Our story.
Where it began.
It all started on a porch in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, late October 2024. Two sisters, Emma & Iris, were sitting in old wicker chairs after dinner, looking up at the wall their mother used to fill with hand-drawn prints when they were kids.
Their mother had been an art teacher at the local elementary school for thirty years. She raised them on a single salary, in a small house with thin walls and warm lamps. The only luxury they had was art. But not the kind you buy. The kind she made.
By 2024 the sisters were both in their thirties. They wanted, more than anything, to make that same kind of art accessible to other families. So they didn't sleep much that winter.
The first thirty pieces.
For months, Emma's tiny studio became an organised mess : cold-press paper stacked everywhere, charcoal dust on every surface, watercolour palettes drying on the radiator, sketchbooks full of false starts.
Iris, meanwhile, drove forty miles east to find the right printing partner, an old family-owned press in eastern Iowa that still cared about archival paper and pigment-based inks.
By February 2025 they had thirty designs ready. Three botanical studies. Five abstract pieces. Twelve hand-lettered quotes. Ten line-art portraits. They poured a hundred dollars into a website, photographed everything on Iris's kitchen table, and pressed publish.
And called it Atelier Poster.
We didn't want to make prints you'd buy and forget. We wanted to make prints that become part of your home, your mornings, your quiet evenings. Prints that grow with you, not posters that fade by year three.
Why Atelier Poster ?
Because the name says everything we wanted to be.
An atelier is a workshop. A place where things are made by hand, slowly, with care. Not a factory. Not a stock library. A small studio where every piece passes under a real pair of eyes before it ships.
And a poster is the most democratic art form there is. Something a student can afford. Something a grandparent can frame for their hallway. Something that doesn't ask permission to be on your wall.
That's the balance we chase, every day.
Our promise.
Atelier Poster was never meant to be just another print shop. We're here to bring you a way to live with art that is :
Three sizes. Two formats. Twelve curated collections. Buy 2 get 1 free, always.
- Printed to order in Iowa, never bulk-printed overseas
- Museum-grade 200gsm archival matte paper, pigment-based inks (75+ years color)
- Frame-friendly standard sizes (no custom framing needed)
- And most of all, built to live with you for decades
Buy 2, get the third on us.
It's not a promo. It's the model. The cheapest one is always free, every time, automatically, at checkout. No code, no expiration, no minimum, no fine print.
We did it because our mother used to say nobody should have to choose between two prints they love. We agreed then. We agree now.
A gift for someone, a ritual for you.
An Atelier Poster print is made to turn ordinary moments into intentional ones. Whether it's :
This is art that adapts to you, not the other way around.
- a corner of your bedroom you've been meaning to finish,
- a hallway that needs a story,
- a gallery wall above the couch,
- or a thoughtful gift to someone who deserves light...
And yes, it's still Emma & Iris behind every order. Usually with a cup of tea, a playlist of Nick Drake, and a stack of sketches on the table. ✦