Camouflage clothing has become too fashionable to function well, contends Spokane entrepreneur Michael Sparky Sparkes.


Picture perfect camo patterns, some of which are so detailed they depict acorns, pinecones and bugs, might look good in the store and on the street, but also get noticed by the animals theyre supposedly designed to fool, Sparkes says.


So Sparkes, an avid hunter, developed his own grass-pattern camo and launched Spokane Valley-based M2D Camo Inc. two years ago to sell it. He says the name stands for made to deceive.


His design has more shades of green and yellow than most other camo patterns, with less emphasis on brown and black. It even has a hint of a salmon color.


Sparkes says the M2D pattern is unique because it appears to change color under different lighting conditions. The grass design blends in with highlights in well-lighted, open-field situations and fades into the shadows in shadier conditions, he says.


Sparkes, a 37-year-old full-time Spokane firefighter and former owner of the Sparkys Inc. restaurant business here, grew up in Central Washington, where he bow hunted in grassy fields for mule deer.


He says he found then that most camo patterns on the market didnt fool animals. He believed that when he hunted while wearing camo, he looked from a distance more like a bush or stump than part of the landscape, and the animals always pegged me well before they were in archery range, he says.


Game animals know their habitat very well, he says. When one sees a stump that wasnt there yesterday, it doesnt come any closer.


Years later, still disappointed with camo patterns on the market, he thought he could come up with a better idea.


After several unsatisfactory attempts to paint grass camo patterns onto clothing by hand, he decided to look for help from someone with more artistic ability. For inspiration, he collected straw-print decorative paper from the scrapbook section of a hobby store, a piece of particle board that had the colors and random lines he liked, and photos of natural grass fields. He brought the items to a graphic-design firm, William Reed & Associates, of Spokane Valley, to help create the design he had envisioned.


They even made a paper suit for me to test in the field, he says.


Sparkes liked what he saw, and better yet, what wildlife didnt seem to see, he says.


He found that animals didnt flee from his grass pattern, even when he made minor movements.


If a deer sees movement, it turns to look at you and sees grass, he says of his camo pattern. Grass moves, so its not alarmed and it goes back to what it was doing.


Referring to the darker camo commonly found on the market, he says, If a stump moves, the animal knows theres trouble.


Sparkes asserts that the M2D pattern blends into the natural background, whether its surrounded by grass, brush, sagebrush, or corn.


Hell even put it up against other manufacturers tree patterns in the forest.


Wherever you hunt, even if its among trees, theres grass, he says.


To launch M2D, Sparkes had 15 sets of shirts, jackets, and coats made by a Philadelphia-based manufacturer and began selling them out of his garage in Deer Park.


A year ago, he took the next step and leased about 1,400 square feet of office and warehouse space in the Fancher Business Park, at 5805 E. Sharp, in Spokane Valley. He now has items produced in greater quantity by overseas manufacturers, based on his designs.


Last year, I hardly had any clothes to sell, he says. This year I have the inventory. Im stocked to the hilt.


M2D sells its products through a small number of sporting goods outlets, including the Sportsmans Warehouse store in Spokane Valley, as well as directly to consumers via the companys Web site and through word of mouth.


He has twice displayed M2D products at the Shooting, Hunting, Outdoor Trade Show & Conference, in Las Vegas, which is one of the biggest annual trade shows in the country for outdoor goods manufacturers and wholesalers.


There, he met representatives of Waterfowl U.S.A. and made such an impression on them that the national nonprofit waterfowl conservation organization not only endorsed M2D, but this year made the product its official camo.


Now, M2D is filling about 15 orders per week in addition to its store sales. Sparkes says he has a meeting scheduled soon with Sportsmans Warehouses main buyer, which he hopes will lead to a sizable order from the national sporting goods chain.


I hear thats a good sign, he says of the planned meeting. If they want to meet with you, theyre interested already.


M2Ds prices are competitive with the major brands, he says. For instance, its poly-cotton six-pocket pants and its button-up shirt each retail for under $50.


Sparkes says he has obtained a patent on the pattern, but expects the bigger clothing manufactures will attempt to copy the idea once they find out how effective his pattern is in the field.


A patent is only as good as your willingness to fight for it, he says.


Sparkes isnt ready to quit his firefighter job yet, but plans to attend five trade shows in the coming months, at which he aims to get discovered by big retailers.


Hes still the sole employee at M2D, and he describes himself as the president, head shipping clerk, and janitor, although his friends come into the office and ship orders for him when hes on duty at the fire department or away at trade shows.


Sparkes friends also are eager to field test his design with him.


This gives me great opportunities to hunt, he says.


Contact Mike McLean at (509) 344-1266 or via e-mail at [email protected]