Welcome

Pick-Up Bricks is a working toy vacuum that gives families with young kids a way to Make Cleanup Fun.

The vacuum was designed from the ground up to be safe, easy-to-use, and super fun for kids to use.

The inspiration came from wanting to put an end to the intense pain one experiences from stepping on a LEGO™ brick in bare feet - something that just about all parents have endured at one time or another. There is something about those little plastic pieces that have the power to cause incredible pain, yet we loved seeing our boys being creative and building to their hearts' content. We just wish they'd pick them up when they're done so we didn't end up stepping on them in the middle of the night on our way to the kitchen.

We tried a whole bunch of other possible solutions before embarking on the long product development journey.

  • We used the bedsheet draped across the floor which theoretically could be tied up into a storage bag at the end of a play session - but the LEGO™ bricks never stayed on the sheet and the play area got to be so big that you would inevitably have to walk through it anyway.
  • We tried using a dustpan to collect them up and deposit them in a bucket but the plastic bricks just didn't want to easily sweep across a floor.
  • We decided to go for power and got a SHOP-VAC specifically for the Lego pieces but there were a couple problems:
    • One we didn't want the younger ones plugging and unplugging into the electrical socket
    • Two though the suction power was great and picked up all the LEGO™ bricks to collect in the tub, it managed to suction onto our youngest's face like an Octopus that wouldn't let go. That was not good.
    • Three it certainly collected all the LEGO™ bricks and did it quickly, but it also collected everything else on the floor - lint, cookie crumbs, our dog's hair, and a ton of dust. Picking the pieces out afterward and wiping the dust off each one was more trouble than it was worth.
    • We tried other vacuums but couldn't find the right combination of safety, function, and kid-friendly design. 
  • So, we realized we had to make our own and after 3+ years working with designers, engineers and manufacturers, we finally have a toy cleanup system that is not only safe, easy and fun, but that actually gets kids to clean up after themselves with no begging.