Dumfries and Galloway young entrepreneur Callum Winspear from Corsock has been shortlisted for the Sunday Mail’s Young Scot Awards as his entrepreneurial company, United Bricks, sees growth within the local market town of Castle Douglas. The awards come at an important time for the company – with the opening of a 38 Square metre shop approaching. This comes as the solo-staffed company has tripled – with customers in 48 countries and building.
In a statement via the United Bricks Facebook page they said “We can’t wait any longer, this is too exciting to keep a secret! United Bricks will be launching its first retail store in the hometown of Castle Douglas this October. Selling all things LEGO, from sets and minifigures, as well as our custom printed LEGO minifigures.
This year marks 3 years since United Bricks started. From little more than a dream, our company has grown and expanded, and now our team plans to inspire other young people to learn history and follow their dreams. This was all made possible by fans like you, that have supported us, followed us and been with us since the beginning.
While you wait, head over to our dedicated Facebook page United Bricks Toy Shop to see work in progress pictures, updates, sneak previews, and more! We’ll be announcing the opening date very soon!”
The bespoke LEGO-selling retailer began when Callum was just 15 years old. Determined to turn a hobby into a business, Callum taught himself how to use a UV printer – and learnt more about sustainable enterprise. Now 19, he has two full-time members of staff, and distributors in France, Germany, Russia, America, and Hong Kong to name but a few.
Callum, owner of United Bricks, said:
‘Being shortlisted for the Young Scot Awards is a huge privilege. United Bricks was born chiefly as a way for me to turn a hobby into a business – but it was also created to help me escape the struggles of school. Going through school, I suffered heavily with dyslexia – and wanted to set myself the challenge of overcoming this – creating my own business.
United Bricks came about because of my passions for history, and LEGO. I wanted to find a way to use the product to encourage people – particularly children – to interact with history through a creative medium. This is how our bespoke, historically-focussed LEGO products came into existence.
It is my hope that our upcoming shop space, in combined with a greater breadth of products, will help us to capture new audiences, whilst strengthening our relationship with the community across Dumfries & Galloway.’
Shortlisted for his entrepreneurial flair, Callum hopes he can use the Young Scot awards as an opportunity to further the success of United Bricks. With the hopes that it will inspire other young people to follow their dreams.
More information on the awards can be found here: http://www.youngscotawards.com/categories/
