PICTURES - York man hopes Lego creation can fulfil lifelong dream
Joe Bailey poses behind his opened Workshop in a Toolbox Lego set (Image: Provided)
A YORK design technician is hoping his latest invention could bring him closer to a childhood dream.
Joe Bailey, an art and design technician and learning assistant at York College, has submitted his build "Workshop in a Toolbox" to the Lego Ideas platform, where public support can help concepts become commercially produced sets.
The model has already gathered more than 1,000 supporters online.
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Joe said: "I’ve been building Lego for as long as I can remember and loved it as a kid, so to become a Lego designer would be a dream come true.
"They release two or three Lego Ideas sets a year so, every six months or so, they’ll review all the ones that have gathered 10,000 supporters and a small selection of those then make the cut."
The colourful design takes inspiration from workshops and creative studios, featuring 18 miniature rooms including a welding booth, pottery studio, jewellery workshop, woodwork bay, reading area, tuck shop, kitchen and toilets.
Toolbox emptied with all 18 workshops placed in front of it
(Image: Provided)
Drawing on his time working and studying at York College, Joe said reaching the first milestone had been 'hugely encouraging'.
He now has just over a year to reach 5,000 supporters and will need 10,000 backers within six months after that for Lego to review the concept at its Danish headquarters.
Joe, who also works on theatre props and puppets, said: "It cost me about £200 to make but I thought if I wanted to submit it for Lego Ideas, I wanted to get it right and it was worth spending the money and time on it."
Joe Bailey poses with his Workshop in a Toolbox Lego set in front of York School of Art branding
(Image: Provided)
Unlike many Lego Ideas submissions, Joe built the model by hand rather than digitally and it took him between two and three months to complete the build.
He constructed it at York Hackspace - a makers’ hub on Redeness Street where members of the public work on personal projects collaboratively.
Public reaction has been positive, with nearly 200 comments supporting the idea on the Lego Ideas website. Joe said: "It feels really good to see the positive comments and a lot of them are from people who I have met at Lego events, who say they saw it at the Doncaster Dome or in Sunderland.
Lego toolbox opened up to reveal all the workshops
(Image: Provided)
"It’s nice that they’ve gone back home and taken the time to support it and quite a few forward it on and ask other people to support it as well."
If selected, the Lego set would not only reach global toy shelves but could also become highly valuable to collectors.
Joe said: "One of the best investments you can make is buying a Lego set, not touching it and, then, selling it on in a few years when it has been discontinued."
Closed Lego Toolbox model
(Image: Provided)
You can back the project at ideas.lego.com/product-ideas/c33139a4-08e3-4a3b-af64-621980ffdfc4