Brikk, a premium toy with unlimited possibilities

In the run up to Christmas 2016 I came across Brikk, a new concept game for kids that I found interesting and clever. Trying to find out more I saw that it is indeed a totally new idea that appeared only a few months ago. As it was about a game with wooden pieces my personal curiosity was activated, so I contacted Zsolt Szász, the one who came up with the idea. Busy schedules on both sides meant that it took a while since Christmas, but in the end we managed to agree and the interview below was the result.

When did you start?

Zsolt Szász: Brikk is a totally new concept on the market, it's our own invention. The production itself started in late 2016.

How did you come up with the idea?

ZS: I absolutely believe that brikk was born out of the creative thinking that accompanies my profession as an architect. I am always looking to improve the things around us and as I am constantly surrounded by my children's toys of various kinds, the circumstance for the idea was created.

From what I've seen, the game looks a bit like a Lego. Do you think it can be considered that?

ZS: We are happy every time we are associated with a giant, but what we don't want is that brikk to become a toy associated or similar to other brands that produce construction toys. On the Lego parallel, I think there are more things that make us different than things that make us alike. We are similar because we produce prisms from which you can build things, but that's about where it stops. It's still the way you can play, the freedom, the endless possibilities that brikk offers, the material we make prisms out of and the way we relate to sustainability and ecological footprint. We should also mention that brikk is not a mass product, it is a manufacture. Each piece is checked multiple times after each production process. We want brikk to be a premium toy when it comes to quality.

Are the games just for children or are you also aimed at adults?

ZS: The basic idea was to produce an innovative toy for children, but we notice that brikk it becomes interesting for adults too. It's a game that can break a bit of work, a moment of stress. You can relax in just a few minutes by playing next to the computer with 4-5 pieces or, why not, spin just 2 pieces in your hand. This is where the magnetic properties and the tactile factor - the texture, the sound and the warmth of the wood - become essential. So I can categorically say that we will broaden the range of who we will be addressing.

What kind of wood do you use?

ZS: The brikk prisms are made of solid hardwood, beech. We have chosen to work with a material that is durable, sustainable, environmentally friendly and last but not least child safe. These aspects were very important in the design of the toy and we want this natural and friendly look to become a trademark of the brand brikk.

How are toys finished? With what kind of materials?

ZS: Of course it was important, once we had the prisms, to be able to provide an eco-friendly finish that would protect the wooden prisms from stains and discoloration through use. We need to provide the freedom to play without disturbing it with a stress factor which, in this case, would mean the parent's concern to keep the prisms clean, unblemished. To that end the wood is given a gloss finish to protect the wood from stains and liquids. We chose to work only with non-toxic, water-based materials, a choice that complements the basic idea.

Do you have all the necessary permits and approvals to sell toys? Was it difficult to get them?

ZS: In Romania, at the moment, there is no authorized body to test toys before launching them on the market. That's why the production is done in a way on one's own responsibility, based on declarations. The necessary permits for the production itself are relatively easy to obtain and have not made our work any more difficult. Of course, the product has to have a description, age category and a verifiable production route from all points of view.

Where do you work? Do you have a workshop, a small factory?

ZS: We currently have our own small assembly and finishing workshop. We outsource some processes that we can't cover now. But we want all production to take place in the workshop, which I think we will be able to achieve later this year, by summer. At least we hope so.

Is it a family activity?

ZS: No, but I get important and meaningful feedback from family and friends.

In which shops are the toys available?

ZS: We are in talks with several distributors in the country and hope that brikk to become accessible to everyone as soon as possible. At the moment we only receive orders that come through our facebook page, these we can honor. community brikk is not that big, we grow slowly and organically. From the moment an order comes in, it takes between 2 and 5 working days for the package to arrive on your doorstep. We want to reduce the time in the country to 1-2 days. Orders come from both home and abroad. We deliver them by express courier (both domestically and abroad) and payment is via paypal. In parallel we launched brikktoys website with our own webshop that makes it easy for us to distribute and communicate with those who are looking for us.

What are your plans for the future?

ZS: In the long term, we want brikk to become a strong brand, an authentic product. We want to have a range of packages available in stores across the country and Europe. For this we are looking for distributors at home and abroad. We are looking for distributors who recognize its possibilities brikk, they share our enthusiasm and are willing to support us on this rather difficult journey.