Ashley teases a new Padme shirt from Her Universe

Ashley /  Padme Nouveau 2.0?

At a recent appearance at The Orlando Science Center, Ashley Eckstein debuted a new Padme shirt. Like the red Padme Nouveau shirt, one of Her Universe’s first, the new shirt features artwork by Tsuneo Sanda.

Ashley told our pal Nanci today that it will be coming out in May, along with Rogue Squadron dress/tank and the new Clone Wars shirt she was wearing today.

And while we’re on the topic, Orlando Weekly has a video interview with Ashley in which she talks Her Universe, The Clone Wars and more.

Congratulations to Dunc – Her Universe Fangirl of the Day!

Year of the fangirlSince we know that this embarrasses her beyond belief, I’m going to jump on here to say congratulations to Club Jade’s own Dunc for being selected as a Her Universe Fangirl of the Day!

My favorite part of the write-up:

What is her favorite quote or personal motto?

“In space, no one can hear you LOL.”

Club Jade knows who has made this site great, and that’s Dunc. Thanks for all you do setting the example for how women can navigate fandom with fun and class (and snark).

Don’t forget to check out the other Fangirls: Grace, a Star Wars and Doctor Who fan and blogger, who is one of the founders of the Lakehouse Forums, was the first Fangirl of the Day.

And leading into the Fangirl of the Day posts have been some introductions of the contributing team: Lillian Skye, Erin Kelahan, Victoria Schmidt, Amy Ratcliffe, and Tricia Barr.

Grace and Lillian might be familiar faces to Her Universe fans on our blog, since they were in the HU fan photoshoot at Celebration last year. Keep watching the Fangirl of the Day blog for more stories from the fandom community!

Her Universe to offer advice column, ‘Ask Ellen’

Ellen ConnellAs part of their Year of the Fangirl initiative, Her Universe is launching an advice column.

The monthly column Ask Ellen will be headlined by Ellen Connell, formerly of Lucasfilm Animation and currently working towards becoming a licensed psychologist. She holds a Psy.D in Clinical Psychology and works as a psychotherapist.

“I’m really excited to work with Ashley and the Her Universe community through the ‘Ask Ellen’ column,” Connell said in a statement. “I hope to offer support to girls who are struggling to feel good about themselves. I’m glad Her Universe provides a community for fangirls, and I look forward to contributing to it in any way I can.”

The column is already accepting questions, and don’t forget to throw your name (or someone else’s) in to be a Fangirl of the Day.

More Expanded Universe designs are coming to Her Universe!

Ashley in the CVI Mara shirtIf you were wondering why The Clone Wars’ Ashley Eckstein was chatting on the Star Wars Books Facebook today, well here’s your answer: She announced that Her Universe has acquired the rights to make Expanded Universe products! (As you may recall, the Mara Jade shirt for Celebration VI was a one-off and limited availability due to not having the EU rights.) Here’s what Ashley had to say about what’s to come:

We are designing Several NEW Star Wars designs this year. Everything will be debuting in May. We are making shirts, dresses, jewelry…We have Rogue Sqaudron designs AND I am SO excited to announce that Lucasfilm has given us the rights to design shirts for the women in the EU, so expect more Mara Jade and Jaina Solo designs!

She later asked fans to be sure to speak up about what EU stuff you’d like to see.

Later, a (male) fan asked “Why do girls pretend to like Star Wars?” (Really people? Really?) Ashley handled that pretty well:

Girls definitely do not pretend to like Star Wars. It’s a fact that close to half of all Star Wars fans are girls. There may be some girls and boys that pretend to know more about Star Wars than they really do, but I would encourage you to talk about Star Wars with them and teach them more. Sometimes people may pretend to know more than they really do because they want to fit in. But even if there is a seed of interest in Star Wars, it’s our job as fans to welcome NEW fans into this Universe. Especially during this exciting time! We are about to get more movies!

Of course there was plenty asked about The Clone Wars:

I honestly don’t know Ahsoka’s eventual fate. I encourage you to watch the Season 5 finale on Saturday because there are some surprises. You will get some answers and then you will also probably have a lot more questions…You must tune in and bring some tissues…

There’s plenty more, so check out the chat!

Eckstein hints at going beyond tops with Her Universe

Her Universe Tardis dressIn a new interview with About.com, Ashley Eckstein says that Her Universe hopes to expand beyond t-shirts. She namechecks “dresses, leggings, skirts, cardigans.” They already have one dress – the TARDIS, which remains a Hot Topic exclusive – but the idea of cardigans is getting a lot of love online.

And let’s not forget the Rogue Squadron sketch, which could (maybe) become a dress…

For the more immediate future, Ashley mentions Her Universe branded items:

I am very excited because we are currently designing my first Her Universe branded collection. Up until this point we’ve only focused on licensed designs, but girls have been asking for Her Universe branded items as well. These designs will be very graphic and inspirational. We tell girls to “Dream Your World. Be Your World. Flaunt Your World.” and I want our branded designs to represent that whimsy, inspiration and power.

What would you like to see Her Universe tackle beyond the types of tops, pajamas, jewelry and tote bags that they’ve already produced?

Her Universe hints at Rogue Squadron… tank?

Rogue Squadron tank?Ashley Eckstein posted this photo today of “a new design” that Her Universe is working on.

It seems there’s been quite an outcry for Rogue Squadron items lately… But bear in mind this is only a sketch, so it’s hard to say when, or even if, it ever becomes available.

The addition of ribbing also hints this could be an all-new style. (Maybe a dress?) Her Universe’s tanks currently cost $25, while their only dress (so far) is $28.50.