Feature: Brickworkz

The Tartan: Brickworkz
Originally Posted: November 3, 2009 
by Dayna Lester

It’s amazing what a simple childhood passion can do for your career. Just ask Brian Korte. He is a pro at playing with Lego’s. Well, not so much playing as designing. Brian Korte, founder and owner of Brickworkz, LLC, designs and builds Lego mosaics. Send him a picture of anything, seriously, and he can make you an exceptional, one-of-a-kind Lego mosaic. But before all of his Lego creations began, he graduated from Radford University in 2000, majoring in Media Studies, with a concentration in Advertising.

Since he has always been tech savvy, Brian went into business in Reston, VA as a Web master after graduation. Brickworkz, before it was actually a company, was just a hobby of Brian’s. It got started when friends of his were getting married. Brian wanted to give them something unique to celebrate their union. He decided on a Lego portrait of the couple. Little did he know he would soon have a thriving, one-of-a-kind business on his hands. Later that summer, an art gallery in Richmond approached Brian about designing some new mosaics for an upcoming showcase. He left business cards next to his art at the showcase and by January of the following year, he had enough commissions to launch Brickworkz LLC. He started his business out of a “creative incubator” space called C3 in Richmond. They eventually began showcasing his artwork and that is how the art gallery in Richmond “discovered” Brian.

It really didn’t become the Brickworkz it is today, he says, until he designed his website, www.brickworkz.com. Brickworkz.com was made and designed in Las Vegas on a short trip with his brother. “I was taking a vacation with my brother, who was scheduled to fly to Iraq from Las Vegas…once we arrived in Las Vegas, I had a clear picture of what I wanted to do with the web site. I started drafting it on paper and decided that day to just forgo the Vegas experience and work on the site design instead.” And who says only bad and crazy things happen in Vegas?

Since the creation of Brickworkz LLC, in 2006, Brian has been doing some pretty amazing things. He travels all over the country with his astonishing Lego artwork. He even designed a Guinness World Record breaking Lego image. It was 542 pages of design work. The design had 1.2 million Lego pieces and took well over 400 man hours of building. That’s pretty phenomenal. Brian’s artwork has even been displayed at Disney conventions in Anaheim and Orlando.

Brian lives in Richmond, VA now where Brickworkz is operated, although he grew up in Great Falls, playing with his Lego’s while the rest of his family was watching football. “I have great memories of building Lego castle upstairs in my house, while hearing the rest of my family screaming ‘GO! GO!’ from the living room.” Brian Korte has and is still doing some tremendous things. Not only has he broken records with his business but he has also raised money for some great charities including the Muscular Dystrophy Association. It doesn’t look like he’s slowing down anytime soon either.



About The Author

Brian Korte

Award-winning artist Brian Korte created Brickworkz LLC in 2006 to make stunning LEGO art for companies and families all around the world. What started as a childhood hobby became a professional art career using LEGO elements as a medium. Learn more and see Brian's portfolio by visiting brickworkz.com or search for @brickworkz on your favorite social media!

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