#mary-kateandashley

[olsenmerch]

The premiere issue of the mary-kateandashley magazine dated April/May 2001.

[filmspeak]

Everything You Need To Know About Jarnette Olsen

[donnyosmond]

they need to reopen the thrift stores so I can get back to currating my Olsen twins museum

[adamwatchesmovies]

The Adventures of Mary-Kate & Ashley: The Case of Thorn Mansion (1994)

Even for someone that finds some way to remain entertained during even the very worst pictures, The Adventures of Mary-Kate & Ashley: The Case of Thorn Mansion stretches the limits. Worse than the horrendous performances, cheap production, sloppy filmmaking, and amateur script is the lie. Though the VHS cover may make it look like a movie, it isn't.

The first in a series of eleven musical mystery videos starring actresses Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, the twins play super sleuths whose motto is “We’ll solve any crime by dinnertime”. In this episode, they travel to Transylvania (good luck getting back before dinner with that one) to investigate a ghostly figure spotted inside the abandoned Thorn Mansion.

Unless your last name is “Olsen”, you've got no business watching this. The production is so shoddy it actually looks like a home movie that someone edited with Windows Movie Maker. Think I’m exaggerating? Any scene where the twins’ pet dog Clue is supposed to be dancing, or doing anything is almost always - and obviously - footage that's been reversed. It’s supposed to create the illusion that he’s paying attention to the action instead of being bored out of his doggie mind. At one point, a stagehand can be seen prompting the twins to walk up the stairs to the Thorn Mansion. Even something as easy as a trip via map looks bad. Continuity errors throughout and repeated invitations to join the Olsen Twins’ fan club make it obvious artistry was not a priority.

All of these issues pale in comparison to the acting and writing. I know this movie is made for kids, but when your mystery can be solved the second it’s introduced and the “ghost” being investigated is so obviously not a ghost, something’s wrong. I’ve seen episodes of Scooby-Doo that had more genuine mystery and suspense. And in those, everyone knows it’s always some old man in a mask! As for the twins themselves, they do not display an ounce of acting talent while delivering this terrible script filled with the most obvious and clichéd jokes. I never watched Full House but based on the skills they showcase here, I imagine the show must've been unintentionally hilarious every time they were on-screen.

Am I a bully for picking on a couple of (at the time) 9-year-old kids? Maybe a bit. Let me redirect my frustration. The real blame lies in the snake-oil salesmen who produced this VHS tape. It’s a shameless cash-grab to get impressionable little girls to fork over their money for the “Mary-Kate and Ashley Fun (Fan) Club”. This was quickly written, with as little effort and budget possibly invested into a machine that would turn two little girls into mad money makers.

The fact that I made it through this entire thing is a testament to my willpower/stubbornness. The only good thing I can say about it is that there is one song out of the six that shows tiny inklings of a creative spark. It’s not much and the singing isn't worth the napkin it was written on, but when your movie is essentially a swirling, sinking whirlpool that drains the willpower out of any adult watching, those few sweet minutes feel like the soft caress of milk and honey down your throat after 40 years of wandering in the desert.

I doubt even Mary-Kate and Ashley’s loving parents would be able to sit through this mystery because it’s just so cheap, so badly written and so poorly acted. The real mystery in The Adventures of Mary-Kate & Ashley: The Case of Thorn Mansion is “why did I sit through this?” (On VHS, September 21, 2015)

[theolsentimes]

Olsens All Business in Move From Show Biz to Global Brand

Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen are trading their past as child actors for a future as businesswomen, building a global lifestyle and entertainment firm. Written by Khanh T.L. Tran (WWD, June 2005)

LOS ANGELES — Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen are trading their past as beloved child actors for a future as global businesswomen. The 19-year-old twins are taking control of their company, Dualstar Entertainment Group, and finessing their focus on fashion, home, beauty, brand management and entertainment. In addition to emerging celebrity rivals, they face the challenge of trying to entice an older, more sophisticated consumer who has outgrown tween sizes and lost interest in entertainment starring the sisters. “We’re getting older,” Mary-Kate told WWD in an exclusive interview. “We have more things to say. We want more things to accomplish in our company.”

Last January, the Olsens acquired full ownership of Dualstar and became co-presidents. Even as they take art and French classes in their second year at New York University, the Olsens are more hands-on than ever at the Culver City, Calif.-based company. In separate interviews with WWD, the Olsens discussed their vision for Dualstar. In 2003, Dualstar scrapped a junior line marketed under the mary-kateandashley label after two seasons because of lackluster sales at 500 Wal-Mart stores. “It wasn’t something we were able to grab,” Mary-Kate said. “Wal-Mart doesn’t know that [teen] customer yet.” So the Olsens are taking charge. In late August, as other college students prepared to start the new semester, the sisters sat at a conference table in Bentonville poring over spreadsheets that detailed sell-throughs, markdowns, gross margins and sales by color grouping for their mary-kateandashley brand. Along with representatives of their company and licensing agency, the Olsens faced planners, buyers and merchandising managers for accessories, sleepwear and other divisions at Wal-Mart, which sells the Olsens’ clothing line exclusively in the U.S. and Canada. The 35-person meeting was the culmination of a two-day visit to Wal-Mart’s headquarters. Wal-Mart executives were initially unsure why the twins wanted to attend the annual business review, Reichenberger recalled. Ashley said the sisters’ last trip to Bentonville had been in 2002 for Wal-Mart’s annual shareholders meeting. The goal this time was to assess the state of the business. “It’s obviously important for them to know we’re 100 percent behind it,” Ashley said. “It was really nice to hear their concerns and also for me to be able to come back and say, ‘You should trust us sometimes.'” More business review meetings between Wal-Mart executives and the Olsens are in the works. “We are serious,” Mary-Kate said. Dualstar has eliminated projects that didn’t align with its renewed focus on fashion and style. It stopped making new videos, DVDs and books centering on the Olsens. Since January, the company has hired four new employees, including a brand manager, and plans to recruit more designers. Designer Sam Ciardi, 35, was promoted to executive design director, replacing Judy Swartz, the former chief designer who left in June to pursue her own fashion line. Swartz couldn’t be reached for comment. “We’ve really been narrowing down the company and doing things we want to do,” Ashley said. Mary-Kate added: “At the end of the day, it’s our face and name on it.” Dualstar also hired a new coordinator for research and testing for the incubator. “Mary-Kate and Ashley personally have ideas that they would like to explore in fashion, home and beauty,” Reichenberger said. While Reichenberger reviews the incubator’s progress with the Olsens weekly, Mary-Kate and Ashley work on it daily. “It was really great to start getting something done that we always wanted to do,” Ashley said. And the Olsens are definitely interested in fashion. The mishmash outfits they wear to class and about town have generated a new fashion trend among college-age women. Mary-Kate sat in the front row last month at the Calvin Klein fashion show in New York, while Ashley interned at Zac Posen last year. In addition to tracing patterns and pinning dresses, Ashley sat in on fittings and learned why Posen picked certain pieces for the catwalk. “It’s so different because we’re dealing with, you know, mass merchandise and they’re dealing with more couture pieces,” Ashley said of working at Posen. Mary-Kate said she and her sister have already found a following as other young women mimic their style and the press chronicles their latest looks. “Ashley and I have really taken fashion icon roles,” Mary-Kate said. [FULL ARTICLE AT THE SOURCE]

[heylizzo]

what’s one thing from the 90s you wish stayed “cool”?

Expired mary-kateandashley makeup from WalMart because I could quit acting and go into selling that on ebay full time.

[olsens-obsessive]

10 February 2016: EXCLUSIVE: Mary-Kate Olsen seen wearing skinny jeans while out for coffee in New York City

See all 05 HQ files over here.

[olsenmerch]

The final issue of the mary-kateandashley magazine from August/September 2001

[olsenmerch]

You're Invited To Mary-Kate and Ashley's hat. Retailed for $12.00 on the mary-kateandashley website.

Note: There are duplicates of this hat being sold on various websites today but this was listed on the mary-kateandashley website according to the Wayback Machine.

[olsenmerch]

This was sold exclusively on the mary-kateandashley website in 2000. This retailed for 29.95 not including shipping. I found this using the Wayback Machine.

A signed ball was also listed on the site for sale but a stock photo could not be found. It retailed for 16.95.

1st photo: stock photo from website

2nd photo: close up of signed ball. Photo credit: