Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Gregory LeBlanc. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Gregory, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What was it like going from idea to execution? Can you share some of the backstory and some of the major steps or milestones?

Idea to execution has been a very… we shall say interesting process. We’ve switched gears several times as we realized things were not working. Originally, I had the idea to sell my own designs on my own way back in 2020. Back then, we were dealing with the Covid lockdown, so I had a fair bit of time to set everything up. After I left the original companies I was working with to sell my model instructions, I set up my own website. That was fairly easily, and how I did things for several years. The end goal, though, has always been to transition into stand-alone kits with instructions and bricks all. That part of it is still underway and has been a major learning process on what does and doesn’t work. It’s been hectic but very worth it.

Gregory, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I started doing custom building brick (LEGO is the most recognizable brand, but there are many, many more) models way back in 2017. I mostly design military equipment and am working on providing instructions and kits for many different types of ships, planes, tanks, etc. I think what sets BrickshipsDesigns apart from some other brands is the passion behind the models I create. I am the only designer for the company, so all of the models that we’re going to be selling (at least in the short and middle terms) are designed by me. And at the end of the day, while I am turning it into a business, I am not going to design anything I do not want to design. So each model ends up being something that I am uniquely proud of. I never phone anything in – I’ve only had time to work on two larger models this entire year, for example. But I make sure each one truly matches the subject matter and at a price point that I don’t think many others will be able to match.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Darn near the whole company has had to pivot multiple times. This has mainly been the case as we work towards getting bona fide kits released. Especially the latest one – working with the Battleship Texas Foundation on adapting my 1/300 model of the ship to a kit has been pivot after pivot, since the largest model kit we had created before this was about 1/10th the size in terms of piece count. What we thought would work for piece counting did not work originally at all, and it led to a delay as we had to rework our entire piece counting and sorting methodology from the ground up. It still is not perfect and where we want it to be, but in order to make it scalable to larger kits we essentially had to start from scratch on our system. This is actually the second time that has happened; the first was when we first started actually scaling into batches of up to 50 versus one off kits. That was another major transition point.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

Truth be told, we still haven’t done this. BrickshipsDesigns started on a college budget – I had to coblle together the funds during the Covid lockdown to build my website. Most of the budget thus far has been my personal money that I’ve diverted into it. It is just now getting to a point where I can reliably order all the pieces and items needed for a smaller kit as I need them without delving into my personal funds. Larger kits – such as the 1/300 Battleship Texas kits – are almost entirely my own personal funds going towards what is needed since the cash reserves are not high. Luckily, it’s just a couple of us and it’s not any of our full time jobs as of yet so the capital we do build goes straight back into the business.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.brickshipsdesigns.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brickshipsdesigns/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brickshipsdesigns

Image Credits

Gregory LeBlanc