Over the past few years, women’s contribution to this world has become more noticeable. Females have managed to invade spaces that were previously known as male dominant, one of these was comics, and, really, most things geek. Even when we’ve had characters like Wonder Woman and Princess Leia, the world still seemed to lack products directed towards women. Ashley Eckstein made it her mission to create a Universe were girls all over the world could acquire merchandise for all things geek and so, Her Universe was born.
You might recognize Ashley Eckstein from her work in the Disney Channel Original Series, That’s So Raven. In this show, she played Raven’s nemesis, Muffy. Although she has done other work as an actress, after this, she moved on to do mostly voice acting for several shows such as Ultimate Spider-Man (2012), Sofia the First: Once Upon a Princess (2012), and Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008). She was nominated for Best Female Vocal Performance in all of these, and actually won for her role in Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
Born in Kentucky, raised in Florida, the 36-year-old actress has managed to write a pretty good resume for herself. We can see by her work, that she has been present in the geek world, and it’s obvious that this is the reason she created Her Universe. You can shop this brand in Hot Topic, Box Lunch, Torrid, Disney and Think Geek, not to mention it has its own online store. They have everything from jackets, dresses, tops, and shoes, to hats, bags, jewelry and even eyeshadow! It doesn’t stop there, Her Universe also has a home décor section where you can find everything from bed sheets and blankets, to toasters and waffle makers. The themes of the products are many, you will find Star Wars, Disney, Doctor Who, Marvel, Wonder Woman, Star Trek and even Studio Ghibli!
Ashley Eckstein didn’t want Her Universe to only be a space to consume, but she wanted it to be a space for creation as well. For about four years now Her Universe and Hot Topic host a fashion show competition in the San Diego Comic Con. In 2017, three designers were tied in the competition and won the chance to design for Her Universe. Moreover, Eckstein created Her Universe Press. What is this you ask? Well, Ashley describes it as “a publishing imprint with the goal of giving people the opportunity to be published”. For the moment, this last project is on hold, so keep an eye out for its reopening.
Ashley Eckstein wanted to create a community, for this reason, people have the opportunity to be featured on the site wearing some of the merchandise. All you have to do is post a picture on Instagram with the caption #FlauntYourWorld or nominate someone under the “Fan Girl” section on the site. Ashley had a vision and she made it come true. Thanks to her, geek girls everywhere can flaunt their worlds.