From Filament to Contracts: Inventor David Sparks
The inventor behind Mr. Brushable
From Filament to Contracts
How Raleigh, North Carolina inventor David Kermit Sparks, Sr. has spent more than twenty years, since 2005, turning one idea into a whole family of inventions: the bottle is the brush.
David with the very first bottle.
Watch: the 90-second story
From the Inventor
I created Mr. Brushable Paint because a little touch-up shouldn’t turn into a big project. The bottle is the brush—paint and applicator together, ready for those everyday scuffs and small touch-ups. No separate brush or big can to drag out. Just what you need to make your space look cared for. As the inventor, I’m proud to put my name behind it.
The Spark
It started with a simple frustration. Why do you need a can of paint, a screwdriver to pry it open, and a separate brush you'll have to wash, just to fix one little scuff on the wall?
David Sparks asked a question most people never think to ask: what if the bottle and the brush were the same thing? Put the paint and the applicator in one hand. Squeeze, brush, done. No spills, no cleanup. When you're finished, cap it or toss it.
His motto says it all: Sauce it and toss it.
Since 2005: One Idea
Plenty of people have a good idea. Very few carry one for more than twenty years and refuse to let it go. David has carried this one since 2005.
David sketched it. He shaped it. He built it, broke it, and built it again. His very first bottle came off his own printer as a rough gray shell, nothing like what's on shelves today, but it held the whole idea: a bottle with the brush built into the bottom, so the product flows straight into the bristles.
The first bottle, fresh off the printer.
"Good inventions don't have to be complicated. They just have to make someone's life a little easier."
The Filament
David's workshop is shelves of filament spools and a 3D printer that rarely rests. Every version of the bottle came off that printer a little smarter than the last: a tighter seal, a better grip, a cleaner flow into the bristles.
Layer by layer, the rough gray prototype became a real product: a squeeze bottle with a built-in brush, a self-closing flow valve, and a clear protective cap. Patent pending.
One Bottle. Any Applicator.
Once you see the idea, you can't unsee it. The real invention isn't just a paint bottle. It's a platform: one bottle that can carry almost any applicator, for almost any job.
- Comb, brush and pick for edge control and hair care
- Rake comb and spray brush for beards
- Brush for touch-up paint on walls, trim, doors and cabinets
- Roller for scuffs and stains on bigger wall areas
- Spatula + sanding sponge + roller for nail holes: patch, sand, paint, gone
- Stain + poly brush for scratched tables, cabinets and stairs
- Basting brush for barbecue sauce, butter and marinade
Where It's Landing
The first invention to land was Touch That Up Girl™: hair care in a bottle with the comb, brush or pick built right in. It proved the idea works in real hands, and everything else followed.
Officially on the record
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued a Notice of Allowance for the TOUCH THAT UP GIRL™ trademark, U.S. Serial No. 99565718, owned by inventor David Kermit Sparks, Sr.
Today the idea fills a whole product line, all built around the same promise: the bottle is the brush.
- Touch That Up Girl™ and Tame That Thang™: the landing product. Edge control, hair and beard care with the applicator built in
- Mr. Brushable touch-up paint: brush and roller bottles, wall repair, stain blocker, white cabinet enamel, and wood stain + poly
- The Mr. Brushable Color Match app: use a photo to estimate your wall color and request custom-mixed paint
- Basting bottles: fill it with your sauce, squeeze and baste
A Family Business
Mr. Brushable is built by family in Raleigh, North Carolina. David works alongside Kim Carter Sparks, creator of KimiCoco Designs and the face of the Touch That Up Girl™ hair care line. From the workbench to the website, it's homegrown.
From Filament to Contracts
What started as plastic filament on a home printer is now patent pending, trademark-allowed, on sale, and drawing interest from national paint and tool brands. More than twenty years after the first sketch in 2005, the idea is ready for the world.
David is open to licensing, private label and retail partnerships, whether that means filling bottles at the tint counter, stocking them by the register, or putting the built-in applicator to work in an entirely new category.
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Creation, from my fingertips to yours.
David Kermit Sparks, Sr., Inventor & Founder, Mr. Brushable · Raleigh, NC · mrbrushable@gmail.com