Bright Ideas: Let’s meet three local inventors who are turning their big ideas into a family-owned business!
Have you ever used an everyday product and thought to yourself … there has to be something better out there? Or maybe you have a really cool idea for something that doesn’t even exist yet.
Three local parents are proving it IS possible to turn your bright ideas into real, tangible products families will fall in love with, and we’re learning how they did it.
Stacey Thomas, founder of Smile Paint toothpaste for kids and a speech-language pathologist
TBPM: What inspired the creation of Smile Paint?
Stacey Thomas: I was inspired to create Smile Paint because of my son’s toothbrushing aversions and oral sensitivities when he was younger. My oldest child has special needs, and when he was little, he did not like any of the toothpaste flavors. He thought the minty toothpaste was too “spicy” and the fruity flavors had a bad aftertaste. We continuously tried new toothpaste flavors, toothbrushes, timers and songs, and nothing helped create a positive toothbrushing experience for my son. He had such anxiety brushing his teeth, and I felt so robbed of a peaceful bedtime routine with my child. I realized that I was not alone in the toothbrushing struggle.
TBPM: How did your career as a speech-language pathologist help?
Stacey Thomas:Over my 25 years as a speech-language pathologist, I have met countless families who have experienced the same toothbrushing struggles with their children. I knew there had to be a better approach to introducing toothbrushing. Then it dawned on me. Children learn through PLAY! For example, when a child first learns to eat food, they use all of their senses to explore the food before they actually eat, so why should toothbrushing be any different? Right then and there, I decided to create a “play-based” toothpaste where kids can explore, have fun and play with their toothpaste.
TBPM: How do kids use Smile Paint?
Stacey Thomas: Smile Paint is a play-based toothpaste where children mix naturally colored and flavored toothpastes together to create new colors and new delicious flavors. They then paint their teeth and brush them clean. Smile Paint is a revolutionary concept that puts the control in the child’s hands. Smile Paint allows the child to be creative, have fun, explore and play with toothpaste.
The Smile Paint kit offers four yummy, dessert-inspired, colorful toothpaste flavors, including Fluoridated Vanilla Cupcake and three fluoride-free flavors, including Strawberry Shortcake, Banana Cream Pie and Blueberry Cobbler. Each kit also includes a smock, paintbrush, toothbrush and mixing palette. Kids mix, paint and brush while having fun creating limitless color and flavor combinations, turning toothbrushing time into something to look forward to.
TBPM: This toothpaste that supports a good cause, too!
Stacey Thomas: A percentage of each Smile Paint Kit sold goes to our Smile Paint Foundation. The Smile Paint Foundation offers grants to companies that employ adults with special needs and to organizations that support special needs adults in living a limitless, purposeful life. You can follow all things Smile Paint on Instagram @smilepainttoothpaste and Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/smilepainttoothpaste
Follow: @smilepainttoothpaste | smilepainttoothpaste.com
Morgan Uhl, founder of Knobēz for kitchen holiday décor, former educator and fourth-generation Tampanian
TBPM: What inspired the creation of Knobēz?
Morgan Uhl: During the holiday season in 2021, I was looking to add more decorations to my kitchen without adding more clutter to my countertop. The idea of adding a cover to my already round knobs to make them look like Christmas ornaments entered my mind. After searching online and realizing such a decoration didn’t exist, I decided to set out on the path to bring decorative knob covers to market. Knobēz was born!
TBPM: What exactly is it and how does it work?
Morgan Uhl: Knobēz and Handlez by Knobēz are decorative covers for your hardware. Knobēz stretch to grip around your existing cabinet knob, while Handlez by Knobēz snap/grip over cylindrical hardware, and you can still use your hardware for function.
TBPM: What has the response been like so far?
Morgan Uhl: The market’s response was instant. I went from selling 40 sets of my prototype hand-glittered collection in 2022 to selling over 90,000 units in 2025. Social media has been my main driver for sales. TikTok followers are over 118,000, and Instagram is over 96,000; mostly gained through organic content. Knobēz is launching in retail this 2026 holiday season and is available on Amazon, Walmart.com, Target.com, Michaels.com and knobez.com.
Follow: @knobezllc | knobez.com
Michael Braglia, founder of Bubbez body cleansing wipes
TBPM: What inspired the creation of Bubbez?
Michael Braglia: The full story goes back about five years to when my wife and I had our first son. At 2 months old, he was diagnosed with failure to thrive and had multiple holes in his heart. He was born at 5 pounds 6 ounces, and by two months he still wasn't even at 7 pounds. At 3 months old, he had open-heart surgery, and thankfully he made a full recovery. Through all of it, we had to be extremely careful about keeping him clean and avoiding infection. We didn't trust baby wipes, so we used paper towels and soapy water, or gave him sponge baths constantly. We kept thinking, there has to be something better.
Our homemade versions worked better than anything on the shelf, and that is where the real journey began.
TBPM: How is it different than other wipes?
Michael Braglia: Most wipes can wipe visible dirt off your hands; that part they do fine. The real problem is they don’t actually wash, and what they leave behind: the smell, and that sticky residue that leaves you still feeling unclean. That is the part nobody had actually solved.
Bubbez is a two-step system, and separating it into a wash and a rinse is what makes the difference. The wash wipe has a plant-based formula that creates a gentle lather to lift dirt, food and everyday mess off the skin. The rinse wipe then removes that formula along with any leftover residue, so nothing is left sitting on the skin. Once your hands air dry, they feel soft, clean and fresh, the way they do after a real wash at the sink.
It is not about disinfecting or sanitizing. Hand sanitizer does that, and it is harsh and drying, especially for little ones. Bubbez is a genuine wash and rinse, just without the sink. You can truly feel the difference.
TBPM: What has the response been like so far?
Michael Braglia: We're really just getting going. We launched the last week of June 2026, and we just went live on Amazon this week, so right now we're focused on getting our very first products into consumers' hands. Most people don't even know a product like this exists yet, and once they try it in person, that is where it clicks.
The internet and wipe aisles are crowded, with so many brands and slightly different formulations that it is hard for anyone to choose. With Bubbez, we didn't just make a better wipe; we reinvented it. We went back to the basics of the two-step wash and rinse you already use every day, with dishes, laundry, shampooing, all of it. We really believe we've created a new and better category for on-the-go cleaning, one that actually leaves your hands and face feeling clean, soft and fresh when you need it.
TBPM: Anything else you want to add?
Michael Braglia: We created Bubbez out of a real need, during those true times when we wanted a better clean on the go and a product like this simply didn't exist. That is the whole reason it exists. We even named it after my two boys. I've called them my bubbez since the day they were born.
There's more coming. We have a patent-pending large-format dispenser we're hoping to roll out sometime in 2027, once we finish finalizing the features, and we plan to offer larger wipes and additional formulations down the road. But we want to hear from the parents actually using Bubbez first, so we know we're doing right by them. We're a parent-owned company, and our whole goal is to make the best quality products we can for other parents just like us.
Follow: @bubbezofficial | bubbez.com
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Originally published in the September 2026 issue of Tampa Bay Parenting Magazine