Congratulations on the success of the BRIK TILE Kickstarter campaign. The goal of the campaign was originally set at $30,000. By the time the campaign ended, $181,567 had been pledged. What were your thoughts throughout the campaign as you saw it skyrocket?
You always get nervous putting an idea out into the world in such a big way. The product team was really excited about unveiling BRIK TILE to the public. We quickly realized consumers are as enthusiastic about the product as we are. It feels great.
What inspired BRIK TILE?
BRIK TILE is an extension of our original product, BRIK BOOK, created in 2015. The idea for BRIK BOOK came about when I noticed how some of the existing Lego products could be modified to use as a laptop case. I created a BRIK BOOK prototype to use on my own laptop and received interest from people wherever I would take it: airports, coffee shops, etc.
We funded BRIK BOOK through Kickstarter. It was our first crowd-funding campaign for this product. It received a lot of attention and we quickly realized we had a significant opportunity to expand the product line. People are interested in creating on larger canvas sizes such as fridges, cabinets, walls, doors, etc. That’s the inspiration behind BRIK TILE.
The BRIK product line has been featured in Vanity Fair, O Magazine, Bricks Culture. To what do you attribute the staying power of Lego and interest in new variations of the product?
Being featured by those publications certainly helped drive interest in BRIK BOOK.
Walt Disney once said “Everyone in the world was once a child”. A lot of those children grew up with Lego. The toy inspires creativity and imagination. Lego is still a top-selling product. It appeals to people of all ages. It’s a new discovery for some kids, it’s nostalgic for some adults, and there are a lot of adults who continue to create with Lego. Lego can be used to build almost anything you want. As we continue to design BRIK products, giving people the ability to create and be inspired is always top-of-mind.
How has The Lego Group reacted to BRIK TILE and BRIK BOOK?
The LEGO Group no longer holds a patent on the bricks so people are allowed to develop products to augment the Lego product line. Just as the product inspires creativity in play, it inspires toy designers and developers to create Lego-compatible pieces to take the much-adored original product even further.
What other BRIK line products do you have planned?
There’s so much potential! Our products are Lego-compatible. This allows people to incorporate their existing Lego collection into what they build with BRIK products.
Along with BRIK BOOK and BRIK TILE, we also offer design kits that provide all the briks required for a specific design. We created a special tool to help remove the briks from the tile should you want to change the design. We sell packs of briks in a number of different colours. We’re currently fine-tuning an online tool called BRIK BUILD that allows consumers to create their own designs. We then estimate how many briks are required for their creation and compile a kit that allows people to actually build that design.
BRIK TILE is so versatile. Our wall tiles have a proprietary adhesive that allows people to use them without damaging their walls. The tile is used as a base and the briks snap on just like Lego . This allows you to build a design out from the wall. Unlike Lego base plates, briks can overlap tiles. The studs on our briks are a bit larger which allows them to support a bit of weight. You can build small shelves, key holders, etc. We love to see what other people create!
Learn more about BRIK BOOK and BRIK TILE online.
Discount Code: Brett has generously offered a promo code for Toy Tales readers. Place an order by November 30, 2016 and receive a 15% discount. Enter promo code TOYTALES at checkout.