I’m sure when Danish carpenter Ole Kirk Christiansen came up with the idea for LEGO, people must have thought he was crazy.
Why would kids be interested in playing with tiny bits of plastic? But since its invention more than 100 year ago, it has grabbed the imagination of kids across generations around the globe.
And it seems it has grabbed the attention of adults too. While many of us will only think about playing with LEGO as a fond memory from childhood, some people have made a career out of it.
Ok, so they aren’t playing with LEGO, but they are still using their imagination to create something very magical. This group of people are called LEGO Certified Professionals (LCP).
It is a community-based programme made up of adult LEGO hobbyists who have turned their passion for building and creating with LEGO bricks into a full-time or part-time profession. They are not LEGO employees but are officially recognised by the company as trusted business partners.
Each LEGO certified professional is selected for the programme based on a number of qualities including building proficiency, enthusiasm for the LEGO brick and building system and a professional approach towards other LEGO fans and the broader public.
Many of these entrepeneurs have not only turned “playing” with LEGO into a career but also an art form. Take Nathan Sawaya for example.
He is a renowned contemporary artist who uses LEGO bricks exclusively as an art medium. With full-time working studios in New York and Los Angeles, Nathan has 2.5million LEGO bricks at his immediate disposal to craft large-scale sculptures for collectors, galleries and companies.
Best known for his exacting and impeccable representation of the human form and his high-profile client list, Nathan was an attorney in Manhattan before leaving the law to follow his artistic passion.
Nathan is the only person in the world who has been both a LEGO Master Model Builder and an LCP. He builds daily, his art is sold in prominent galleries and he accepts commission work.
At the moment, the company is not accepting any more candidates to become LCPs, but a note on its website tells anyone interested to check at the beginning of 2016. Your childhood dream awaits you.