Can your cup of morning coffee tell a story? Can the print on your wall come to life?
An augmented reality (AR) startup in Atlanta can make that a reality
The Legacy Line, a lifestyle and technology venture created by Atlanta Tech Village-based Memik, just launched its first collection of AR-enabled products, including museum-quality prints, coasters, mugs, ornaments, and greeting cards.
The startup’s debut collection partners with The Withers Collection Museum & Gallery in Memphis. The partnership brings the iconic photography of Dr. Ernest C. Withers into homes through AR-enabled lifestyle products.
Putting History In Your Hands
As a celebrated photographer, Withers chronicled the Civil Rights Movement. His archives includes some of the most iconic photographs from the time, including the “I AM A MAN” march in Memphis, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s first integrated bus ride in Montgomery, and candid images of B.B. King, Isaac Hayes, and Aretha Franklin. His archive consists of over 1.8 million images.
Each item in The Legacy Line collection, which includes mugs and coasters to greeting cards and ornaments, features an original Withers photograph embedded with AR technology. People can scan the objects with their phone, unlocking an immersive story with its archival context, alongside historical insights narrated by an AI voice agent modeled after Withers himself.
“AR is powerful because it brings context to culture in real time and in the real world. Since the experience lives on devices people already carry, the barrier to entry is almost nonexistent. That accessibility allows us to share historical narratives at the exact moment someone is engaging with an image, place, or artifact,” The Legacy Line’s founder Laron Walker told Hypepotamus. “[AR] doesn’t just display history—it animates it, contextualizes it, and gives people a guided story they can experience at their own pace. For younger audiences especially, AR turns cultural preservation into something interactive and personal, connecting them to stories they may have otherwise never encountered.”
For Rosalind Withers, Executive Director of The Withers Collection Museum & Gallery and daughter of Ernest C. Withers, the technology addresses a pressing historical and educational need.
“Legacy Line provides a reservoir of opportunities that places this history in everyday lives of people on a global scale,” she told Hypepotamus. “Our American history is NOW available without any access barriers through use of AR Technology; it puts this history in the palm of our hands globally.”
From The Metaverse To Main Street
Walker previously founded MySTEMKits.com (Acquired by Stemify), Time2Give, Inc., software development firm Sciberus, and EdTech company MantisEDU. He started Memik in 2021 based on research into 3D printing, computer vision, and game design.
“Our team had already been experimenting with ways to blend digital and physical experiences, and the market’s excitement around immersive media signaled that it was the right moment to push those ideas forward,” he said.
Walker points out that the metaverse and immersive technologies include far more than just clunky VR headsets. He says it is an ecosystem of connected digital experiences that extend into the physical world.
“As with any emerging tech, the early hype cycle created inflated expectations. A lot of projects gained visibility but lacked practical application or long-term value. Even our original model didn’t scale the way we envisioned. We built great technology, but consumer behavior shifted dramatically post-COVID. Many people weren’t ready to adopt expensive hardware or complex virtual environments. What became clear is that the most accessible, sustainable path wasn’t full immersion—it was augmentation. AR proved to be the more natural entry point because it enhances the world people already inhabit rather than asking them to leave it,” Walker told Hypepotamus.
Walker said that he felt a “real responsibility” to use his technology to capture Withers’ story.
“The creative challenge was pairing cultural preservation with a sustainable business model capable,” he added. “In just six months we built the brand, designed the product line, developed the technology stack, scaled a team, established supply chain operations, and launched both B2B and D2C channels. It was an intense sprint—equal parts creative, technical, and logistical—and it required the entire team to move in sync from day one.”
Preserving History
Memik’s core team is 10 people, with eight based in Atlanta. The recently-launched Limited Edition Holiday Box in partnership with the The Ernest Withers Collections serves as the flagship introduction, featuring premium items from The Ernest Withers Collection.
Actress and director Terri J. Vaughn, a three-time NAACP Image Award winner known for roles in The Steve Harvey Show, has championed the mission of The Legacy Line. She describes the experience of seeing Withers’ everyday photographs of Black life as “a vision of Black Joy,” with the technology making history lessons both interesting and accessible.
The Ernest Withers Collection is just the beginning. Walker plans to expand the catalog throughout 2025 and beyond with new collections celebrating sports icons, musical pioneers, and cultural movements that shaped America.
“If someone feels more informed, more inspired, or more connected to the past because of a product in their home, then we’ve done our job,” Walker said.