Woodworking job spawns Cedar Rapids business

Four years ago, Travis Murray started a job at a Cedar Rapids company that created a new career focus and led to the launch of Hawkeye Yard Games.

'I went to work for Morgan Meredith on Mount Vernon Road SE, which makes the store cabinets for Frontier Co-op,” Murray said. 'Before that, I had never touched a piece of wood.

'I fell in love with woodworking. It took me almost 40 years to figure out that's what I want to do.”

Murray initially began making wood signs, such as those found at camp sites, after finding a Facebook site that offered tips about various woodworking products.

'My boss at Morgan Meredith let me use his lasers to create signs,” Murray said. 'About two years ago, I started Hawkeye Yard Games, making custom cornhole games.

'Eventually I began make coinhole games, which is a table top version of the larger cornhole game using quarters or washers. Coinhole games are very popular in the southern states.”

Cornhole games are played with cloth bags filled with either corn or beans. The boards usually are set up outdoors on grass and players receive points for tossing their bean or corn bags through a hole.

Coinhole games are similar, but measure roughly three and a half inches by seven inches. The boards have a hole slightly larger than a quarter.

It's a fairly simple game. Players bounce a quarter off the table in front of the board and try to make it drop in the hole.

Three points are awarded for a quarter in the hole, one point for a quarter on the board. The first player to score 21 points is the winner.

'I sold five sets of coinhole games to Aces and Eights Saloon in Czech Village,” Murray said. 'I also sold them a set of cornhole boards. Both the coinhole and cornhole games have the Aces and Eights logo.”

Murray is a vendor in the NewBo Shops at 208. One of the women who work at the shop learned about Hawkeye Yard Games when she won a set of cornhole boards in an occasional contest that Murray stages to market his products.

In addition to coinhole games, Murray's display includes signs and other products.

'I want Hawkeye Yard Games to be known as a source of custom cornhole and coinhole games,” Murray said. 'All my wraps come from Florida or Michigan. I can have a new wrap in about a week.”

Murray uses a computer-controlled router to cut out the unfinished boards, frames and risers with a program created by his boss at Morgan Meredith. He assembles the finished boards in his home.

Murray's wife, Jennifer, keeps track of the finances for Hawkeye Yard Games and helps her husband attach wraps to the large cornhole boards. The wraps have a peel-and-stick backing that requires two people to attach them accurately to the boards.

Murray's target market for his products includes bars and restaurants, real estate agents wanting a housewarming gift for new homeowners, high school band and sports booster clubs looking for a fundraising option, retirees wanting games to play in their recreational vehicle, tailgaters at college football games or families looking for a game to play indoors or outdoors.

The cornhole games sell for $230 a set, while the coinhole games sell for $25 to $30 a set. Murray said the wraps can be created from a variety of sources, including school logos - used with permission - and family or individual portraits.

A recent project involved the owner of a semi tractor who commissioned a set of cornhole boards incorporating a photo of his truck.

Murray also is developing other products to expand his business.

'I also do yard dice, which are four-inch-by-four-inch wood blocks with the pips or dots of one through six burned into them,” Murray said. 'I wanted to make mine stand out, so with the help of my boss I came up with hollow blocks with things inside of them that make noise when you shake or throw them.

'I'm also working on a version of the Plinko game on ‘The Price Is Right' that I call ‘Drinko.' You drop miniature pingpong balls down threw rows of pegs and where the ball lands might read ‘Take a drink' or ‘Have a social.'

'My main goal is to get people more active. It seems like nobody ever gets outside anymore. People need to get out with their families, take along some games and enjoy the world.”

Murray hopes Hawkeye Yard Games will develop into a full-time business.

'My dad owned his own business and I want to run my own business,” he said. 'Rather than working for ‘the man,' I want to be ‘the man.'”

AT A GLANCE

l Company: Hawkeye Yard Games, Cedar Rapids

l Owners: Travis and Jennifer Murray

l Products: Coinhole and cornhole games, signs, yard dice

l Phone: (319) 777-8324