When Ole Kirk Christiansen began making wooden toys, stepladders, as well as ironing boards, at his home workshop in Billund, Denmark, he probably never dreamt that his brightly colored bricks would become one of the most popular toy brands in the world.
But the father and son Godtfred have managed to pull victory from the brink of adversity by using Lego in a different direction.
Ole Kirk Christiansen is a Danish carpenter who grew up in a small village in the countryside. He turned his love for whittling, into one of the world's most loved toys. The building toys, referred to as LEGO bricks, are sold in over 130 countries around the world are loved by kids and adults alike.
His woodworking shop was destroyed in 1924 due to the fire that began by his sons who foolishly ignited wood shavings. Despite the loss of wood, Ole rebuilt and soon the company grew by selling wooden toys.
During the yo-yo craze in the 1930s, the factory produced so many unsellable yo-yos that the business was close to going bankrupt. Fortunately, Vejle Bank stepped in by providing a loan, and Ole restored the factory. Leg Godt, which is Danish for "play well", was renamed in order to represent the current direction taken by Ole.
Godtfred Kirk Christiansen, who built his father's wooden toy business into a global toy empire, died in his home in Billund, Denmark. He was 75.
After a fire destroyed the wood toy factory owned by the family, Godtfred decided the company should focus on plastic toys. His brothers, Karl and Gerhardt--who had been the directors of plastic and wood product manufacturing respectively--disagreed.
While on a ferry ride the London toy fair, Godtfred met with a buyer who opined that instead of making singular toys, the makers of toys would need to create a system which sets of toys interlocked. This led to the invention of the modern Lego design with studs and tubes, which was patented on 28th January 1958.
In the 1940s, a company called Kiddicraft released the "Kiddicraft Self-Locking Building Bricks". They were plastic hollow rectangular blocks with four round studs that were placed on the top. Each stud fit into the studs of a different block, allowing them to be stacked firmly.
Kirk Christiansen, Godtfred and a British supplier of the first injection molding machine were shown these bricks by a salesperson to demonstrate the kind of toys they could create. Kirk Christiansen, irrespective of whether they knew or not the bricks were patentable, copied them and changed their name to Lego. The result was a toy empire that is still worth billions of dollars today. Hilary Fisher Page, the creator of Kiddicraft died in 1957.
Lego bricks are among the world's most popular toys. The fact that these bricks are sturdy and flexible and children-friendly is the reason for their popularity. They can be constructed into anything from cities to spaceships and have inspired countless creations by children worldwide.
Godtfred came up with the idea for his stud-and tube system after a discussion with a buyer of toys. The buyer suggested that toy makers could create a system in which toys sets can be interconnected and used to build various types of structures. This is what led to the development of the Lego system. In 1971, sets that contained dollhouses and furniture pieces were introduced. The company also expanded its transport options with boat and ships with hulls that floated.
Lego's Technic series, which included mechanical components that were detailed established the standard in the 1980s. Nine years later, it introduced the Minifigure citizens in yellow who now appear in play sets with themes. In the same year Lego launched Duplo, which is a series of bigger blocks designed for children who cannot easily manage the smaller initial bricks.
Lego has grown into a global toy empire with 10 theme parks and film franchises. It's also a brand that has maintained an overwhelmingly loyal fan base among its customers despite this expansion. This loyalty is rooted in the fact that Lego appears less like a commercially oriented business than an old family friend.
Lego has evolved into far more than it's a basic toy. In 1998 it was dubbed Toy of the Century, beating teddy bears and Barbie, and it has grown into a media conglomerate with books, television shows and theme park rides.
The company also offers an array of programmable robots known as Mindstorms that have helped shape the company's education strategy. Seymour Papert, the founder of the concept of constructionism as well as the company's educational philosophy, believes that kids are most effective when they build things.
Ninjago is currently the main theme for Lego conventions and also the film inspired massive collaborative builds. The first LEGO set, Ninjago City, 70620 was a major influencer for other LEGO themes.
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