Goelzer Investment Management has been operating for 56 years as a registered investment advisory firm. For each of those years, they’ve had an annual theme to motivate their employees. When they reached out to Playwell Bricks, they already had an idea of what they wanted: a custom airplane set with their annual theme, logo, and core values. The caveat was that their team was small, which had caused them trouble getting custom sets in the past. Playwell Bricks explained that there is a surcharge for orders smaller than 100 sets, and after the client accepted, this project was on the runway.

Goelzer explained that this year’s theme is “movin’ on up,” because the company was scaling up their entry level threshold for investors. At first, they struggled finding something that could illustrate the concept, until they thought of an airplane.

They explained that they wanted the airplane to look like it was in the act of taking off. The model should utilize their black, gold, and white brand colours and that Goelzer Investment Management’s logo needed to be on the outside, along with the theme and year. On the inside of the plane, where only the builder would see, they wanted bricks printed with their core values of trust, integrity, respect, thoughtfulness, and commitment.

It was Playwell Bricks designer Garrett Gourley who brough the plane to life. “I really enjoyed capturing the essence of a private jet in such a small form,” he tells me. It’s the client who determines the maximum number of pieces their sets will have, and the designers work within those limits. “Having the wings swept back and rear engines built with only a few pieces was a fun challenge.”

He goes on to explain that “one of the challenges was to leave some interior bricks as tiles. The client wanted to have some graphics printed inside the build so that their recipients could see them when they are building the set, but not after,” referring to the tiles printed with Goelzer’s core values mentioned above. It took a few design tricks to make sure these tiles worked the way Goelzer had hoped without sacrificing the integrity of the plane, but Garrett made it happen.

If you have an idea for a gift that you’d like a custom design to bring to life, Playwell Bricks specializes in corporate productions. We can also help if you don’t have an idea, and our designers will work with your budget and branding to help you build your dreams. Contact us today and build well, brand well, gift well, with Playwell!