The NEMAA blog is a platform for us to share our members work and their stories, and a hub for information about the NEMAA community.

Sunday, December 14, 2014

Brickmania Toyworks

Brickmania Toyworks, founded in 1999 by independent designer Daniel Siskind, creates and markets custom Lego sets and parts. After 15 years in the business and exponential sales growth, Siskind has established a company that is well-known for its high-quality Lego building kits with subjects ranging from renaissance castles to military models of World War I and World War II.

What began as a hobby to “kill time” has now exploded into a global business. Siskind’s first kit, a medieval blacksmith shop, was met with instant success on the market and was the catalyst for the creation of an entire collection of medieval village building kits. Having attracted an impressive internet and social media following, Brickmania is now an international leader in custom design kits.

Since 2010, Brickmania has been located in the Thorp Building, a repurposed World War II armaments factory at 1620 Central Ave. NE. “You really can’t get anything like this anywhere else,” says Siskind of Brickmania’s unique industrial complex.

This multi-purpose space serves as a retail store where customers can purchase a complete line of Brickmania custom kits and figures, BrickArms accessories and a large selection of new and vintage Lego sets. A portion of the space is dedicated to hosting open houses (shown above), birthday parties, and community events such as First Thursdays and Art-A-Whirl.  Also within Brickmania is the “Train Room,” home to massive operating LEGO train displays created by the Greater Midwest Lego Train Club and the Twin Cities Lego Train Club.

As Brickmania continues to grow, the company is still a small scale operation and is often presented with more opportunities than it is financially able to complete. “We don’t try to plan too far ahead,” says Siskind. “We just want to focus on the things we do well, and do them better.”

For more information on Brickmania Toyworks, visit:
http://brickmaniatoys.com/
https://www.facebook.com/brickmaniac
http://www.flickr.com/groups/brickmania/
https://www.youtube.com/user/brickmaniatoys

For a short video clip around the space, visit:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4W9oIkR9Xc&feature=youtu.be


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