ABOUT YOURSELF
- Where are you from?
The Netherlands.
- How old are you?
23.
- What do you study or do for a living?
I am a Civil Engineer.
- What hobbies do you have?
I have several hobbies. I like to build with Lego, listen to music, and puzzle my way out of escape rooms. And I like to travel!
- How and when did your interest in LEGO products come about?
That was the moment I saw Lego Architecture 21042 – Statue of Liberty in 2020. I bought it and started building it. I was hooked and I have made a lot more models since then!
- What is the LEGO hobby to you? What does it mean to you? How does it fit in your life? E.g. build, display, meetups, play the games or 'just' watch the cartoons.
For me, it’s a way of relaxing and releasing creativity. I’m building most of the time after work, which is very relaxing!
- What is your favourite LEGO theme (current or past)? Why? And has any theme inspired your building style or preference in any particular way?
My favourite theme is the Architecture theme. With this theme 2 of my hobbies are combined: travelling and building with Lego! This theme inspired me to build compact with details.
- What is your favourite official LEGO set ever? Why?
My favourite set ever is Lego Ideas Home Alone (21330). Home Alone is my favourite Christmas movie and to have this as a real set was a dream come true.
- What is your favourite LEGO element? Why?
My favourite Lego element is the 2 x 4 brick. It is really satisfying to use this one in a build!
- Is there a LEGO designer (official LEGO designer or fan designer) who you are inspired by and look up to? Who and why?
Yes! That’s Justin Ramsden. I think it’s really cool to see someone so passionate when it comes to building with Lego! And he inspired me to build upside-down! ;).
- Is there one or more particular LEGO-related websites (not official LEGO websites) that you visit often and/or are inspired by?
Websites that I visit often are Brickset and Jay’s Brick Blog!
ABOUT YOUR PROJECT
- Where did your interest in this particular model come from?
I was building Lego and listening to music at the same time. One of Harry’s songs (Music For A Sushi Restaurant) was playing in my ears when I thought: how cool would it be to listen to this album and build something from this album at the same time? And how could I make this model nice enough so that I can place it at the center of my house and show it to everyone visiting? That was the moment I started thinking about what that model could be. After a few trials and errors, I came up with the idea to create a model based on the music album ‘Harry’s House’, which translated into this model.
- How long was the process of making the project, and what did you have to research as well? What kind of prep, research and design phases did you go through to produce your creation?
I watched all the music videos from the album ‘Harry’s House’ and analyzed almost every part of the screen. I made some concepts based on the music video from the song ‘As It Was’ but I wasn’t sold by the things I came up with. I was looking for something that would look nice on display, was instantly recognizable for fans of Harry Styles and the album, and could be made into a compact and complete model. That wasn’t easy at all! I listened to some songs from the album again and there it was, right on my screen. The album cover! That’s where my idea was born: Harry’s House.I started building the house and interior based on source material from the internet. Because I couldn’t find pictures of a 3D-version of the house, or a picture of the interior combined with the yellow house, I had to use my imagination for this part. In the end, I added some details from multiple music videos from the album, like the bed on wheels from ‘Late Night Talking’ and the crab from ‘Music For A Sushi Restaurant’.
The process of (re)thinking what the model could be took the longest. Once I had the idea in my mind, I only had to translate the idea into Lego bricks!
- What special challenges did you face creating the model? What was the most difficult part to recreate?
The fact that I came up with new ideas for the model when I was in the middle of building it. There are just so many possibilities with this model! The most difficult part was to get the upside-down part of the interior right.
- If you could talk to yourself before you started on this project, what would you tell them? What do you know now that you wish you knew then?
Just start building! You can only learn how certain things work and/or connect if you just give it a try.
- 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 worked on the model after work, mostly in the evening. I think it took around 2 evenings to create the model and 2 evenings to do the rendering of the images.I tried different things to promote the idea. I used social media to promote it, but that didn’t work well. After a few days, I decided to let the promotion rest for some time to rethink the way of promoting the idea. In the evening I started working on another project and started thinking about some updates for the current model to make it even better.
- How did it feel when you reached the magic 10,000 votes and how long did it take?
I was checking my Ideas account when I saw my notifications center going crazy. Every minute there was a new supporter. I wasn’t sure what was happening because I stopped promoting the idea. I got a message that my project was going viral all over the internet. It was really special to see so many people talking about your project. And the talking translated into support. I started the day with around 950 supporters. At the end of the day, the project reached the 10K mark. Over 9000 supporters in one day! I was speechless and it felt truly magical. The whole process took around one month, with 9750 supporters in the last 48 hours.
- Approximately how many LEGO bricks did you use to create your model?
The model contains 818 pieces.
- What is your favourite building technique or part/section that you’ve incorporated into your Product Idea?
The fact that you can display the model the way you want. Do you only want to show the outside of the house? That’s possible. Do you want to show the interior of the house? That’s possible. Do you want to show the house and the interior next to each other? That’s also possible!
I also really like the fact that you’re not limited to one moment and/or music video from the album. Harry’s House is the main build and a gathering place for all the different details from the songs on the album, just like an album is for all its songs!
- If you built your model digitally, what software did you use to build and render your model?
I used Studio 2.0 to create the model.
- If you used custom stickers or prints for your design, how did you create them or where did you get them?
I used PartDesigner to create the outfits.
ABOUT LEGO IDEAS
- Do you have any useful advice about creating a successful LEGO Ideas project?
Just make something you like! And don’t give up. If your idea is good the people who like it will find it!
- What (if any) methods did you use to advertise and attract support to your Product Idea?
I used social media (Instagram).
- What is your favourite LEGO Ideas Product Idea (besides your own of course)? Are there any Product Ideas you think have been overlooked?
Home Alone!
- Do you have plans to submit any other Product Ideas in the future? If yes, can you give us a hint of what that might be?
The support you get from other people! It’s really nice to see people liking what once was an idea in your head. If you think you have a good idea, just try and see how far it can come!
- 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 two other projects which are currently in the voting state: ‘It’s Jess – The New Girl Loft’ from the series ‘New Girl’ and ‘Rhino’s House from Disney’s Bolt’. I’m working on one other project at the moment, but I decided to take my time for that one. One day it will be there!
By
Hani2