A few weeks ago, Sunshine learned that tinsel queen, Rachel Burke, was collaborating with the new LEGO DOTS range to create a raft of DOTS-inspired items and pushed me to head out and grab her a few kits for herself so she could follow Rachel’s daily ‘craftorials’ are available on Tinsel Town, and perhaps create some herself.
I was delighted by Sunshine’s enthusiasm for this project and encouraged her to reach out to Rachel with some questions which then morphed into an interview, Sunshine’s first for the Kid Bucket List!
LEGO DOTS | Sunshine’s x Rachel Burke Interview
Hi Rachel. My name is Sunshine. I’m 11 years old and as of April, I am home-schooled. I love making things with my hands and have spent a lot of time making jewellery, chalk art and LEGO these school holidays. I also love to travel and like to use my experiences to inspire some of what I make.
I was really excited when mum said we would be writing about the new LEGO DOTS. LEGO is always fun and I love the idea of being able to make some fun stuff for my room.
I do have some questions for you. Some are about LEGO and some are just about designing as I know that you’re pretty amazing in that area.
I’ve always followed the instruction booklet when creating LEGO but I’ve started being more and more creative with what I make. Can you remember your first LEGO kit? When it comes to creating with LEGO, do you start with a vision of what you want to create?
Rachel: Yes I absolutely can remember! I must have been 7ish when for Christmas I got a giant bag of LEGO from my parents. I must have spent the next weeks of my school holidays building the most elaborate castles and structures I could possibly think of. In terms of playing with LEGO, it usually goes one of two ways – either I start off with an initial vision (and then go about bringing that idea to life) OR I will just free-play and experiment and simply let the outcome evolve organically.
I’ve been thinking about creating a visual diary. What do you put in yours?
Rachel: Visual diaries really are my most favourite thing – so I definitely recommend starting one! I put all sorts of things in my visual diaries like keepsakes, colour swatches, cute wrappers and business cards I find…and of course lots of sketches and notes to myself. They are great to look back on for ideas and use as a reference point for your experiences and creative journey. I still look at visual diaries I created years and years ago today!
I’m really excited about your new free video ‘craftorials’ and I can’t wait to give them a go. My mum is always worried about where to keep all the stuff I make and keeps saying my room looks like a bomb hit it – What do you do with all your craft after you make it?
Rachel: Yes it can be easy for a craft stash to get out of hand! I try my best to find a way to display my most favourite crafty creations on my studio walls (I’ll even attach little hooks to headbands I love so I can hang them on the wall), but anything else I will usually do my best to repurpose into other projects or ideas! I’m not afraid to pull apart things I’ve made to reimagine them again – which is part of the reason I love playing with LEGO DOTS so much! You can make one thing, admire it…and then when you’re done you can pull it apart and create something all over again!
Now that we’re learning from home, playing at home and basically doing everything at home, when are your top recommended ‘crafting’ staples for my craft kit? What is the ONE thing we should always have (besides LEGO, of course)?
Rachel: I always think having a trusty hot glue gun on hand is a great crafting staple. Of course, it’s great to have a parent or adult helping you out when using one as they can get a bit hot – but I find them really handy! I also think a handy stash of sequins and pom poms are MUST HAVES in my craft drawer!
What do you love most about the new LEGO DOTS?
Rachel: I love how the LEGO DOTS really enable you to experiment and customise the creations you make! I had so much fun creating patterns and designs – I love that there are endless possibilities with them. Self-expression is such a key part of my creative process and it’s great to use a medium that gives me so much freedom to create!
I read that Miley Cyrus commissioned a piece of furniture for you. Was it made from LEGO? If not, if you were to make a piece of furniture from LEGO, what would you make?
Rachel: Yes Miley Cyrus did commission a chair from me – a tinsel chair. It is funny you should mention a LEGO chair, however, as I have in fact been working on one! My goal with the chair is to cover it entirely in a floral patterned motif using the LEGO DOTS…so let’s see how I go in the coming weeks!
Gosh Rachel, thank you for your time. I can’t wait to get stuck into designing with my dots!
The first of the new LEGO DOTS range, which includes wearables and room decor, is all about providing a blank canvas for kids to get creative with self-expression and building important life-long skills through play. The range is available now from all good toy retailers.
