Eloise Goes into Overdrive
Shannon Maughan -- Publishers Weekly, 8/30/1999
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Recently, children's book lovers have discovered several Eloise auctions on the online auction site eBay, for posters, tote bags and even a cardboard standee (which sold for upward of $100). Such auctions came as a surprise to Tracy van Straaten, publicity manager for Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing (publisher of all things Eloise), as she had mailed the Eloise promotional items to booksellers and others in May to coincide with S&S's reissued editions of Eloise in Paris and The Absolutely Essential Eloise. Van Straaten felt compelled to alert nearly 50 eBay bidders that a good supply of the posters still remained in the S&S warehouse and were free for the asking. "I couldn't tell people not to sell their posters; that's the beauty of eBay," she said. "But I did e-mail bidders and offered to mail them a free poster if they sent me a snail-mail address. Most people were amazed," she added. While supplies last, booksellers may order the free poster from S&S using the ISBN 0-689-00911-9.
The Eloise poster has caused other ripples as well. Last December's film You've Got Mail, about an independent children's bookseller who unwittingly falls for a chain bookstore executive, featured a cozy bookstore set decorated with a plethora of children's book titles. In several scenes, an older edition of the Eloise in Paris poster was in clear view. About 100 movieg rs subsequently contacted van Straaten's office at S&S about obtaining the poster. They were placed on a mailing list and received the poster when it became available in May.
And ooo la la! Eloise is now in the pink with her own signature lipstick. Carol Shaw, makeup artist and founder of LORAC Cosmetics, has created a bright, pink-shimmer shade named for the mischievous six-year-old. Eloise is the latest addition to LORAC's line of celebrity-inspired lip colors, which already includes such shades as Demi (Moore), Winona (Ryder) and Nicole (Kidman). The new $17.50 lipstick will be available in October at Henri Bendel, Sephora and select Macy's, Nordstrom and Souson stores, or by calling LORAC at (800) 845-0705. And, of course, the lipstick will be sold at the gift shop in the Plaza Hotel
