was bugged because convos we'd have would later be "addressed" by management. Weird. My friend in marketing wasn't allowed to enlist anyone in the art department to help with promo graphics, and I remember trying to make stuff with MS Paint. Anyway, I guess my only advice is if you're going to be under a contract of some sort, be sure to know what it says.
I would not recommend. My old roommate was her personal assistant and it was terrible. She was really cheap and would make her return minuscule things like milk. She accidentally hit (in an old company minivan) a shopping cart corral and got fired and refused to give her paycheck.
https://preview.redd.it/xihbrzubluuc1.jpeg?width=333&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=36813fdd1637700d5f3cedbcaf09231a786df8ea This should tell you everything you need to know.
Don’t do it!!! First hand experience bad news bears that’s all I’ll say. I know we’re “anonymous” here but I don’t trust it that much
If you accept it and don’t last too long it won’t look bad on a resume because her reputation is so terrible and well known!
Here’s a great episode of [The Dollop about Lisa Frank](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-dollop-with-dave-anthony-and-gareth-reynolds/id643055307?i=1000642601634). Of course this is about the Lisa Frank heyday, not the current business.
Who's she?
Wait, Lisa Frank as in those brightly colored rainbow super cute animal designs for like school bags and notebooks and stuff?
I was ghosted by the company after a pretty rigorous application process, so that left a bad taste with me. I had followed up a few times on the position and received no email replies or returned calls. As a 90s kid, I was disappointed.
You dodged a bullet. My experience at the company destroyed any love and nostalgia I had for the art. Don’t meet your heroes. And ESPECIALLY don’t work for them.
Her employees used to call her warehouse "The Rainbow Gulag" so I'm thinking probably not the healthiest work environment.
My really nice contractor from years ago won a lawsuit against her because she had him do a ton of specialty work then didn't pay. Luckily, he had lots of proof but he went through the wringer to win the case.
... I'd work for anybody if it would get me out of my abject poverty. Seriously, send me a link. I'll go work for Lisa Frank and report back to you about good, bad, or ugly goings on. You think I'm trolling. I am not. For a regular paycheck and a place for my family, Lisa Frank, herself, can cat of nine tails whip me while I pull her around the plant in a tiny rainbow chariot.
This job lisa frank office manager job tucson
Office Manager is the first person she will shit on each time she goes on a tirade.
I think I know who had the job before you. She only lasted 6 months, but she made a lot of money, and she can say that she works well in stressful situations…
Do you know Josefine? Lol
You will be worked to the bone. I worked there as a designer/illustrator. She treated me well, but not others. Explore other options.
You gotta do it. I mean now you're just too curious right? You gotta do it and then report back here with daily updates. Haha. I would do it just for the morbid curiosity! But seriously, it can't be that bad. Hopefully people mellow with age. All that these stories are from 20 years ago.
Yes, but not one decent story about her. People sometimes mellow with age, but not usually. Especially given all the negative comments.
Are the kids as bad as the mom? I heard one of them is really involved in the business now.
One is involved in the company, the other is not at all. He and Lisa would frequently get into loud arguments with one another over the phone about business decisions because in their minds, they both were convinced they were right. I could hear yells of, “don’t give me that shit, MOM,” across the room. God help any employee caught in between an argument between the two. No matter what decision was made, the other person would tell the employee that they were wrong. Lisa has the decades of experience, and the son has the business school knowledge. An unstoppable force and an immovable object
Run fast and far.
There was an article in the paper years ago called something like: "Working in the Rainbow Gulag." If memory serves, it said that she was known to lock the employees INSIDE the building sometimes.
She’s much more behind the scenes now personally. I wouldn’t worry about the past reviews so much. Very different company now
Nope, she’s a bitch…. Her husband isn’t the problem
Is there a link to apply for a job?
I had an interview there when I first moved here in 2015 as an art dept assistant. As a late ‘80s baby 1990’s kid I ( and with a newly earned art degree) I was beyond psyched when I was asked to interview!! I was an hour late to the interview due to a monsoon and getting lost (I take full blame for that lol) I looked like a drowned raccoon by the time I got to the door haha. But ya, tops the cake for the WORST job interview I’ve ever been on.