After delays caused by Canberra's COVID lockdown, the wait is finally over. At 9am on Saturday, Canberra's first LEGO Certified Store opens its doors to the public.
But what can LEGO lovers expect from the Canberra Centre's latest addition?
On paper, the 250-square-metre store brings together the capital's largest collection of LEGO, including exclusive sets and first to market items.
But, as The LEGO Group's Australia and New Zealand general manager Matthew Robertson says, it's more than just a store. It's part store, part museum and part playroom.
"It brings you the chance to interact and play with a product, in a fun and bright environment," he said.
"There are also some unique features like the Pick A Brick Wall. As a kid, I used to dream of being able to pick all the bricks I wanted and not just be stuck with what's in the box."
The real drawcards - and something unique to the Canberra store - are the LEGO installations.
There is a large 3D mosaic of hot air balloons over Lake Burley Griffin created by Ryan "The Brickman" McNaught, specially for the store. It includes 11,327 LEGO bricks and took 126 hours to build.
There is also a large 3D brick-built model of a kangaroo and LEGO person posing for a photo. It is made up of 46,965 LEGO bricks and took more than 395 hours to build.
And before you ask, yes, each is made entirely from scratch, without internal structures. They're 100 per cent LEGO bricks.
"We brought something about Canberra to life in-store with Lake Burley Griffin and made it a bit of a focal point," Mr Robertson said.
"And the kangaroo is also synonymous with Canberra and the surrounding areas, as well as it being on our national emblem on our coat of arms.
"I think we're just bringing a bit of Canberra from the outside into the store and it creates a real point of difference."
LEGO Certified Stores are renowned across the globe as iconic retail experiences with landmark locations in New York, London, Hong Kong, Dubai and Denmark and a footprint in more than 50 countries.
Each store is slightly different, with each home to different LEGO creations such as Canberra's Lake Burley Griffin mosaic and kangaroo statue.
Because of this, they tend to attract tourists to see what the different LEGO Certified Stores have in store.
The stores are also, understandably, an attractive place to work. Part of the job description is to build LEGO sets to go on display in the store, after all.
"It's a special type of person we look for when we're recruiting and we're lucky enough that it's a brand that everyone wants to work with," Mr Roberston said.
"We look for people who not only really engage with the product but can engage with our customers. And our customers vary from year one- and two-year-olds up to 90-year-olds - there's no age barrier with LEGO.
"What we look for is just people who can really share their passion for the brand and passion for building and creativity and share that with the customers and help them on that journey."
