“Keeps beauty through years of use . ” This phrase appeared in the product description for Catchball, which launched its first Tumblbug crowdfunding campaign in 2018. It perfectly captures the value of Catchball, which maintains its beauty and quality over the years by utilizing canvas fabric from Kurashiki Hampu , Okayama Prefecture, Japan . Catchball has offset all the drawbacks of traditional canvas shoes. Instead of thin, tear-prone, and foot-painful canvases, it captivates consumers with its sturdy and comfortable durability. In just five years, Catchball has become a truly representative shoe brand in Korea. We met with CEO Lee Kyung-min at the company’s headquarters and only offline store located in Bongsan-dong, Daegu, to explore the charms of Catchball one by one.

I heard you made handmade shoes before playing catchball. When did you start developing an interest and affection for shoes and enter the shoe industry?

After I was discharged from the military, my family faced financial difficulties. I needed to become financially independent, so I decided that starting a business rather than getting a job was the way to earn a lot of money. Around 2013, it was a time when startup clubs at my university were actively receiving significant funding. While deliberating on an item to sell, I felt that if I chose shoes—my favorite—I wouldn't give up easily. However, I realized that sneakers were strictly mass-produced. Since I lacked capital, I opted for handmade shoes, which could be produced one pair at a time.

Busan is famous in Korea for the shoe industry. Despite that, is the reason you established your base in Daegu because it is your hometown?

I was too timid to even consider leaving Daegu. I worried, "Can I survive in a place as competitive as Seoul?" Although Daegu wasn't exactly comfortable, I thought it was better in many ways, such as rent and the cost of living. At first, I didn't even know that Busan was famous for its shoe industry. I was just enthusiastic about it, but I was ignorant and reckless. I simply typed "handmade shoes" into an internet search bar and blindly called and visited places like the Korea Handmade Shoe Association that came up in the results, and I was lucky. I was introduced to a former R&D manager from Kumkang Shoes who had returned to his hometown of Daegu after retirement. He is a true master. Thanks to him, I was able to learn and work through every process, from design and development to production.

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Was Daegu's shoe industry infrastructure sufficient at that time?

While facilities for mass-producing shoes like sneakers are primarily located in Busan, I produced them in Seongsu-dong, Seoul, instead of Busan because they were handmade shoes. No matter how developed Daegu's textile industry was, it was completely separate from footwear. I had absolutely nothing to offer or know to build a foundation in Daegu, where infrastructure was non-existent. I believed that utilizing the infrastructure of another region would be helpful in many ways.

What was the market reaction when you ambitiously launched your handmade shoe business?

The handmade shoe business I started in 2015 was a complete failure. (Laughs) When I thought about the reason, while it is true that they are high-end products, what is more important is that 'classic' items fundamentally need a foundation of tradition to be recognized. Of course, some people were interested at first because a young person was making handmade shoes, but society is cold, you know. They wouldn't buy them for that reason. Moreover, the production cost alone for a single pair of shoes easily exceeded 100,000 won, so it wasn't even financially viable. With so many high-quality, cost-effective shoes on the market, there would be no reason for people to buy our products. After about three years of running the handmade shoe business, I gradually began to realize that these were products that didn't suit me.

Still, I didn't give up and tried again by switching to sneakers.

I already had 300 million won in loans, so I couldn't give up. I had to keep moving forward somehow, and my desire to make sneakers instead of handmade shoes grew stronger. Then, I met some benefactors. The manager of a factory in Busan that produces canvas fabric for footwear suggested that I use their facilities to manufacture Converse shoes. With the production infrastructure resolved, there was no reason not to do it. Also, there is a company called 'Calibrand CLB ' that specializes in branding. They also branded 'San Francisco Market,' which can be considered Korea's first-generation select shop, and 'Coffee Myeongga,' a famous specialty of Daegu. When I commissioned CLB for brand design, they connected me with Mr. Han Tae-min, the CEO of San Francisco Market, who recommended high-quality Japanese canvas fabric. It felt as if every energy was pulling me toward sneakers.

That is how the brand 'Catchball' was born. The brand storytelling was quite extraordinary.

It is the power of experts. Catchball was able to enter and sell at the San Francisco Market. Since the San Francisco Market had previously only introduced overseas brands, the concept was to make visiting customers mistakenly think, "They must have brought another great brand from abroad." I wanted to pique people's curiosity by saying, "Ta-da! It’s not an overseas brand, but a domestic one. It’s even a Daegu brand! (Laughs)." Among the various candidates recommended by Cali Brand for the brand name, I chose "Catchball" because it is easy to pronounce and remember. After that, we produced two initial products based on the specific concept of "1950s military sneakers." The bumpy detail on the toe of the sneakers is called " Vulcanized ," which originated because soldiers needed to quickly dig through the dirt with their shoes. We incorporated stories like this into the brand's history. I really enjoy the process of explaining how each of these details is incorporated into our products.

Securing investment funds for mass production of sneakers must have been important as well.

I was truly broke. I participated in the 2017 Seoul Design Festival, but lacking funds, I made samples of a single design in two colors and took them with me. I went simply with just two pairs, but an editor from the crowdfunding platform Tumblbug saw our products and proposed a crowdfunding sale. Since I could receive production costs in advance as long as I had the content, there was no reason to hesitate. I poured my heart and soul into writing the product description. I used the phrase, “A place collaborating with the renowned San Francisco Market in Korea,” to build consumer expectations for the brand. The idea was to make them think, “If the San Francisco Market chose this place, it must be good.” Through the funding campaign held in the spring of 2018, we raised a whopping 82 million won, and from then on, I was able to pay off my debts and establish a foundation for stable operations.

People who have worn Catchball shoes are often impressed by their quality. Please introduce the outstanding features of Catchball.

To be frank, there is generally nothing different compared to other Converse shoes. Instead, we have a firm commitment to using only high-quality materials. Catchball is a brand that is only a few years old and doesn't really have a long history. However, since the materials we use are already proven, I believe the best approach is to incorporate their tradition into the product. For instance, we enhance product credibility by using premium materials such as Japanese Okayama Converse fabric, crafted by artisans following traditional methods for four generations, or Italian velvet corduroy fabric with a 130-year tradition. The insoles are also from the world-renowned insole specialist 'OrthoLite,' offering superior cushioning and resilience. I believe that each and every one of these materials speaks volumes about Catchball.

The design is simple, but the variety of materials and colors made it stand out.

Personally, I believe sneakers don't need a huge variety of designs. I think there is sufficient demand with just variations in fabric and color. After all, Catchball started with just one design and two colors. I felt it was more important to gradually increase the number of designs while monitoring customer reactions to identify areas for improvement. That led me to travel all over the place in search of materials. We created the corduroy fabric, which pairs well with the cold winter, after much deliberation to meet customer needs. I participated in a natural dyeing experience in Yeongcheon, North Gyeongsang Province, and fell in love with the colors because they were so beautiful. So, we dyed the fabric we had on hand and applied it to our products. Fortunately, consumers appreciate this diversity as part of Catchball's unique character.

The catchphrase “I want to be a definite third place” is impressive. In a world where everyone is racing for first place, what is the value of a “definite third place” in Catchball’s view?

I once said in an interview, “We can never beat Converse or Vans , ” and everyone really loved it. But it’s true. Converse is a global brand with a history spanning over 100 years. However, if you think about it carefully, aside from those two, there aren't any other sneaker brands that really come to mind. So I thought, couldn't we take that spot? My mindset is that instead of half-heartedly chasing the number one spot, if we just become one of the top sneaker brands, we can certainly make a good living.

What goal is Catchball currently striving for?

Starting this fall, I plan to transition to a line that emphasizes functionality. For example, shoes like golf shoes, jogging shoes, and trekking shoes. I need to give it some more thought on whether to keep Catchball as a Converse brand and create a new one, or to unify the brand name and just differentiate the lines. If you look at the samples released now, they feature the '15 Hearts Fifty Love ' design. In tennis, a score of 0 is not called 'zero' but 'love.' The number '0' resembles the shape of an egg, and the French word for egg, l'Œuf , sounds like 'love' when read in English. Winning when the opponent's score is 0 is called a 'love game.' By incorporating the history of tennis into the shoes, I aim to focus on the joy of exchanging the ball rather than the match itself. There are so many things I want to do in the future.

If Catchball continues on a smooth path with its overflowing ideas, couldn't Daegu eventually become a hub for the shoe industry? Or, it would be fun to produce shoes that reflect the unique characteristics of Daegu.

It would be ideal if that happened. However, it still seems like a distant prospect. If the infrastructure were fully established within Daegu, it would be much more convenient and beneficial for the city's economic development, but I believe that would only be possible if Catchball became hundreds of times more popular than it is now. Instead, I’m thinking about creating shoes that capture the essence of Daegu. There are brands that commercialize products by highlighting local characteristics, such as slippers made while playing on the Brazilian coast or knitwear worn by fishermen for survival at Swedish coastal ports. Since Daegu has many mountains, wouldn't it be fun to make hiking boots? I plan to try implementing these ideas one by one.

Maker's Pick

3 Catchball Products Loved by Consumers

ORIGINAL HOLIDAY RED

Catchball's products stay true to the basics. The focus is on a clean design and high-quality materials. The goal is to recreate the sturdy athletic shoes made in the 1950s and 1960s. Featuring functional insoles from OrthoLite, these canvas shoes are soft and boast a comfortable fit even after prolonged wear.

STANDARD SHELL WHITE

Catchball's first model and the most beloved STANDARD design model to date. It uses fabric from Kurashiki, Japan, which has been producing selvedge canvas for 130 years, and the design is inspired by the athletic shoes of European soldiers from the 1950s.

ORIGINAL PICNIC BLACK

Catchball's products stay true to the basics. The focus is on a clean design and high-quality materials. The goal is to recreate the sturdy athletic shoes made in the 1950s and 1960s. Featuring functional insoles from OrthoLite, these canvas shoes are soft and boast a comfortable fit even after prolonged wear.