Today we’d like to introduce you to Brad Cline.
Brad, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My mother taught me to play chess when I was 5 years old after bringing home a plastic set that she bought at a yard sale. I developed my skills over the years and thought I was a pretty good player. I received a rude awakening though when I got to college at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh and found that my chess ability was mediocre at best!
As I got to know and explore Pittsburgh, I took note of the unique architecture of the Pittsburgh skyline, most notably the PPG building which looks like a castle or a rook. The US Steel Building towers over all the other buildings like a king. The Mellon building is a touch smaller and resembles a queen compared to the US Steel Building. Add to the mix several other impressive looking structures including the Gulf Building, Oxford Center, and Fifth Avenue Place. Lastly, the Cathedral of Learning on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh makes a perfect bishop.
I had this idea of a Pittsburgh chess set many years ago but wasn’t sure how to go about designing and manufacturing it. I played with the idea over time and worked out various details of the idea.
Eventually, around 2014, I found a website where I could post “projects” and have freelance individuals and companies bid on the your project in terms of approach and cost. I found a company that could help me design and manufacture the sets. We collaborated on the first piece, the PPG building, working through CAD renderings and prototype figurines. After locking the first piece down, we collaborated similarly on the design of the additional buildings, and the vision I had almost 20 years previously had finally come into being.
My partner company manufactured the sets using a polystone material and I’ve been selling the sets online and in local retail stores since 2016.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It has been a long road. I needed to find someone to help me with the design and manufacturing. I needed to get to a point in my life when I had the resources to develop the idea. I needed to learn how to incorporate a company, set up a website, and find potential retailers. Determining pricing was a challenge. I knew my costs but what would people be willing to pay for such an item. I also have found that merely seeing this set on a web page doesn’t impart the full experience of being able to see it and feel it. The set is heavy and has a porcelain-like feel; it is not a simple plastic chess set. I believe it works better as a home or office decor item than it does as a “working” chess set. And I found that chess players don’t particularly care for themed chess sets.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I work for a software company that helps industrial manufacturing companies design, manufacture, and service their products. In a stroke of serendipity, several years after producing the set, I was talking with the CEO of my partner company and they shared that the CAD tool they used to design the pieces was Creo, the primary CAD software tool my company developed.
I specialize in advanced analytics and AI. Throughout my career I have worked with all different types of data to help customers better understand their businesses. I particularly enjoy helping customers solve complex business issues through the use of data and analytics.
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
Much has been written about the way Pittsburgh has transformed itself from the Rust Belt city of the 70s into the education, healthcare, scientific, and technology hub that it is today. I’ve seen that transformation accelerate over the last 30 years. Pittsburgh continues to have great cultural events, restaurants, sports, business, and outdoor activities. Pittsburgh has always gained strength from the strong sense of community and family. Over the years, the changing business focus has brought many new non-Pittsburgh into the mix adding even more energy and ideas. And it has a skyline that can’t be beat! Indeed, Pittsburgh is the only city that has an entrance, emerging from the Fort Pitt tunnel.
I’d say what I like the least is the weather…not a revelation.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://SteelCityChess.com
- Instagram: @steelcitychess412
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/SteelCityChess
