We continued to experiment with new ways to display information on the website. By the end of 2001, we had over 100 members, even some from outside of Florida. It was incredible to think that people we've never met before would join our humble site. Feedback began coming in with new ideas for improving the site, so more experiments began. As traffic increased, we changed web hosts and we began accepting donations from Lab members who wanted to support our efforts and offset the rising costs of web hosting.

A Mascot is Born...

During the summer of 2002, we began working on a mascot as part of an identity project. We wanted something that our oldest daughter Ellissa could cosplay as, so this character would have similar qualities - large golden eyes, short hair, long legs and arms, and a big head. With the commissioned talent of Lindsay Cibos of Studio Cutepet, Bella the Cosplay Lab rat mascot was born on June 20, 2002. Bella made her first appearance in a printed convention guide for Anime Festival Orlando III, and later appeared in person to hand out awards during the cosplay ceremony at Anime Weekend Atlanta 2002 which marked our one-year anniversary at the Lab.

Quick Stats

Over 83,000 unique visitors per month
There are members from all 50 states and over 50 countries worldwide
We host over 118,000 costumes
There are 2 million page views per month

2015 and Beyond...

Surely without inspiration from God, we would not be where we are today. It is through His guidance that this site continues to prosper. Where some experiments caused the site to go down ( ooops, did I do that? ), prayer has been instrumental in staying focused to correct the problems. We also have great members to thank for supporting us with ideas to improve the site. Monetary contributions from donating members help motivate the growth and development on the Lab.

That being said, we've begun the journey of becoming full-time Christian missionaries in Japan. Many people have many ideas as to what that means, but the short story is we want to feed the hungry, bring people hope, and share as people have needs. Our objective is not to convert the Japanese to Western ideologies - but rather to amplify the good aspects of what already exists in Japan in their history and heritage.