Tag Archives: Ashley Eckstein

Review: It’s Your Universe

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Since 2008, Ashley Eckstein has had a huge, positive impact upon the lives of fangirls everywhere as both Ahsoka Tano and the founder of Her Universe and now she’s written a book too! Out today, It’s Your Universe: You Have the Power to Make It Happen is a biographical and inspirational account of Ashley’s journey from being a young Disney-loving girl in Florida to a Star Wars star who runs a company focused on supporting fangirls.

Towards the start of the book, Ashley encourages readers to use the book as their own journal for writing down their hopes and dreams and what the path towards that dream might look like. She even leaves lines and little prompts for readers to do so. This turns the reading experience into something interactive.

Admittedly, It’s Your Universe is not a book intended for me. (I’m a 28-year-old pessimist who masquerades as a realist.) But that’s okay. Not every book has to be for every person and there are plenty of people out there, young girls in particular, for whom this book will be amazing. The suggested age range for this book is 12-18 but I think younger fans would appreciate it even more than older teenagers.

Throughout the book, Ashley incorporates some of her favorite quotes and storylines from Disney films, both classic and new. Between descriptions of times when Disney Princesses had to keep going in the face of adversity and Ashley’s own candid descriptions of instances where she experienced set backs, readers are reminded that the path to success isn’t always a straight line. What matters is that you keep believing in yourself and come up with a new plan when your first one doesn’t work out.

It’s Your Universe is likely the perfect book for a young fangirl and especially one who needs a little positive reinforcement as she strives towards her dreams. And hey! While it might not be the book for me, it could very well be an inspirational book that older fans adore as well. In short, if you’re a fan of Ashley Eckstein and Her Universe, you’ll likely find something to like about It’s Your Universe.

Thank you to Disney Editions for providing an advance copy of the book for review.

Her Universe unveils new Marvel line

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After a few teases and leaks, Her Universe officially revealed a new brand in the store: Marvel. Available now are a number of Marvel-themed shirts, tanks, dresses, leggings, dresses, and even a Captain America cardigan complete with shield on the back.

The site shows that these new products are in stock and available to order, so head to the link above to check out the new Marvel by Her Universe line.

New Ahsoka, Expanded Universe merch debuting at SDCC

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Ashoka and Expanded Universe fans are in for a treat courtesy of Her Universe. In an e-mail that went out earlier this morning, fans were notified that new shirts are incoming!

It’s July… so that means only one thing…San Diego Comic Con! Get ready for exclusives, new merchandise, and exciting conversations! Her Universe will be at Comic-Con in full force and we hope to see you there! We’ll have a booth in the Star Wars Pavilion (#2913-F) at SDCC, providing fans with a unique experience. We’ll have all new merchandise for Star Wars, Doctor Who, The Walking Dead, Star Trek, and Battlestar Galactica. We’ll also be debuting new Star Wars designs every day. 500 Return of the Jedi necklaces will debut on Wednesday, 100 Dave Filoni designed “Ahsoka’s Choice” shirts on Thursday, 100 Jaina Solo shirts on Friday and 100 Mara Jade shirts on Saturday. Each Jaina Solo and Mara Jade shirt will come with a free book courtesy of Del Rey publishing! Lots going on, plus a Her Universe panel! Read about it here. For those NOT going to San Diego Comic Con, do not fear! You can celebrate SDCC from home…all of the merchandise (except the ROTJ necklace), plus more, will go on sale on our website on July 18th. There is Comic-Con love for all!

Best Wishes,

Ashley

And just what do these new shirts look like? Here you go.

New HU releases

 

That’s right. A Jaina shirt based on the Sword of the Jedi promotional art and a Mara Jade shirt using the Choices of One paperback art. Finally, a Mara shirt that doesn’t feature the catsuit!

These new items (except the RotJ necklace) are available on the Her Universe website starting July 18th.

Her Universe Gears Up for May the Fourth

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We’re not super big fans of May the 4th here at Tosche Station–we prefer to call it Jacen Solo Day, in honor of stupid puns–but we always accept any “excuse” to celebrate the Galaxy Far, Far Away. Her Universe is getting in the spirit by announcing new pieces available exclusively at Hot Topic starting May 4 at 1 am. The new pieces include two Star Wars dresses, a Empire Strikes Back t-shirt, and a Han Solo shirt.

The first 500 online orders will receive a free cinch sack, so act quickly!

New Her Universe Clothing Coming in May, Available for Star Wars Weekends

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Over the weekend, Ashley Eckstein was at the Orlando Science Center to talk Star Wars, The Clone Wars, and Her Universe. During the proceedings, she also had some details of new Her Universe releases to share. Luckily for us, Nanci was at the event to record the details.

She also debuted a new Padme tee featuring artwork by Tsuneo Sanda.

New Padme Shirt

Also of note from Nanci, the Rogue Squadron tank/dress and the new Padme tee will be available at Star Wars Weekends. The new Clone Wars shirt that had been shown off earlier won’t be ready quite yet.

Star Wars Books Hosting Facebook Chat with Ashley Eckstein

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Clear your calendars for 3PM EST on Wednesday. Star Wars Books will be having The Clone Wars voice actress Ashley Eckstein on for a Facebook chat.

 

Ashley Eckstein Reveals New Fashion Plans for Her Universe

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Speaking of geeky clothing…

Ashley Eckstein, the voice of Ahsoka Tano on The Clone Wars and creator of the Her Universe fashion line, was recently interviewed by Justin Howard. Several questions involved plans for future designs and branching out to fashion staples beyond t-shirts. Of particular note:

Hot Topic has been an amazing partner for us! We developed our first dress with Hot Topic, a TARDIS dress from Doctor Who, and we are currently developing a fashion line together which contains more dresses, leggings and even cute sleep wear!

More dresses – yay! But even better…

JH – Are there any other areas of fashion you want or have plans to get into?

AE – We definitely plan on getting more into fashion items finding inspiration from Andy Defrancesco ; dresses, leggings, skirts, cardigans but we will continue to push the envelope and expand on our staple items like tees, v-necks, tanks and sleep wear. Everyday fashion that girls can wear to school, work, parties, dates, etc.

CARDIGANS!!! *cue hyperventilating*

You don’t understand. I love cardigans. Love love love. I’m always cold, and I have a billion cardigans (okay, not really, more like 10) that I wear to work, because they’re easy on, easy off, and look professional while being comfortable. Alas, my Star Wars manga hoodie doesn’t quite fit the dress code. If I owned a Star Wars cardigan, I would never take it off!

*begs for Star Wars cardigan*

Finally, Ashley says about the fans:

I am influenced by the fans. We do most of our marketing and PR through social media and I am very active with our fans on a daily basis. So they tell me what shows and movies they are watching. They tell me what kind of art they like and what music they are listening to. A lot of companies are scared of getting too close to their fans. I would say the key to our success is listening to our fans. It creates a sense of loyalty. I feel extremely loyal to our fans and, in turn, I hope they feel loyal to us.

Indeed we do, Ashley, and I’ll be even more loyal once I get my Star Wars cardigan! 😉 

Update: 

Ashley Eckstein and James Arnold Taylor Back for Star Wars Weekends, Dates Announced

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Going to be in the greater Orlando area sometime from May 17 through June 9? You might want to head down to Disney’s Hollywood Studios for the 2013 installment of Star Wars Weekends. If you can make it, you’ll be treated to Clone Wars voice talent Ashley Eckstein and James Arnold Taylor returning as hosts for the event. From the official blog:

While details are still being planned, we’re excited to announce that James Arnold Taylor and Ashley Eckstein are returning as celebrity hosts for the annual special event.  James, the voice behind many of the most famous animated characters in film, television and commercials, is known to Star Wars fans as the voice of Obi-Wan Kenobi on the Star Wars: The Clone Wars TV series.  Ashley, who started her show business career as a parade dancer at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, is the voice of Anakin’s ambitious Padawan, Ahsoka Tano, on Star Wars: The Clone Wars.

James is the Official Celebrity Host of Star Wars Weekends 2013, and Ashley is Celebrity Host of “Behind the Force,” a live show that takes fans behind-the-scenes in the Star Wars universe.

Though we are far less interesting than Ashley Eckstein and James Arnold Taylor, you might also be able to catch Nanci or myself there. We’ll both be present for the first weekend and Nanci will be there for a few other days.

New Her Universe Gear Coming on Cyber Monday

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Need to do some holiday shopping for the women in your life, or just looking to buff up your  own geeky wardrobe? Luckily for you, Her Universe is here to save the day! Yesterday the company previewed their new holiday items, which include two Doctor Who tees, a Star Wars v-neck shirt (the same style shirt as the Mara Jade exclusive from Celebration, which fits so very well), a Star Trek tee, a Battlestar Galactica sweatshirt, and last but not least, Darth Vader pajamas designed by Katie Cook!

How cute are they?? Katie did an awesome job.

You can purchase all of these items starting Cyber Monday (November 26). Even better, there are two exclusives for orders placed on that day only: every order will receive a free Chewbacca holiday pin, and all orders within the United States are eligible for free ground shipping.

And in news very relevant to readers of this blog, Ashley Eckstein teased on Twitter that Her Universe is in the process of designing a Rogue Squadron dress and tank top! No word yet on when we might see those released, but you can be sure I’ll be first in line to get them.

You can see all of Her Universe’s new holiday items here.