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When you’re looking to decorate your home or office, you may not be thinking tech, but perhaps you should be. No matter what the view is out your window, you’d probably prefer to be seeing your favorite photos on your wall. Yes, you could frame each photo individually but instead you can create a wall covering with a collage of your favorite photos.
A company called WeMontage has a simple concept: create a wall covering from a collage of your favorite photos. I recently spoke with James Oliver, founder of the newly-created WeMontage, about the company, his third baby. You see, James is the dad to twin babies. Yes, he was inspired (or crazy?) enough to start this company a few days after his twins were born earlier this year.
What Is WeMontage
WeMontage lets you take your favorite photos and create custom wall coverings. You can use family photos, scenic images, wedding photos for personal use or logos, work samples, portfolios for business offices.
Think of WeMontage for business offices, dorm rooms, baby nurseries, basement man caves or anywhere else you want a collage of your favorite photos. The possibilities are as limitless as the types of photos you can use.
The wall coverings are easily removable so you can use one in a college dorm room or rental apartment and move it later. Oliver explained that the coverings don’t damage the walls and can even stick to textured walls.
How WeMontage Got Started
His wife got the idea for WeMontage from watching a show on HGTV, Home By Novogratz. In the show, the family was covering their basement wall with a wallpaper that was a collage composed of black and white family photographs. Oliver and his wife loved the idea so he started researching where HGTV purchased the wall covering.
Oliver’s research revealed that plenty of people liked the idea as much as he and his wife did. Lots of viewers posted questions on the Internet after the HGTV show aired asking where they could get this type of wall covering. After days of research, Oliver discovered that the wall covering was custom made for the show by a digital printing company and that no one was selling this type of wall covering for the retail market.
He and his wife he knew tech was the solution for creating photo collage wall coverings. Oliver doesn’t have a tech background but he does have an MBA and a history of being an entrepreneur so he decided to start a new business selling photo wall coverings.
He was invited to participate in the Elevator Pitch Olympics in Wisconsin in January 2013 to get feedback on his business idea from professional investors. Ironically, Oliver wasn’t supposed to be invited, they had him mixed up with another James Oliver who was starting a tech company in his home town.
Two days after the Elevator Pitch Olympics, he got an email from Start Up Gener8tor in Madison, Wisconsin inviting him to apply for funding for his business. He acquired investors, launched an IndiGoGo campaign (like Kickstarter) and started creating his wall coverings.
Amazingly, he did all this while becoming the dad of newborn twins. As the mom of twins, I am duly impressed by his ingenuity and stamina, as well as his wife’s support. (See, Entrepreneurs Must Have a Supportive Spouse if Launching a Startup, by James Oliver)
Here are some samples of WeMontage coverings created for businesses to display samples of their work:
Creating a WeMontage
To create your collage, upload photos from anywhere — your computer, Dropbox, Google Drive, etc. — to the WeMontage website. Select the photos you want to use and press the Shuffle button. You can rearrange the photos, adjust the space between the photos and change the background color.
“We optimally arrange photo collages based on the size of the wallpaper you want, the number of images you have, the quality of those images as well and we make it so they won’t scale up [meaning the images won’t be distorted],” explained Oliver.
You can use wedding pictures, baby pictures, original artwork, scenic photos, beloved pet photos, graduation, prom, bar mitzvah pictures or any other images you would like to see on your walls. Oliver shared with me his idea of a WeMontage of a timeline using pictures from each month of a mother’s pregnancy, from beginning to the end, including the mother holding the baby.
Here’s a video showing you how to create your wall covering with WeMontage:
The price is $10/square foot with free shipping in the US.
The company offers a money-back guarantee. “If people don’t love it, send it back and I’ll give them their money back. That’s how confident I am that they’ll love it,” said Oliver.
Wonder of Tech readers can save 20% off of a WeMontage with the coupon code: WONDEROFTECH.
Here’s a WeMontage collage that Oliver created of his family that will be hung in his babies’ nursery.
Update
I couldn’t resist. I ordered a WeMontage with family photos for my husband’s upcoming birthday (using the WonderofTech coupon). I received the package in about a week and was truly impressed with the finished product. The colors are vivid, the picture quality is sharp and the detail is fantastic. Everyone I have shown it to has said, “Wow!” I can’t wait to give it to my husband as a birthday present!
Your Thoughts
What do you think of WeMontage? What images would you use in a WeMontage collage? Where would you hang your WeMontage wall covering? Let us know in the Comments section below!
Awesome idea! Great for a work space for inspiration! As an entrepreneur myself I couldn’t imagine tackling a start a day after twins were born. I played around with the site and interface, it seems easy to work with.
Hi Mark, Welcome to The Wonder of Tech! Yes, I don’t know whether I was more impressed with Oliver’s business or the fact that he started it the day after his twins were born. Both are very impressive!
Hi Mark,
Yeah, it was a really difficult decision, but my wife insisted. And I’m glad she did, as today, I closed on the first chunk of my investment capital round-I’m incredibly thankful.
And I REALLY appreciate your feedback about the site. My favorite quote from David Cohen’s book, “Do More Faster” goes something like, “If you’re not at least a little embarrassed by the first version of your website, you waited too long to release it.”
Well, I was definitely embarrassed by what we released in January, but feel much better about what we have now. That said, we are already working on a new version that will offer increased usability and incorporate templates, which our customers have been asking for.
Cheers!
Really nice to have your best memories up on your wall. Wish I had a wall that was suitable to have one of these.
Hi Johan, I’m glad you like WeMontage. I hope someday you have a wall you want to adorn with a photo collage. 🙂
That is a very cool idea. I really like it.
Hi Josh, I’m so glad you like WeMontage. I hope you create a lovely collage!
OMG Carolyn, I LOVE this idea. See, people are so brilliant. They get these great ideas and they actually run with them. I know that in the past wallpaper was just no longer cool but I always loved it. It added a little something to the room. With this great idea you can actually add any type of photo you want to your room or just one wall.
I have photos all over my house of friends, family and pets. You won’t find any original artwork here so I would love to do just one wall like this.
Thanks so much for the introduction and I’m going to check out their site. Love love love this! You’re the best.
~Adrienne
Hi Adrienne,
Thanks so much for the feedback. It was a true “A-Ha” moment for me when I saw that episode on HGTV. It was really a moment of pure inspiration. It’s that inspiration that has kept me pushing forward despite the many obstacles getting to this point.
I’d be honored if you used WeMontage to celebrate your cherished memories.
Please let me know if I can answer any questions. My twitter account is @jamesoliverjr
Have a great weekend!
Hi James, Thanks so much for stopping by The Wonder of Tech and taking time to chat with me about WeMontage. I wish you much success with both the business and your beautiful twins!
Hi Adrienne, I remember all the lovely photos on your walls in your apartment from your wonderful videos. I could just see a WeMontage on your walls, with pictures of family, friends and perhaps Kayla.
I think you’ll have a lot of fun designing your WeMontage, Adrienne. Be sure to use the coupon when you order! :-bd
sounds interesting and unique . Would be interesting to read reviews of this service .
Regards,
pramod
Hello Pramad,
We are still a very young company, so we don’t have tons of reviews, but there are a few testimonials on the website from very satisfied customers.
I’d be happy to send you a sample of the wall covering if you click “request sample” on the website.
Please let me know if there are any questions I can answer for you. My email is james (at) wemontage.com
Cheers and have an awesome weekend!
Hi Pramod, I’m glad you’re intrigued by WeMontage. I enjoy bringing unique tech to Wonder of Tech readers. The company has come a long way in a short time.
Wow, this is sooo cool. What a great idea. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Hi Lisa, Thanks, I agree with you. When I first found out about WeMontage, I was very excited to share it with Wonder of Tech readers.
I appreciate you stopping by to share your thoughts with us today. Have a great weekend!
What a fabulous idea, in fact I think this would be brilliant for my offline business as I’ve been looking for a back drop for my trade stands and this is just perfect! I must look into buying from the UK though. Thanks for the great share!
Enjoy the journey.
Mandy
Hi Mandy, Welcome to The Wonder of Tech! I’m so pleased you like WeMontage collages. Do contact James Oliver to see about shipping the wall covering to the UK. It may be possible.
Hi Mandy,
We can ship to the UK, but there are extra costs and requires extra time for customs.
Cheers.
-James
Great idea…I watched a few episodes of Home by Novogratz and it was actually a pretty good show. It’s good to see someone with the adventurous entrepreneurial spirit take a chance like this which, I have to say, looks to have been a great move.
Hi Frank, Yes, it is a great idea, and wonderful that Oliver and his wife were able to pull it off in spite of welcoming two additions to the family at the same time!
Hi Carolyn,
WeMontage is something I know my wife will absolutely love. She’s been talking about this without even knowing that it was possible to order it. I’m going to tell her about your post, and we’ll see how excited she’ll be 🙂
Thanks.
Hi Jens, I bet your wife will be very excited! Having a wall covering with a collage of your favorite photos would be thrilling. 🙂
Hi Carolyn,
“create a wall covering from a collage of your favorite photos”: what a wonderful idea!
It is excellent for your business office and very good for your house. OK. In a dorm room you must be careful. You have to choose wisely the images and the colors otherwise you won’t be able to sleep at night.
This is a very modern idea. Collage fits very into the weltanschaung of modern, contemporary art, people like it and the possibilities are endless.
What images would I use? I would like powerful, motivational images to help me in my work. Imagine the whole wall covered with images from internet marketing and the way your business will rise and succeed: goals, strategies, tactics, tools, motivational quotes etc. And somewhere … your dream: Freedom. What a nice thing to do.
Thank you very much for this beautiful post
Have a nice day
Hi Silviu, Great idea to put motivational quotes and images in a WeMontage collage! Your WeMontage could prove to be very inspiring, Silviu.
Good point about using a WeMontage in a dorm room. My daughter’s dorm room has a loft so she could put a WeMontage under her bed that wouldn’t distract her when she was trying to sleep. Maybe I should get her one with a mix of photos and motivational quotes!
Thanks for stopping by and sharing your brilliant ideas with us, Silviu! :-bd
Hi Carolyn, WeMontage is an amazing idea and I was not surprised to see that it started just after its owner had twins. It often happens that one thing propels the occurrence of other things. I think it will be a very good business as there is no lack of people who would want to use customized wallpapers made up of their photos.
Hi Alex, Interesting point. You’re right, stress factors seem to come in bunches and his stress factors were combined into three at once. Yes, I think you’re right, who wouldn’t want a collage of their favorite photos!
Awesome idea! I wish you well in this new business.
Hi Robin, Yes, this is such a great idea that James had and he has come a long way in such a short time. Thanks for your good wishes for him. 🙂
While I probably wouldn’t use this in my home (except perhaps a kid’s room), I think it has a lot of potential for a workplace. A friend of mine is an architect, and I can envision a wall montage of the buildings he has designed. Cool stuff!
Hi Jenny, What a great idea for a WeMontage collage! Your friend could showcase his work in a very creative and noticeable way.
I love this idea. I don’t really have a wall for something like this, but someday I imagine I will. At that point I’m all over it. I’m a stock photographer, so I have lots of images that I am proud of and I’d probably use them.
Hi Brian, Great point! This is perfect for photographers who want to display their works in a creative way. I hope someday you do have a wall to display your collage.