Jon-Paul has made balls for Adidas, FIFA, and Burberry. He started 12 Pentagons to bring his football designs to you.

Growing up on the south coast of England, Jon-Paul always loved football. This project started in 2020 whilst he was based in St. Louis during lockdown. He had a go at hand stitching his first ball. It was terrible, but he loved it. He decided to make another one. And another one. Each one getting a bit better.

Jon-Paul started sharing videos online, showing the process of making each one. To his surprise, people seemed to like them. Millions of people watched videos of his balls seemingly overnight. He never intended to sell the balls, but he kept getting comments asking if they were for sale.

As Jon-Paul researched ways to sell his balls, he quickly realized that he'd have to start something different. The balls that he likes to make are not compatible with the constraints of mass-market production.

The idea of a limited release model through 12 Pentagons was born. Jon-Paul and his wife, Allison, decided to go all in on this idea, pouring their savings into starting 12P in 2023.

12 Pentagons' first ball, The Original 92, launched the company in June 2024 with 1000 units. The entire stock sold out within 4.5 hours.

To our surprise, two of our balls - The Original 92 and the 180 Triangle Ball (32 Bit Mesh) - were featured on the cover of EA Sports FC 25 Ultimate Edition alongside football legends David Beckham, Zidane, Jude Bellingham, Gianluigi Buffon, and Aitana Bonmati.

@jonpaulsballs is an R&D lab where new ideas for ball designs are presented for consideration. If a ball concept resonates, it will graduate the lab and become available in a limited release through 12 Pentagons. Not every ball will make the cut.

Most balls are too complex for mass production. Limited edition runs allow for exploration of any idea while maintaining creative control, leaving room to craft unique pieces and innovate.

This is an R&D Lab, so let's try some new things.