Behind Montford Misfits: Meet the Artist
Wait, so how did you end up here? It’s a question many ask when they first get to talking with the artist behind Montford Misfits.
Because Brian Egger seems like your average dude when you first meet him. He’s a nice guy who shares his piercing blue eyes with his three year old daughter. In his spare time, you can find him on the slopes catching some air with his buddies. And until recently, he was a Special Education teacher.
So how does a guy go from teaching Special Education to selling hand painted 3D craft beer maps?
Well, that’s kind of a funny story.
The former teacher actually has his BA in Art. But that wasn’t his original plan. In fact, he intended to graduate with a degree in graphic design; but as the story goes, a dollar short and a minute too late, those cards just didn’t add up in the end. So while he’ll admit he wasn’t all that great at art in the beginning, he did enjoy it, so he decided to stick with it.
Fueled only by his passion, he got increasingly better throughout his collegiate career. So good, in fact, that he was offered his own studio space his second semester Senior year. The thing is, though, the school he attended? They didn’t traditionally offer studio space to BA students if that tells you anything.
The ten years he taught before going full time with Montford Misfits were strung together one spontaneous decision after another. He taught Art his first year out of school. But from there he went from Tampa then to Massachusetts before finally landing here in Charlotte. He did it all from substitute teaching to leading an occupational course study program. He fully intended to continue with his career in education. He was so sure, in fact, that he only just recently graduated with his Master’s degree in Special Education.
But that’s when things got really interesting.
Through different connections, bar owners started to reach out to Brian to commission him for various wall murals. It all started with a Delirium Tremens logo mural at the World of Beer in Southend Charlotte. From there, word of his talent traveled. And soon, the project that changed it all for him fell at his feet.
The owner of Duckworth’s requested a USA map displaying different craft beer breweries. Brian gave it some thought, then he artfully put together a mockup of what he envisioned in photoshop. When he presented his idea (the USA map as you all know and love it today), Rob Duckworth said well, not what I was thinking, but okay. Let’s do it.
So, it was time to get painting.
The project took Brian a year. And once it was completed, Rob Duckworth loved it so much he wanted another for his Uptown location. At a loss, Brian knew he didn’t have another year to commit to the project. So he got to brainstorming. He thought maybe if he took pictures of it, he could figure out a way to replicate it.
Well, one night at Bulldog Beer & Wine in Dilworth, he happened to sit at the bar next to a guy named Jerry. And Jerry just so happened to be an account manager for a printing company.
From there, everything just sort of serendipitously fell into place. Working together, Brian and Jerry were able to bring a replica of the USA map to life. And it wasn’t before long that something Brian did for fun turned into a successful business venture. With his buddy A.J. hand cutting out each original state and the financial backing of Tommy, Brian continues to expand the range one hand painted state at at time.
Come back next week to learn all about the fascinating process of creating each map!