Our Story:
BrickEnds is owned and operated out of Ennis, Montana by Justin R. Visser. Justin grew up in the Gallatin Valley of Montana. As a boy, he was a rock hound and came home with holes in his pockets from carrying rocks he had collected while out playing with his brothers. He also enjoyed drawing and design. In college, Justin earned a bachelor's degree in Art, concentrating on drawing, graphic design, and art administration.
He married his wife, Kati, in 1997 and took a short break from art to go on a missions trip with Wycliffe Bible Translators to Papua New Guinea. After 4 years abroad and the addition of a daughter to the family, Justin and Kati returned to Montana. He worked for his Dad in the family greenhouse business for a few years, while Kati earned a degree from Montana State University. It was also during this time that he started sandblast engraving pet memorials and decorative garden stones.
In 2008, Kati took a job in Oregon. Justin worked as an at-home father while continuing to develop his business. He opened a shop on Etsy and sold engraved stones from his basement, but shipping these stones was difficult. While in search of something that could more easily be shipped, he stumbled across "the bricks". Justin and his family moved back to Montana in 2017. Over the next several years, he continued to work with small stone and incorporated more and more brick designs into his inventory. Eventually, the bricks became so popular they comprised the entire inventory of Justin's Etsy shop.
BrickEnds was born in 2026 as the next step in the business. The name embodies the versatility of our product. Born from a play on the words "bookend" and "bricks," it suggests the primary and initial cause of our product: bricks as home decor and bookends. But it also has an "odds and ends" feel to it that captures the spirit of our business equally well. We take rustic bricks--odds and ends--and refurbish and elevate them to make them statement pieces in any home. They can be used as bookends, coasters, business awards (a surprisingly common use), and in many, many other ways, always bringing a rustic, Americana, or industrial feel into whatever space they decorate.
We are a proud American family business with strong mountain roots. In the summers, we enjoy hiking, running, and gardening. We believe in taking pride in our work and in doing our best no matter what. We also believe in standing firmly for faith, family, and freedom. We hope that our work can inspire and touch the lives of our customers!
The Creative Process:
Justin uses a cabinet sandblaster to do all of his engraving work. In order to do this, he must place a vinyl stencil over the surface he is engraving to define the design and to protect what he doesn't wish to engrave from being sanded down. The design is made using a graphic design program, which then uses a cutter to cut the design into a piece of adhesive vinyl. The positive space of the design must then be removed by hand before the stencil is placed onto the bricks, which have been mortared, sanded, and sealed beforehand in order to ensure a smooth surface for the stencil to stick to well. Justin then engraves the brick. Anything not covered by the stencil is slowly worn away by the sand, until the engraving is satisfactorily deep. Once engraved, the designs are airbrushed black, and then the stencil is removed. They are sealed a second time. Cork is placed on the bottom of the brick to protect any surface it may slide on, and the product is complete for use.