chh@heraldsun.com; 918-1035
HILLSBOROUGH -- One man's trash is another man's treasure, as they say. In this case, it was one third-grader's botched school project that gave her father and his friend the idea for a new toy.
Savanna Groft, crocheting a round placemat for her handwork studies class, included too many double stitches, and her work of art curled under around the edges. For a year and a half it sat on an end table, until one day family friend Erik Larsen of Hillsborough picked it up and tossed it at Savanna's father, Patrick Groft.
"It just flew straight as an arrow. Holy cow," said Groft, of Lake Wylie, S.C. "And it was so soft."
And so the Pocket Disc was born. The Pocket Disc was the first product of the new Phd Productions, LLC, owned by Larsen and Groft and based in Hillsborough. It took about a year to fine-tune, with Mindy Groft, Savanna's mother, crocheting various designs based on the men's calculations.
"If you ever saw the original one, hers was pretty misshapen and not really all that aesthetically pleasing," Groft said. "I love my third-grader's work, but I don't think it would sell."
Though the original remains framed in the office, the modern Pocket Disc design caters to better aerodynamics and ease in catching.
Once Groft and Larsen hammered out the design, they began searching for a production venue. Conversations with hacky sac producers led them to Central America, where they employed a group of more than 200 Guatemalan Mayan weavers to hand-crochet 5,000 to 8,000 discs a month through fair trade.
"We sent these samples down to Guatemala," Groft said. "And the ones that came back just blew our minds."
The Pocket Disc launched at the American Specialty Toy Retailing Association (ASTRA) Annual Marketplace & Academy in June 2008. Kathleen McHugh, ASTRA president, said she loved not only the product but the men themselves.
"It's a new take on an old idea," she said. "It takes the hacky sac in a different direction. It takes the Frisbee onto a cooler, hipper level. The guys who invented it, a lot of energy, really excited about their own invention, and that was fun."
A product unlike any before, the Pocket Disc's portability and versatility set it apart, Groft said.
"I think it's a combination of the visual appeal, the performance, that fact that you can chuck these around wherever you go, and then the fair trade story," he said. "It's really a combo of these three things that make it unique from any other flying disc."
The versatility doesn't just apply to its use, but also to its users. While originally marketed to the younger population, Larsen said they're now also targeting older kids.
"It's something the 3-year-old enjoys, the grandparents enjoy, and also the cool kids in college enjoy," he said.
The Pocket Disc's crocheted weave eliminates the hard edges of the conventional Frisbee that could potentially be harmful to young children, allowing it to span all ages. The yarn used is 100 percent cotton, the only throwing device, with a lip, made of such material. Groft and Larsen said they have a patent pending on that aspect of the product.
Also in the works stands certification with the Fair Trade Federation, whose endorsement would label Phd Productions as an official fair trade company. Another new aspect is the addition of hacky sacs, decorative headbands, skull caps, coin purses and other hand-made products from the Guatemalan women to the company's repertoire, which will begin in 2010.
Part of the potential for the expansion comes from the recent grant of an Orange County Small Business Loan from the Orange County Board of County Commissioners. Phd Productions received the loan in October. It plans to use the extra money to build up inventory and to launch a more active marketing campaign, including a presence on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.
"We definitely are cognizant of the fact that we have to take our show on the road," Groft said. "We've got to kind of grassroots it for a while till we can get bigger and bigger."
And the two men definitely have felt the small business pangs. Although they sold 40,000 discs this past year, production has at times been difficult. To keep with the fair trade model, the two men pay up front for half of the materials and typically don't get paid until 60 or 75 days later.
"Sometimes it's really a strain to make ends meet in the short term," Groft said.
But love for the product and the experience itself has kept the men going.
"It's exciting, in a word," Larsen said. "It's exciting to see the potential. What is challenging and fun is you have to be everything. You have to learn all aspects of business to make it go.
And through it all, Groft and Larsen have held on to that passion that started the ball rolling.
"A lot of people liked the product and liked them," McHugh said. "They're a very charismatic group of gentlemen. They're very excited about their product, so that excitement sort of rubbed off."
