How a Nova Scotia man turned a volunteer project into a Lego business
Jason Pyett has team of designers and works on projects for companies like Google
Jason Pyett was a stay-at-home dad in 2019, volunteering at his daughter's elementary school in rural Nova Scotia to run workshops to teach kids to get creative with Lego.
Now he's built his own business — doing what many kids would consider a dream job. He designs and constructs commissioned works out of Lego.
"A good internet connection can literally put your work in front of anybody," said Pyett.
As with many people, Pyett first worked with Lego as a kid. Growing up, his family didn't have a lot of money and he would repurpose his pieces into different models.
But when his own kids started taking an interest, he noticed the focus was always on building sets that would end up on a shelf.
"I thought it was a pity that kids weren't able to understand the creative expression that Lego could bring out," he said. "That was the biggest drive, being able to inspire these kids to be creative."
To spark that experimentation, he started a workshop with six kids in his home studio — walking them through the steps involved in designing and building an original project.
Interest grew quickly and the group moved first to the local family resource centre and then to the nearby elementary school. Pyett led a Lego club and a robotics team there.
Robin Legge, principal of the Musquodoboit Valley Education Centre, said students flourished in the club — winning awards at competitions and becoming interested in science under Pyett's direction.
She said the activities brought together kids who didn't normally interact and gave some students who didn't always excel academically a chance to work with their hands and present their work to their classmates.
"Sometimes kids don't feel there's a space for them, where they fit. Once they get alongside Jason, that's affirming for them. There's a space for them, they get to shine, and his enthusiasm is infectious," she said.
"There's a nothing-ventured, nothing-gained philosophy that gives kids the freedom to come up with their own ideas."
Meanwhile, while exploring techniques to share with the students, Pyett's projects — including a perfect circle made out of Lego — began getting attention online. People who spotted his work began approaching him with requests.
"As with most things I do, I said I don't know but I'll give it my best," he said.
Before long, Pyett shifted Playwell Bricks, the not-for-profit he started while raising money for the Lego kits used in the school, to a business venture.
By the end of 2020, he'd brought on other designers. Now he has a team of eight who are busy with projects, working in countries ranging from Mexico to South Africa and Italy. For Pyett, that has meant learning how to market and operate an international business across many time zones in addition to his own craft.
"It's been going really, really well. Far beyond my expectations," he said.
From the time he gets up there are emails from clients and his team of builders to answer on top of the design work, which remains his favourite element.
The custom work ranges in scale. Some projects cost tens of thousands of dollars and take weeks to complete.
"It's not just collectors, I'm doing work for Google, doing work for a lot of startup companies. It's been quite overwhelming but at the same time being absolutely rewarding," he said.
Pyett's most recent project, the Brookside Mansion, is a replica of an administrative building at a university in Fort Wayne, Ind. The husband of a dean at the school commissioned it as a gift for his wife and sent along photos.
Without ever having seen the historic building in person, Pyett began working with the client: sending progress updates and planning the placement of each Lego brick to ensure the structure would be stable. By the time he'd finished, after six weeks worth of 12-hour days, all 64,000 pieces were in place.
Though sometimes Pyett ships off instructions or completed models, the mansion required special care. It's larger than a square metre and made up of 17 large pieces. It weighs about 60 kilograms.
He's personally driving it to Indiana this week and will set it up in time for a special viewing and a Lego show. In advance, Pyett set up the model at the school for a viewing so that people could see it in person.
He credits the feedback he's received from the online community, his friends and neighbours for encouraging his work and hopes that it motivates someone else to think outside the box.
"Even if one [person] is inspired, maybe not to be in Lego, maybe just to be creative and go home and play with Play-Doh or whatever. I mean, that is the ultimate goal with everything that I do."
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