The latest 10K Club Interview takes us on a shopping spree at an IKEA store! Meet Peter, a.k.a. brickster0404, and their IKEA Store Modular project. Inspired by our recent collab with IKEA! Show your support, and find out more below.
ABOUT YOURSELF
- What is your first name + last name?
Peter Kloosterziel.
- Where are you from?
Groningen, The Netherlands.
- How old are you?
35.
- What do you study or do for a living?
I’m a cook in a small Italian restaurant.
- What hobbies do you have?
Watching movies and riding my bike, but I really love designing LEGO sets.
- Do you have a personal LEGO portfolio website that you can share with us?
I only use LEGO Ideas.
- Have you created any LEGO MOCs (my own creations) that you’re particularly proud of? What is it, why are you proud of it and do you have a photo of it?
My favorite is my series of Canal Modular: Venice and Amsterdam. They are modular that fold open, creating a sense of depth. They have a canal in the middle, buildings on either side, with a bridge in the center.
- How, and when, did your interest in LEGO products come about?
I’ve always played with LEGO for as long as I can remember. It was the only toy that stuck. The PC games started me on designing LEGO digitally, which evolved into LEGO Ideas.
- What does the LEGO hobby mean to you? How does it fit into your life? E.g. build, display, meetups, play the games or 'just' watch the cartoons.
For me, it’s about making immersive worlds that tickle the imagination. You have to want to walk around as a Minifig in your LEGO creation. I just love to create and perfectioning details. It’s also great to get reactions from fans that I inspire, who start making their own designs.
- What is your favorite LEGO theme (current or past)? Why? And has any theme inspired your building style or preference in any particular way?
The best LEGO theme to me is LEGO Space Police 3. The villains all have their own character and color scheme. I would love to design more vehicles for all the aliens.
- What is your favorite official LEGO set ever? Why?
LEGO Star Wars Krennic’s Imperial Shuttle 75156, it is an amazing set. The way the designer managed to fit everything together in such a tight space, genius!
- What is your favorite LEGO element? Why?
It has to be 98283 Modified 1x2 with Masonry Profile. A brick that looks like bricks is just brilliant. I use them in almost every build for extra texture.
- Is there a LEGO designer (official LEGO designer or fan designer) who you are inspired by and look up to? Who and why?
There are many great LEGO designers.
- Is there one or more particular LEGO websites (not official LEGO websites) that you visit often and/or are inspired by?
I watch a lot of speed builds and reviews on YouTube, mainly JANGBRICKS and AustrianBrickFan.
ABOUT YOUR PROJECT
- Where did your interest in this particular model come from?
It started with part 23405, Panel with Corrugated profile 1x6x5. This piece made it possible to create an IKEA modular with texture that was not bulky. I wanted my design to be large, yet affordable with a low piece count. Adding a lot of windows also made the design seem bright and modern.
- How long did the process of making the project take, and what did you have to research? What kind of prep, research and design phases did you go through to produce your creation?
This was definitely one of my faster projects, I wanted to keep the interior design a blank canvas for IKEA. Research was easy, I could just visit my local IKEA in Groningen.
- What special challenges or frustrations did you face creating the model? What was the most difficult part to recreate?
The rendering of the 3D model is the most challenging, it takes my laptop quite some time for one picture. If the picture has a mistake in it, I have to start over. But I never give up, you need to be persistent to succeed.
- If you could talk to yourself before you started on this project, what would you tell him/her? What do you know now that you wish you knew then?
“Use brighter colors” is what I tell myself before every project. A good color palette is the foundation of every build.
- How long did it take to complete the model? Did you finish it fairly quickly, or did it take a long time? And how did the build time compare to the time you spent promoting your Product Idea to reach 10,000 supporters?
I’m getting pretty fast at making a basic LEGO model of the idea in my brain. However, reaching the 10,000 took almost 2 years! Being staff pick helped me enough that I didn’t have to promote it myself.
- How did it feel when you reached the magic 10,000 votes, and how long did it take?
It was the most exciting feeling! I have never refreshed a web page so often.
- Approximately how many LEGO bricks did you use to create your model?
About 1500 parts.
- What is your favorite building technique or part/section that you’ve incorporated into your Product Idea?
Incorporating the Swedish flag was the best part.
- If you built your model digitally, what software did you use to build and render your model?
Bricklink Studio.
- If you used custom stickers or prints for your design, how did you create them or where did you get them?
Studio Part Designer.
ABOUT LEGO IDEAS
- Do you have any useful advice about creating a successful LEGO Ideas Product Idea?
Break your design up in small models/sections. Think of it as a train: start working on the locomotive, after that on the tender, next are the wagons and finally the caboose. If you are done with that final section, start improving the locomotive and work your way down section by section again. If you have one big model you work on, it is hard to improve on little details.
- What (if any) methods did you use to advertise and attract support to your Product Idea?
Having a lot of followers, that I am so thankful for, helped me a lot!
- What is your favorite LEGO Ideas Product Idea (besides your own, of course)? Are there any Product Ideas you think have been overlooked?
There are so many awesome designs, I can’t choose a favorite.
- What is it about the platform that attracts you? What tips would you give to anyone who is thinking about uploading an idea?
What I like most is the fairness of it all, every idea can become the next set in the store. Being a fan of what you are designing helps a lot.
- Do you have plans to submit any other Product Ideas in the future? If yes, can you give us a hint what that might be?
I have many more projects that I’m working on, that will be uploaded in the near future. But I can’t share details, sorry.
By
BrickSon