Happy Friday, friends! We are so happy to have you here today as we wrap up Let’s Hear It For the Boys Week! We are ending the week in a big way with one of our favourite partners, Christopher Alan from Brutus Monroe! Christopher not only has a wonderful store and online shop for scrapbookers and papercrafters, but also an amazing range of exclusive products that we know you will love—one of which he has shared a special offer for! And if you want to shop, be sure to enter to win today’s HUGE giveaway that Christopher is so generous to sponsor! Let’s hear more from him now!
Hello everyone! I’m Christopher Alan, CEO of Brutus Monroe, and today I want to share a condensed version of my journey. I started my career in marketing at a healthcare recruiting company, where I often finished my work by mid-morning and felt unfulfilled. Seeking inspiration, I stumbled upon a YouTube video by Kristina Werner demonstrating card-making, and I was instantly hooked. Eager to dive in, I rushed to a local big box craft store for supplies— ink, stamps, and paper—only to find their quality disappointing when I began crafting at home.
This sparked my determination to create high-quality crafting products that enthusiasts like myself could truly appreciate. The turning point came when I was tasked with creating baby shower invitations for my sister-in-law, who was expecting my nephew. Using my newly crafted supplies, I created memorable invitations that showcased the potential of my products. This marked the birth of what would eventually become Brutus Monroe. Initially named “Christopher Alan Designs,” I found the name too generic and sought something more meaningful and memorable for my brand. In December of that same year, my beloved pup Brutus fell ill, and I rushed him to the vet for fear of losing him. He had been rescued from dog fighting and had already faced so much in his young life. As we drove to the vet, with Brutus trembling in my arms, I made a vow: if he pulled through, I would name my company after him. Miraculously, Brutus responded well to treatment. He was diagnosed with diabetes but lived another five years, thriving with twice-daily insulin. I chose to honor him by naming my company Brutus Monroe, combining his original name with ‘Monroe’ for a touch of elegance.
About a year later, I left my job at the big box craft store, feeling unfulfilled like in my previous corporate job. Determined to take my brand further, I leased a small space near my home to expand Brutus Monroe out of my living room.
Despite my initial fear and uncertainty, within the first year, the business took off. We quickly outgrew the space and moved to a larger building nearby. Over the years, we expanded further, adding manufacturing, laser production, and a state-of-the-art video studio.
Today, as Brutus Monroe approaches its tenth anniversary in December, I reflect on our journey with amazement. From starting with a small space and a big dream, we now employ 20 people across two buildings totaling over 20,000 square feet. We’ve shipped over a million products and offer a diverse range of over 5,000 items. I am incredibly passionate about what I do and grateful for the opportunity to pursue my love for crafting every day!
One of the things that I love about what I do every day is brainstorm our newest exclusive products, and right now, I love our Shimmer Splash line! These bottled watercolors come in a range of colors, and include a built-in brush for splashing on your projects! I would love the SCT community to try them, with this special offer:
offer valid through October 1, 2024
Click HERE to shop Shimmer Splash at Brutus Monroe!
In addition to this special offer, we would also like to offer one lucky commenter a $100 gift card to Brutus Monroe!
To enter to win, leave a comment on this blog post by midnight on Wednesday, July 3rd, telling us what product in the Brutus Monroe shop you would add to your cart first! A winner will be randomly selected and announced here on the SCT blog on July 5th. Good luck!
Be sure to follow Brutus Monroe at all of the links below to find more products and inspiration!
Brutus Monroe : Shop | Blog | Instagram | TikTok | Facebook
Thank you so much for joining us for Let’s Hear It For the Boys Week! Be sure to head to all of the posts from this week and follow the amazing male creatives who shared their stories with us, and special thanks to Andrea and Tina from our creative team for inspiring us with a layout and card for the boys!
Click HERE to find all of the Let’s Hear It For the Boys Week posts!
Last week, Trinity Stamps celebrated their 6th birthday with us by sharing their birthday release, and offered a $60 gift certificate to one blog commenter! That lucky person is:
“The Bearthday Surprise Stamp and die brings a big smile to my face. It is adorable!” ~ Scarlet
Congratulations, Scarlet! Please email meghann@scrapbookandcards.com to claim your prize! Have a wonderful weekend, all!
I’m intrigued by the shimmer splash products, but I have seen some amazing projects with the faux honey so that would be what I add to my cart first!
I’m a big fan of the Brutus Monroe embossing powders so would definitely like to grow my collection of colours. The Shimmer Splashes are intriguing as well.
I would add the embossing powders to my stash – the colors are so vibrant.
I would add some embossing powders to my cart first!
I would add to my die inventory if I were to win this wonderful prize!
I think I would like to try Shimmer Splash Holiday Set. It’s so pretty.
Congratulations to the Brutus Monroe team, so intriguing to know the background story behind the brand! The mixed media products look fabulous so I’d give those a try.
I love Brutus Monroe’s shimmer products and have tried some of their cool paper pads too. I like seeing their mixed media style which is different than mine but helps me try new things.
So fun to read your story, Christopher! Being a big dog lover, how you named your company touched my heart. Congratulations on 10 years in December & I wish you many more! I would definitely add Shimmer Splash products to my cart first thing! Love shimmer & splatters, so they’d get a lot of use! Thanks for the generous giveaway!
I love the Brutus Monroe embossing powders and would pick the mega bundle!
Silver Shimmer Splash and a bunch of STENCILS!
I would add shimmer splash lickity split! Thanks !
The slimline stencil tea cup patterns would be first. I love coffee/tea and I just love that stencil. And then some mixed media products!
I’ve heard such great things about the Brutus Monroe Embossing powders. Word on the street is that they are the best in the industry. I only have a couple, but they are definitely my most used!!! I’d love to add a few more to my stash!
Love Brutus Monroe’s products especially their embossing powder! So glad Christopher decided to take the risk and start his own company!
Oh my goodness! What a heart wrenching story. Hugs
Love hearing about your company and how you found the name. I think the first product I would try is this Summer Splash. I see Kristina Werner using the embossing powders in her videos so I may give one of those a try.
I would add the shimmer splash holiday set to my cart first. What an amazing prize from Brutus Monroe!
Congratulations 🎊… I would add the Sterling and Gold Shimmer Splashes! Btw…Great product lines
Thank you for sharing your story. I often wondered where your company name came from…now I know! The first item I would add to my cart is your embossing powders. I tried them for the first time in your kit from last September Crop & create and they are fabulous. Thanks for the opportunity to win this very generous gift! ,
I would likely head right to the stamp and die sets to put in my cart. Then I would go to where I could fine shiny products like the shimmer splash to make my project to another level. Try
I have to try Shimmer Splash!!! Sounds so fun.
What a wonderful story behind this company ! I would be sure to add some of the glimmer products first to my cart. A girl cannot have enough sparkle and glimmer!
I love the shimmer splash products. Aqua shimmer gold especially. There are also some eclectic and wonderful stamps and dies. Hard to know what to choose first.
I love some of the unique paper packs that he carries!
I would love to try some of Simon Hurley’s Solar Pastes!
Love all of the embossing powders, I can’t get enough!
Love hearing Christopher’s story! I would get more papers, hands down. Aside from his embossing powders they are my favorite!
I so loved the story about how you named your company. Our fur babies are like our children, we love them so very much. I received your gold embossing powder in one of the LST kits and fell in love with the quality. I would definitely invest in more of those and I’m curious to try the shimmer splash.
What a great journey, thanks for sharing! It’s hard to pick just one thing I’d add to my cart first…love the stick and stamp stencils!
the shimmer splashes are great, I would definitely add some additional colors to what I have. The faux honey also looks intriguing.
What a great story, Christopher! So inspiring! ❤️ The first thing I would add to my cart is more embossing powder. Yours is the very best out there…and it’s all I use now! Hope to visit your store one day soon!
It’s not very exciting but I keep adding alabaster, gilded, and icicle embossing powders to my cart to gift my crafty friends. Everyone says oh, I have embossing powder. However, the Brutus Monroe versions are soooo much better! So far all of my recipients 100% agree!
I love the rainbow sparkle embossing powder! But i would love to try the new stuff, just to add some nice splatter!
I’m trying to use my stash. The shimmer products are a cost effective way to make my layouts stand out. Congratulations on a decade of providing unmatched products🎉🎉
I have seen so many card makers using the Brutus Monroe embossing powder, that I know it would be the first thing I would get from the store! Each color embossed so cleanly.
The Grill die set is really cute!
I would love to try the shimmer splash ! I loved reading this personal story from Christopher ! Let’s hear it for the boys !
Another fascinating story. Thanks for sharing
I would love to add some of the Pink Passion or Santa’s Suit shimmer splash to my cards. They are such FUN colours ♥
Congrats on making it 10 years! What an accomplishment! I can always use more embossing powders and would definitely get some of the Shimmer Splash!
I was first introduced to Brutus Monroe through the March 2023 SCT event and have been a fan of the products and Christopher Alan since! My first major purchase was the Oz collection and Pride items. I love everything shimmer and recently purchased the Chroma Glaze Shimmers. Given my love of sparkle I probably would add the Gilded Shimmer Splash as the 1st item to my cart.
I am a huge fan of their stencils! So many unique designs.
Ohhh I want to try the Shimmer Splash!! Looks so amazing!
The first thing I would add to my Brutus Monroe cart is the Stained Rainbows paper pad. Thank you for your generosity Christopher Alan, I always enjoy your classes for the SCT Crop & Create events.
I would love to try the shimmer splash products! Thanks Brutus Monroe for the chance to win the gift card!!
Wow! 10 years already. Congrats to Brutus Monroe! I discovered you through Blitsy about the time you opened your store. Love the brush bottles vs the spray bottles (I’d add some of these). I’d also spend in the candy store of his shop.
What a neat story of your journey! Loved that you named your company after Brutus❤. Your Shimmer Splash products sound cool!
Thats cool you named your company after your sweet pooch. I always wondered. Gilded EP is hands down my favorite! Love Gilded shimmer spray too! Gilded gilded anything gilded from BM!! Also can’t beat Not Your Mamas!!!
I’d really like to play with the Shimmer Splash. A watercolor to add to my projects sounds very intriguing!