Local painting parties going national

What began as a painting party among friends has spawned a business that will soon include franchisees beyond the metro-east.

Initially, when local artist David Brandt founded Sips ’n Splatters five years ago in his Belleville loft apartment, he didn’t realize what he had created.

“Every week I was having these parties in my apartment,” Brandt said. “My daughter was helping me move the furniture out into the hallway, and then we would set up these three tables, which sat eight people at each table. On some nights, I would have 24 people in my apartment doing these parties.”

After about four months of regular reoccurring painting parties, Brandt met Chris, who would become his wife. Together, they came up with the concept that turned these parties into a business.

“That was his dream to have this,” said Chris Brandt, who married David a year and a half ago and works as the president of the company. “He started out with just high school friends, people he knew. When I came in there in March 2011, was my first party, and I was instantly hooked, not only on him, but on this whole feeling that it gave you.”

Chris said the art parties made her feel good about herself at a time when she had just gone through a divorce. She also saw how much fun others were having painting pictures on canvasses with supplies David provided.

“It got to a point where at one of the parties we had 22 people in there and we didn’t know any of them personally,” she said. “They were people who had heard about us through our friends who had come in. They would take their paintings and either hang them at work, hang them in their home, and people would see them and want to know where did you get that? How did you do that?”

By August of that year, David and Chris moved their business to 15 S. High St., located a couple of blocks from his third-floor loft apartment in downtown Belleville. The business expanded to a second locale in Maryville, at 27 Executive Plaza Court. Both host regular painting parties five nights a week as well as day and night parties on Fridays and Saturdays. Each venue can seat up to 32 people.

In 2013, the couple opened Splatter Mania at 6 S. Church St. in downtown Belleville. That venue is for kids and families to get together and create art. The new adjoining space, at 8 S. Church St., the couple has just opened a private party version of Sips ’n Splatters called Sies Party Loft. Parties are already being booked.

The business features a venue for people to come together, sip wine and create art, painting pictures and the like. Total strangers quickly become friends at these events.

David said the business has seen thousands of people come through its doors in the past year. For the past two years, he has been contemplating his next move. It was two months ago when he decided to begin work on franchising his business.

He said the franchise disclosure document that is a federal requirement for all franchisors has been his biggest expense, but he anticipates completing it within the coming week. He has worked with attorney Eric Riess, of Lathrop & Gage in St. Louis, who worked with St. Louis Bread Co. to help create the Panera Bread Co. brand name and eventually spurred the restaurant chain nationwide. Today, the Sunset Hills, Mo.-based company has 1,800 bakeries and cafes in 40 states.

As soon as his federal requirements are met, Brandt said he has about 20 different parties interested in becoming franchisees, including one in the Southern Illinois community of Marion to Colorado and Florida.

There are dozens of businesses that host painting parties, including in St. Louis. But what separates the Brandts’ brand from others is all in the presentation.

“There are a lot of concepts out there,” Brandt said. “Our concept is people friendly, it’s colorful, it’s fun, everybody’s in a good mood. We don’t have crabby customers; all of our customers are happy.”

David provides 16-by-20-inch canvasses, each with a different image, from flowers and animals to snowmen, which are popular at this time of year. Each canvass is sketched in pencil with 230 different designs to choose from. Chris said this freedom creates an actual party atmosphere.

“You come in, and it’s a party,” she said. “There are no instructions every five minutes. You don’t have to go at a certain pace. You just have a three-hour time period from start to finish. That’s the only thing that you have.”

Their staff consists of those with an art background and art degrees who can help guide guests, at their own pace.

“They come in, they have fun,” Chris said. “Most of the other concepts have an artist standing on stage with a microphone and painting, and everybody does the same painting. And they turn the music down and you have to pay attention. Our ladies, we’re lucky if we get their attention with some of the giveaways that we do.”

“It’s high energy,” David said. “It’s like a roar in here. Everybody’s talking and visiting and having fun.”

“And that’s what we want,” Chris said. “We want to create that where you come in, and you don’t have to think of anything out there for three hours. You just think about here, having fun with your friends.”

This story was originally published December 13, 2015 at 1:00 PM with the headline "Local painting parties going national."