How to Make an Innovative Product with Sandlot Goods and Yardball Founder Chad Hickman
Sometimes what starts as a hobby grows into anything bigger than you can ever imagine. That’s what happened with Sandlot Goods, a company co-founded by Chad Hickman in 2014. Sandlot Goods began has turned from a simple interest to a baseball-inspired leather goods and hat company. And Sandlot’s latest product might be its coolest one yet.
Yardball is hand-stitched and made from premium Wickett & Craig Milled Harness Leather. It’s slightly larger than a baseball and a convenient way to play catch when you get the itch. It’s like you have a ball and glove, all in one tidy package, so you can minimize the risk of breaking a window or knocking over a desk lamp. Not that I have any experience doing that from my days of playing ball in the house…
Chad chatted with Good People, Cool Things about the creation of Yardball, why Sandlot focuses on products that are good for the environment, and his favorite sports moment.
Where did the idea for Yardball come from?
The name was one we toiled over for a bit, but ultimately just hit us in the face. We realized that nearly every time we presented someone with one of our prototypes to try out they were always coming back to us with similar feedback. The ball had the whole family, and sometimes neighbors, out in the yard playing catch. It just kind of stuck after we realized it had that kind of effect.
What did one of the early iterations look like?
There were definitely some interesting-looking ones at the beginning. The earliest mistake we made was trying to reduce the number of stitches with very poor results. It looked like some sort of hideous Frankenstein’s monster situation. We also thought we were going to laser cut these but the stitch holes proved to give off too much leather char to really pull it off.
Why was it important to make a biodegradable product?
So many reasons, but the main one is simple: we need to do our best to combat climate change. It’s such a small gesture but the way we are going to turn the tide on this definitely starts with individual choices. Sandlot as a company tries incredibly hard to reduce our footprint.
Has the pandemic changed the way sports fans interact with each other? If so, how?
I feel like there was a time in 2020 and into 2021 when things were really different. When we first started on Yardball we were religious about washing our hands before and after we went out and played catch and were all quite paranoid while doing it. These days things tend to be getting back to a pre-pandemic feel whether it’s warranted or not.
In general, there is a change I’m seeing where people would simply rather watch sports at home. It’s commonplace for sports fans to watch on TV and join in live conversations on Twitter or other social networks. I know that’s something I started doing during the pandemic and it’s kind of stuck.
What's your favorite sports moment?
Being a lifelong Kansas City Royals fan it is hands down our victory over Oakland in the 2014 Wild Card game. I was in attendance with my family, it was an absolute roller coaster of emotions that ultimately ended with Salvador Perez’s walk-off single getting past the diving Josh Donaldson. It marked the first Royals playoff game and playoff win since the 1985 World Series win. I was born in 1983 and that was really my first taste of success with my beloved franchise. And it set off 2 years of baseball bliss in Kansas City.
What's next for you?
We are super excited to see where we can go with the second phase of Yardball. Through Sandlot we have access to some great licensing options that we plan to pursue for Yardball. I absolutely love the idea of working with the MLBPA on some player signature style Yardballs similar in style to the gloves we grew up using with MLB player signatures on the palm. A Yardball customizer feature on our website is also on the horizon. At this point, Yardball feels a bit like a blank canvas and we are going to have so much fun with it.
Interested in trying Yardball out for yourself? Pre-order yours right here.