Brockton-There is a new small business in town. It is called Printed Expressions & Gifts and is owned by city resident James Bruce. 

This shop is located at 1130 North Street and produces custom T-shirts, mugs, signs, tablecloths, business cards, hats, and a variety of gifts and brand products.

"Everyone who walked into my store left with a smile," Bruce said. 

Although this store is a new store in Brockton and only opened in September 2020, Bruce is no stranger to running small businesses.

When he was young, he studied criminal justice and law at Northeastern University in Boston, intending to become a lawyer. But after working with the Boston Public Works Department, Bruce realized that the legal profession was not suitable for him.

"Law is not my real hobby," he said. "I want to be more hands-on, more creative, and build more connections with people." 

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So Bruce started thinking and was inspired by the memory of his grandfather who was a deacon. He said that his grandfather's job is to ensure that the church is clean and beautiful at all times, so his grandfather often cooperates with local flower shops to get cute flower baskets to decorate the church. 

"It has always troubled me. I was introduced to creativity. Flowers represent life and beauty and nature. They can present something and make people feel good," he said.

So Bruce left law school in 1985 and opened a flower shop on Warren Street in Roxbury with the help of his wife at the time. It is called Mr. J Flower Expert and is the only flower shop in the area. 

He said: "Hire a lawyer to represent people verbally, and a flower shop to represent people visually."

At the same time, Bruce is studying for a master's degree in business at Cambridge University, so he will close the store at 5 pm and rush to class. 

Bruce's flower shop provides services for all the typical activities that the flower shop does, but Bruce has an additional benefit, that is, he is also a sheriff. If someone needs someone to officiate their wedding, Bruce is always available. 

Bruce said he likes the job of a flower shop, especially when he surprises someone with flowers. 

"As a florist, I am very useful from the womb to the grave," he said.

Bruce's children are also the mainstay of the store. They even grew up in the store and learned business terms and concepts. 

Wanting to stretch his intellectual legs and share what he has learned in life, Bruce started his PhD degree in business from Capella University in 2009 and closed the flower shop. But Bruce said people still recognize him as J. 

After graduating from his PhD program, Bruce started working as a substitute teacher in Boston Public Schools and liked it. In 2015, Bruce moved to China and continues to teach there. 

Bruce returned in 2018 and did more substitute teaching and volunteer work, but it was not until the pandemic that he had the idea of ​​starting Printed Expressions & Gifts. 

Bruce realized that once the company reopened from the lockdown, they would want to let people know that they were open and spread brand awareness. Therefore, he believes that he will start a business that can meet the needs of reopening business, such as business cards and logos. 

Bruce will open on September 1, 2020, and will be open regularly from Monday to Saturday from 10:30 to 6 pm. 

What is the motto of his new store?

"Printed expressions and gifts-creativity makes you smile." 

Corporate staff writer Susannah Sudborough can be reached via email at ssudborough@enterprisenews.com. You can follow her on Twitter @k_sudborough. Support local news now by purchasing a digital or print subscription of The Enterprise.