A canister washes ashore on a golden beach
Name: Chef
Fav. Dino: Spinosaurus
Fav. color: Gold
Fav. movie: Finding Nemo
Fav. theme: Bionicle
Who is Chef
Why the name?
Mainly because I got called so at my old job, and I was working on the character at the time I chose to use it. Chef Labs in turn really is a place for playful experimentation, creating new types of products. That’s also why it’s not a company in the classic form, which usually restricts freedom of creativity. It’s still professional, but with a reworked lookout to what should be the norm of beviour and integrity. Straight to the point, more communicative & personal, and talking like a normal person but with thought put in ofcourse.
2020
Rake in the Lake – Goose Game
My first LEGO Ideas submission. It’s made in LEGO Digital Designer, then rendered in BrickLink Stud.io 2.0. It was meant to finance the development of a game and passively cooled PC. The game has been shelved and the PC has changed drastically in the meantime.
Rapunzel
LEGO Ideas contest submission. Just a 1 day training to get adjusted to designing with Stud.io.
Majora’s Mask
The second LEGO Ideas submission. It unexpectedly failed hard. I still want to build the physical model someday.
Nostrodamus RETAS
LEGO Ideas and Ideas contest submission. Nostrodamus was a labour of love. I didn’t expect it to go anywhere but I wanted to test and increase my skills. The original model was made from 8259 Mini Bulldozer and 9390 Mini Tow Truck. And honestly, it’s a really cool model when you have it in your hands. If you like the 2001 Technic animals you’ll love this.
The Rainbow Fish
LEGO Ideas submission. I wanted to make a fish. I had a hard time making said fish. Like the end result, hated the process. The lips are nice though, would kiss again.
Christmas Snowglobe
LEGO Ideas submission. This is a bit shameful. A hard lesson on how you should never ever assume something. About a week after posting the model I came to the realisation snow globes don’t use water, but a mixure of water, antifreeze, and glycerol. A childsafe fluid was pretty much required to build this. It’s basically a small brick compatible water bottle you can fill up yourself. Yes you could’ve built the whole model, nothing would’ve been pre-assembled. It did require 3 or 4 new molds though.
My history with LEGO
It all started with Creator X-Pod and the 2004 Speedboat. In 2006 I got my first Bionicle, Kazi. Then I accidentally bought Knight Kingdom’s Lord Vladek, and quickly after that Reidak & Gaaki and the rest is history. I did move on to Hero Factory. In 2012 I bought 2 small Technic sets and got acquainted with more advanced functions. After the dark ages from 2014 to 2019 I started collecting Bionicle again and began designing models. In 2018 I started learning human behaviour, business strategy, webdesign, game design, 3D printing, and the ins and outs of designing LEGO models. I do my best but still have a lot to learn.
2021
Ignika Lamp
Was meant as a product but didn’t see the light of day due to production issues.
2022
Preparing multiple large projects.
How do you make a great set?
I don’t know. I can only tell you what makes a great theme since a single set is only part of the picture. It’s an idea or concept worked out to its fullest potential. The exact details are too many to write down but to boil it down it’s all about the user experience, which is made up of all the tiny little details of effort you put into something you love doing. It has to be a million and 1 details perfectly designed to work together, like a watch. It needs to feel just right. But more importantly it has to feel like it has always existed and is supposed to be like this. It has to be fun, enjoyable, wonderful even, and at the end a joy to look at play with.
- Have a concept and know its audience.
- Design your approach and a MVP.
- Tailor your product and DNA.
- Work out details people will remember fondly and deepen the explorable pit of information.
- Publish it. Hopefully the audience has an easy grasp of the concept, assumes what should be there, and hopefully you made that and way more.
2023
Fairytales
BrickLink Designer Program submission.
2024
EXOMINERS
Artakha Mark I
Ignite the Dream
madness was never this good