Ellis, Estelle (1919-2012)

Person

Dates

Existence: 1919-2012

Biography

Estelle Ellis was born on November 12, 1919 in Brooklyn, New York. After graduating from Hunter College in 1940, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and a minor in Journalism, Ellis began a career in publishing. Ellis was crucial in the founding of Seventeen magazine in 1943, assisting Helen Valentine with design and advertising for the magazine. In 1958, Ellis founded Business Image, Incorporated, a creative marketing firm that stressed the importance of market and product positioning. Her company worked primarily with Condé Nast publications but other businesses, such as Yves Saint-Laurent Fragrances, Evan-Picone, AT&T, and Scoville, hired Business Image as well.

Beginning in the mid-1960s, Ellis began working with the Fashion Institute of Technology, creating programs and fundraising campaigns to help with financial support. During the 1990s, Ellis focused on writing, co-authoring At Home with Books: How Booklovers Live With and Care for Their Libraries (1995), At Home with Art: How Art Lovers Live With and Care for Their Treasures (1999), and The Booklover's Repair Kit: First Aid for Home Libraries (2000). Estelle Ellis passed away on July 12, 2012.

General Context

The Estelle Ellis Collection at the Smithsonian Institution: https://sova.si.edu/record/NMAH.AC.0423

Found in 2 Collections and/or Records:

Barbara D'Arcy interview, 1986 November 5, 1986 November 5

Item

Identifier: SC.FITA.3.20.4.9.3.2

Scope and Contents

This interview discusses Barbara D'Arcy's experiences working at Bloomingdale's as the designer of the model rooms from 1958 to 1973. A large part of the conversation focuses on D'Arcy's professional relationship with Marvin Traub, Chief Excecutive of Bloomingdale's and his role in the development of the aesthetic identity of Bloomingdale's. D'Arcy also discusses her transition from model room designer to her role as head of store design.

Dates: 1986 November 5

Found in: Special Collections and FIT Archive / Academic Affairs records / Gladys Marcus Library records / Special Collections and FIT Archive / FIT oral histories collection / The Bloomingdale's interviews, 1986 November 5-1987 January 16

Carl Levine interview, 1986 December 16, 1986 December 16

Item

Identifier: SC.FITA.3.20.4.9.3.5

Scope and Contents Carl Levine describes his early years in the home furnishings business working for his small family business before talking about his start at Bloomingdale's. The Sr. VP of Home Furnishings at the time of this interview, Levine traces the major developments of the Home Furnishings department at Bloomingdale's throughout his 30 years at the department store. Describing the department as "having trouble" when he arrived in 1955, Levine speaks at length about Bloomingdale's decision to...

Dates: 1986 December 16

Filtered By

Subject: Education X