Children's Gifts

Need to Know

Lego

Mr Olek Kirk Christiansen hit upon the name Lego in 1934. He took the first two letters of the Danish words leg godt meaning ‘play well’. He liked the sound of the new word and was quite unaware that in Latin ‘lego’ actually meant ‘I put together’. This happy coincidence later came to define the brand’s main product – interconnecting building blocks – but at first the company manufactured stepladders, ironing boards, stools and wooden toys. By 1939 the small shop in the village of Billund, Denmark had 10 employees.

A decade later, having survived the Second World War and a devastating factory fire, Lego invested in a plastic injection-moulding machine for toy production and was making plastic fish, sailors and the game Tiddlywinks. It wasn’t until 1950 that the four and eight-stud plastic binding blocks were launched. Lego developed exponentially and the brick construction sets have always reflected current children’s trends – from steam trains to Star Wars to Sponge Bob Square Pants.

The opening of Legoland Windsor in 1996 cemented the brand’s UK position at the throne of the toy kingdom. Available to buy on- line the Lego watches are just one of the brand’s latest innovations, which aim to continue the Lego philosophy of ‘learning and developing through play’.