‘Glitter & Greed: The Lisa Frank Story’: The 7 Most Shocking Revelations About the Reclusive Sticker Mogul

For those who grew up in the ’80s and ’90s, the Lisa Frank brand was a big part of life. Toy stores and big box retailers carried the splashy rainbow-colored designs on stickers, school supplies, and even clothes, and they were massively popular with children and teens.

The ubiquity of the brand has faded over time, though, and instead, the company and its reclusive namesake have become more infamous than famous — and Prime Video’s new docuseries, Glitter & Greed: The Lisa Frank Story, which is now streaming, offers some truly shocking testimonials from those who were right in her inner circle during the company’s heyday and eventual decline.

The four-episode streaming series features interviews with everyone from her business partner-turned-husband-turned-ex James Green to the woman who headed what is described as a very cutthroat human resources department to the company’s lead artists and designers to a pair of collaborators who were completely destroyed by it. 

Here are some of the most shocking claims and revelations that are made in the docuseries.

Former employees roundly blasted the toxicity of the work environment

One former concept artist who was part of the brand during its more successful era revealed that while she felt pressured to work 12 hours a day, she still subsisted on food stamps to raise her two children. Another employee said that he was unexpectedly switched from salary to hourly to reduce his pay and also struggled to make ends meet even as the business was booming. Another woman said she needed to leave work a little early to make it to the bank and walked out through the warehouse, after which there was an attempt to padlock the doors, which was reportedly declined due to fire hazard. And perhaps most shockingly, a man from the accounting department dropped dead at his desk, and fellow employees were expected to keep working while his body was carted out by the coroners.

Lisa Frank’s wedding to James Green was a spectacle

The docuseries features some truly unique imagery of the woman behind the brand, including video of her wedding to her first artist-turned-business partner James Green. During their wedding, they featured cutesy characters from the company’s line in tuxes, and her dress had colorful flowers adorning the neckline. The most disturbing note from this part of the story was not the fact that the horse that carted her to the aisle took a very audible pee break while she was standing right beside it, but that the videographer capturing it all was working for free and instantly regretted it after being bossed around. 

Her divorce was even more of a spectacle

Green was one of the most prominently featured contributors to the docuseries and spoke very, very candidly about the problems in his relationship — both personal and professional — with Frank. He contended that the company’s success was attributable to him, since he did the marketing and some of the artwork, and even the logo itself was his creation. So he didn’t believe it was a wedding gift for him to receive a 49 percent share of the company. Once things fell apart between the couple, the breakup played out in the media, and ultimately, Green had to sell back his shares and was not allowed to rejoin the building he helped make.

One of her children refuses to speak to her anymore

Frank and Green had two boys together, Hunter and Forest. The eldest of those two appeared in the docuseries and blasted his mother for being verbally aggressive towards him behind closed doors. He ultimately decided to stand up against the court order for her to have primary custody after their bitter divorce. Hunter Green considered some of his words in the docuseries carefully, saying that he would not put it past his estranged mother to sue him.

James and Hunter Green. Credit: Amazon Prime Video

The cofounders of Glamour Dolls were ruined after trying to work with her

In the docuseries, the two cofounders of a now-defunct makeup company called Glamour Dolls alleged that they were bilked by Frank repeatedly for hundreds of thousands of dollars after their successful Kickstarter campaign to create a line of themed products went south. Though they were initially the ones to seek out the collaboration with Lisa Frank as a dream project for their up-and-coming brand, it ultimately turned into a nightmare where they could not meet deadlines for product development and had their contract voided by LFI, despite them forking over hundreds of thousands of dollars and even financing a lavish two-week trip to Greece for her son Forest’s graduation. They believed — and have sued on this, with the case still ongoing — that she drug her feet in approving designs so that they would have to renew her licensing contract, which then asked for four times as much money. After the agreement was severed, they were left holding the (empty) bag, with their nascent company’s reputation destroyed. They were most shocked to discover that Lisa Frank went on to successfully partner with another makeup brand, including a product design that was nearly identical to one they were developing themselves. 

One artist in Los Angeles also claims Lisa Frank copied her business

One artist named Tasselfairy had created a Cloudland apartment that was inspired by, among other things, the aesthetic of childhood fancy companies like Lisa Frank and featured a house full of rainbows and other bright artwork. Tasselfairy was shocked to learn that Frank, who’d sent messages of support through social media, later collaborated with Hotels.com to create a Lisa Frank-themed room that had some similar designs — including rainbow-themed kitchen cabinetry and a mural of clouds. 

Lisa Frank is still promising a comeback.

The statement that played on every episode outro for Glitter & Greed came directly from Lisa Frank and promised a bright future for LFI: “I have loved art and have been an artist ever since childhood. Lisa Frank, Inc. is the result of that passion. I’m incredibly grateful for the amazing artists and team members who helped bring my vision to life. I’m so excited about the future, as the next generation takes the helm. Stay tuned — the best has yet to come!”

Glitter & Greed: The Lisa Frank Story, Streaming Now, Prime Video