05/20/2021
Since she was a child, Litter Critters ™ founder Diane Smith has seen opportunity where others see trash. Growing up in Washington, D.C., at the end of a dirt road seemed a world away from the city. Playing outside and always “pretending” meant needing to find objects that happily led her to search the pile where the family deposited their trash for burning later. Diane never failed to find something to entertain herself with, like pretending a tube was a saxophone or using a tin can or glass jar to make soup from the creek.
When she became a mother, she kept a big box to accumulate discarded objects like paper towel tubes, cans, jars, and packaging materials, including some masking tape and markers to inspire her son for his own creations and innovations. He loved the box that lasted for many years and made her very proud. Her entrepreneurial spirit led her to start a courier company in 1986 that has grown into a warehousing trucking and logistics company that she and her husband Thor Smith are still serving the eastern region and growing.
Today, Diane is also the proprietor of a restaurant, antique store, and even a radio station in Hancock, Maryland. A visit to Buddy & Lou’s is an experience, and it’s the centerpiece of this small rural community where locals and travelers gather, and friendships are made. You can get a sense of Diane’s creativity that started in her childhood backyard from the repurposed décor, including curtains and chair covers made from upcycled plaid shirts.
Her latest adventure, Litter Critters™, is inspired by the natural beauty in the state of West Virginia that has always reminded her of where she grew up. While building a log home in Gauley Bridge, West Virginia, she sadly discovered and loaded literally a truck full of debris from the river and the roadside dotted by litter for miles that without hesitation is still being tossed in many areas.
