Celebrating 100 Years Of Purdy

May 2nd, 2025

Looking back at where it all began. This year marks Purdy’s 100^th anniversary. Let’s take a look back at the brand’s history.

Shop Now>>

Every painter and decorator have heard of Purdy. For years, the brushes with the distinctive yellow branding and pale hardwood handle have been a firm favourite for many.

But do you know where it all began?

It’s 1925 in Portland, Oregon and S. Desmond Purdy is handmaking a paintbrush in his garage.

He has already invented and patented a number of innovative brush designs in both the USA and Canada, but this act is going to spark the growth of his own brush business – Purdy Brush Company.

From its inception, the company showed immediate signs of growth. Dedicated to quality, a brush was developed for every eventuality – even shaving – and ‘Purdy’s “Good” Brushes’ went from strength to strength.

However, by 1940, the materials commonly used to manufacture paint brushes were in short supply as a result of World War Two.

This led to the development of the paint roller system, patented in the USA by Richard Adams.

At the time, Adams was an employee of Sherwin-Williams, the company that would go on to purchase Purdy much later in 2004.

As the roller system was taking off, Purdy was developing into a national brand, sold coast-to-coast in the USA, and working to adapt to deliver this new painting solution.

For years, the brand successfully built on the foundations of its applicators and handmade brushes, until its expansion into prep and finish tools in 2008.

From that point on, Purdy continued to develop its product range at pace, launching new roller system products, buckets, tools and brushes in quick succession.

Transportation solutions like the Painter’s Backpack followed, along with the much-anticipated Painter’s Storage Box, the latest Purdy product to launch to the UK market, just last year.

While Purdy’s tools and accessories range has grown considerably in the 21^st Century, its brushes have rightfully remained the staple of the brand.

To this day, every Purdy brush is handmade in Portland by a team of brushmakers, many of whom have more than three decades’ experience handcrafting brushes.

They use the same quality materials and attention to detail that S. Desmond Purdy used to craft his very first brush, identifying each one with a signed sticker – a personal touch that illustrates their pride and belief in the quality of the product to this day.