David Guedes

How old are you? 40

Which country are you from? Canada

What is your role at the LEGO® Group? Model Designer

How did you get into building with LEGO bricks, especially building your own creations? Just before my second birthday, my sister was born. At that point, I stopped being the baby and had to entertain myself. So I was given hand-me-down DUPLO and System bricks. I started building my own creations before I could even speak! They were crude back then, but over time they’ve improved (I hope!).

What kind of creations do you love building the most, and why? I mostly enjoy building landscape and trees. I don’t know why, I just find it fun. It’s almost like it brings me back to the way I built when I was a kid. Total, exacting, precision isn’t required, instead you can let pieces kind of go wherever and build it into a beautiful natural form.

If you could give one piece of advice to aspiring LEGO builders, what would it be? It’s cliche but just build. Don’t let anything stop you. If you don’t have a lot of parts, build small with what you have. If you don’t think you know good techniques, do it anyway. The only way to improve your technique is to practice. If you don’t know what to build, just look around you! The world is full of endless possibilities, even more than what we can even see!

How does it feel to have your work exhibited here at LEGO House - Home of the Brick? It’s a dream come true. I’ve had a lot of LEGO dreams come true: appearing on LEGO Masters, getting hired as a LEGO Model Designer, and now exhibiting at LEGO House. I honestly thought this door was closed once I became a designer, so it’s really special that this opportunity arose.

Do you have a personal LEGO portfolio website or social media profile that you can share? The easiest place to find me is on Instagram @Bricklettuce.

Title Seeing the Forest for the Trees

Can you describe your model and what it represents? To me, this model represents what I like to build - nature! Forests and landscape. I’m also a fan of classic LEGO minifigures, so here sare ome classic, iconic characters are walking through the forest as part of their journey home to LEGO House for the holidays.

How long did it take to build? When I had time over the past 4 months.

Approximately how many LEGO elements did you use? Over 9000 LEGO bricks.

Are there any hidden details, Easter eggs, or techniques in your model that fans should look out for? Shine a light in the cave.