theBrickBlogger.com — Sharing the Passion of the LEGO Hobby!

Building & Sharing LEGO with Lots of Siblings

by Thita (admin) on October 5, 2021

Nine years ago, I built a micro pizza shop, uploaded it to Flickr, and posted it on Eurobricks. Since then, I’ve regularly built and posted between fifty and a hundred LEGO creations a year, and not only that, but three of my siblings have followed my lead and started posting their own creations. In some MOCing circles, the Durand family has become notorious for its size (though occasionally that’s been exaggerated… there are not quite a thousand of us). So what’s it like to build in the same house, and frequently in the same room, with three other LEGO builders?

First of all, let me introduce you to us and our work. I (Geneva) am the oldest and was the first to start posting my creations online. Not long after, Isaiah joined me. Then Josiah started posting, and quickly outstripped us both in popularity! Last year, we were joined by Anna, the fourth in the family. I’ve collaborated twice with my fifth sister, Sarah, but she’s not into building on her own. And our three younger siblings are too little to have an online presence, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they do someday! The picture above is a collage of five creations, each by a different one of us.

Now that you’ve met the builders, it’s time to meet the bricks! Isaiah, Josiah, and I each have our own separate collections. (Anna mostly builds with Josiah’s bricks.) For about a year now, our collections have all been located in one large room. My collection is the largest and dare I say the best organized?

Isaiah sorts mostly in plastic bags and keeps those in a variety of buckets under his desk.

A few months ago I sorted Josiah’s collection. Anna was supposed to sort it in return for being allowed to use it, but she was taking too long. I got tired of the eyesore, and besides, Josiah’s original sorting system was a little sloppy—at least from an outsider’s perspective… he claims he knew just where everything was. Eventually, I gave in and sorted it myself, to make things easier for me when I want to borrow pieces.

Speaking of borrowing pieces brings me to the obvious question: how do we share bricks? Some sibling builders sort all their LEGO as one collection. We didn’t choose to do that, but each of us frequently runs out of pieces and it’s incredibly handy to have a backup collection you can borrow from!

Our borrowing system has a couple unwritten rules. First, make sure you keep track of what you borrow on paper. Secondly, put it back soon. Third, if you don’t put it back as soon as possible, don’t complain if you get growled at. Fourth, if you win a contest with a MOC that used a significant quantity of borrowed pieces, it’s polite to give any “extra pieces” in the prize set to the other person. Like many rules, these get broken occasionally… especially the second rule.

Borrowing does get tedious when you have to count out hundreds of say 1×1 round light grey tiles. I usually group pieces into piles of five and line them up in double rows so I can easily see a hundred. I have tried weighing pieces, but small parts are especially light and I don’t have a scale that’s precise enough. No surprise I guess, even LEGO doesn’t use scales that are sufficiently accurate for the smallest pieces—thus the “extra pieces” that frequently show up in sets!

This is my “borrowing book”. I usually can find a way to describe a piece clearly enough, but sometimes I draw the shape of it too, for things like “1×2 plate with bar”—that just doesn’t explain where the bar is!

We all borrow a lot from each other, so we try not to get too annoyed when someone borrows just what we wanted to use. Likely enough, the shoe will be on the other foot in a couple weeks!

Building with three siblings also leads to a bit of friendly rivalry. We’re super competitive, so we definitely try to outdo each other… especially if we enter the same contest! But besides the rivalry, it’s also inspiring to watch each other’s builds grow. A couple months ago Josiah built a massive Tibetan-style monastery. It was pretty neat to see all the details gradually come together!

Inspired by that, I went really large on this fighting pit and used more minifigs in a single MOC than I ever have before. Seeing my siblings’ work definitely continues to motivate me to build better and bigger!

There’s another big benefit to sharing the LEGO building hobby with other family members—we have a built-in advice panel! We all frequently stop by to see what each other is building. Or we call out across the room, “Hey, what’s the best way to fill in a half-stud gap?” And even though sometimes we don’t like each other’s advice, it’s still helpful to get the creative juices going!

I remember working on this little forest vignette. I was going to put redcoats behind the trees and a militiaman in front. But Isaiah pointed out that the redcoats got lost in the foliage, and there wasn’t anything to draw the eye. Instead, he recommended putting the hiding minifigures behind the trees and something more exciting in front. After a bit of brainstorming, I took his advice and used Native Americans and a deer instead of redcoats.

Getting a second pair of eyes on something you’re creating is extremely helpful, and it’s even better if the second pair of eyes belongs to an experienced LEGO builder!

Another thing we can do as LEGO building siblings is collaborating easily. We’ve worked on several collaborative projects. Isaiah and I have frequently each built half of a MOC, like this cliffside village.

A few years ago we built a little city as a family. This filled a couple of fun afternoons!

We’ve also collaborated in a more individual way, each building different MOCs that revolve around the same story.

To sum up, as LEGO-building siblings we’ve all pushed each other and inspired each other to do better. We enjoy bouncing ideas off each other, borrowing pieces among ourselves, and oh yes, the fun of beating each other in competitions and then rubbing it in… And for sure we enjoy the notoriety that comes from being a large group of people with the same last name all engaged in the same hobby!

What do you think? Is there any close friend or family member you get to build with? Do you enjoy building with another person? If you’ve never had that experience, why not ask someone to join you and build something together? Feel free to share your thoughts and discuss in the comment section below!

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LEGO Financial Report – First Half of 2021

by Thita (admin) on October 4, 2021

in Other News & Updates

Last week, the LEGO Group shared its performance report from the first half of 2021. Consumer sales grew 36%, revenue grew 46% to DKK 23 billion, operating profit grew 104% to DKK 8 billion, and net profit grew 140% to DKK 6.3 billion. Also, free cash flow was strong at DKK 5.8 billion, and the company made market share gains globally, as well as at their largest markets. With the LEGO Foundation, donations of DKK 1.5 billion went to support children’s development via learning through play. Details below.

Billund, September 28, 2021: The LEGO Group today reported first-half earnings for the six months ending June 30, 2021. Revenue for the period grew 46% to DKK 23 billion compared with the same period in 2020. Consumer sales grew 36%, outpacing the toy industry and driving market share growth globally and in all major markets.

Operating profit was DKK 8 billion, an increase of 104% compared with the first half of 2020, despite an ambitious program of strategic investments to support growth in the long term.

The LEGO Group CEO, Niels B. Christiansen said: “We are very pleased with the progress we made across all areas of the business during the first half. Our performance was driven by strong demand for our portfolio, which has attracted new builders to the LEGO brand. Our year-on-year growth benefited from fewer COVID-related restrictions compared with 2020 as our factories operated uninterrupted and the majority of retail stores re-opened. We also saw the benefits of multi-year investments in e-commerce, product innovation, and a global supply chain network. Our strong financial performance now allows us to accelerate strategic investments in sustainability and digitalization. We are especially grateful for our amazing team. Despite all the challenges and uncertainties of the past six months, they worked extraordinarily hard to bring play to more families around the world.”

ALL MARKET GROUPS GREW DOUBLE DIGITS

All market groups delivered double-digit consumer sales growth, which was driven by excellent execution and a diverse portfolio that appealed to builders of all ages and interests. Top-performing themes included LEGO City, LEGO Star Wars, LEGO Harry Potter, LEGO Creator Expert, and LEGO Technic.

Operating profit more than doubled despite significant investments in major long-term initiatives such as a new retail store format, e-commerce capabilities, an enterprise-wide digital transformation, and efforts to make products and operations more sustainable. Operating profit was also offset by increased freight and raw material costs.

Christiansen said: “As we look ahead to the second half of 2021, we continue to see strong demand for our products. Longer-term, we expect top-line growth to stabilize to more sustainable levels as people return to pre-pandemic spending patterns. This trend, combined with our plans to accelerate re-investments into the future of the business, is expected to result in more normalized profit levels moving forward. Our investments are designed to create a sustainable future for the business and advance our mission to have a positive impact on children and the world they will inherit. Digitalization and sustainability will have an especially critical play in this, and we are extremely pleased with the progress our teams are making in these areas. We will also continue to develop our play experiences and brand expression so that LEGO play is diverse and welcoming for all.”

BUILDING A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

The company made progress against its ambition to create more sustainable products. In June, it unveiled a prototype brick made from recycled single-use PET bottles, an important step in reducing its reliance on non-renewable raw materials. It also completed a successful trial of paper bags designed to replace single-use plastic in boxes and will begin phasing in the new paper packaging from early 2022. This development ensures the Group remains on track to make all packaging 100% sustainable by 2025.

MEMORABLE BRAND EXPERIENCES ONLINE & IN-STORE

The LEGO Group’s investments in its physical and digital retail channels paid off in the first half. E-commerce sales across our own and partners’ platforms grew 50% compared with the same period last year.

The company also launched a new retail store format, which will be introduced to around 60 stores during the second half of 2021. The format was unveiled at the opening of a new flagship store in New York City in June and is designed to create immersive, playful, and memorable brand moments.

The LEGO Group continued to expand its global retail footprint opening more than 60 new LEGO branded stores in the first half of 2021, more than 40 in China. This brings the total number of LEGO retail stores as of June 30, to 737, with 291 of those located in China.

During the second half of 2021, the company will accelerate investments in a multi-year, enterprise-wide digital transformation. New digital platforms, products, and ways of working will support a long-term ambition to digitally enable the LEGO brand to create fantastic experiences for children, shoppers, partners, and employees. Digital talent hubs were opened in Shanghai and Copenhagen in addition to the company’s headquarters in Billund and hub in London to support this effort.

POSITIVE IMPACT ON FUTURE GENERATIONS

The company continued to help children around the world develop via learning through play. More than 1.2 million children benefited from product donations and local community engagement activities.

Year to date, the LEGO Group with the LEGO Foundation, which owns 25% of the LEGO Group, pledged more than DKK 1.5 billion (US$235 million) in donations to agencies that support children and families, especially those in need. This included DKK 940 million (US$150 million) for COVID relief with a focus on children’s health and development, DKK 140 million (US$23 million) to support children’s education, DKK 100 million (US$15.7 million) to agencies working with families impacted in Haiti and Afghanistan, and funding for programs which advance learning through play in communities where the LEGO Group operates.

Christiansen said: “The single biggest motivating force for everyone at the LEGO Group is knowing we can have a positive impact on future generations. Whether it’s in times of acute need or helping a child develop new skills that will last a lifetime, LEGO play and the LEGO brand can, and will, make a difference. We are proud to be in this position and are committed to doing all we can to continue to inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow.”

What do you think? Did you notice any interesting details from LEGO’s half-year report? Feel free to share your thoughts and discuss in the comment section below!

And you might also like to check out the following related posts:

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