Our story starts on a warm spring day in 1973. I was in third grade and my elementary school was holding its first book fair. I was so excited to shop by myself that I took all the money I had earned weeding flower beds - $3.00.

Using all my savings, I bought two things:

The Little Witches Black Magic Cookbook (which is irrelevant, but the no bake cookie recipe is to die for)

And this poster which I took home and I hung in a place of honor, right next to Donny Osmond over my bed.

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Now, fast forward to 2007. 

The counselor at my daughter’s elementary school called me in for a meeting. I stepped into her office and guess what poster she had on her wall? Yep. HANG IN THERE! What's worse, the poster looked like it had been there since the 70's.“I CAN DO BETTER THAN THAT,” I thought. It didn't take much to get my husband Chris on board. He loves kitties, but he agreed that school posters could use an upgrade. What's more, Chris has a huge competitive streak and loves a challenge.

The following year (October 2008 to be exact) we started Echo-Lit in the basement of our Fort Hill home.

We love our Fort Hill neighborhood here in Charleston, WV. Every time I mention it on this blog, I can't resist showing off our view.

Our mission was to create captivating educational and inspirational posters that are relevant, using contemporary, original photography and artwork. Posters that connect with young people. It wasn't going to be easy. Snap Chat, video games, and glitzy advertisements are stiff competition.

Using Chris’s graphic design skills and my photography skills we created our website and 50 posters.

To help us, we tapped into the young, energetic talent pool here in West Virginia.

Every year, we add new designs. To date, we have more than 500. We've also added custom, size, finish and frame options. 

Set designers have noticed our efforts. Our posters have graced school walls in tv shows like 11.22.63

The Fosters

and Pretty Little Liars. 

We also get calls from film set designers. You can see our prints in Disney's Tomorrowland. I am quite sure the star of Tomorrowland, George Clooney, spent hours studying our designs.

Most recently we made the Midtown High School walls in Spiderman Homecoming. We're Marvel nerds, so this was super exciting for us. Of course we never know where and if they are going to show up, but we made the final cut!

When we saw Peter Parker moping in detention, in front of our work, it was clear that we'd accomplished our mission. I mean, can you get more contemporary or relevant then the Fosters and Spiderman?

We aren't stopping there. Our next chapter includes exciting challenges and projects. In 2019 we're planning more compelling designs, artistic workshops with local youth, and a variety of customizable prints. On top of that, we'll be branching into other subject areas, like science, history and mathematics. 

Chris and I are looking forward to a busy and interesting 2019.