LEGO Entrepreneur Finds Her Superpower in Neurodiversity

For Jenn Canvin, building a business out of LEGO was never just about colourful bricks and custom designs. It was also about discovering where her strengths lay, understanding her differences and learning to stop measuring herself against expectations that did not fit her. The entrepreneur behind The Brick Chick has turned her passion for LEGO, technology and making things into a thriving niche business, while embracing neurodiversity as one of her greatest strengths.

Canvin began her entrepreneurial journey with a simple ambition: to become a stay-at-home mother without giving up her professional independence. Rather than follow a conventional career path, she created a job for herself selling individual LEGO parts. She dismantled sets, organised pieces into an inventory system and supplied enthusiasts who wanted to build their own creations. Over time, she noticed opportunities to offer something different, eventually moving into custom printing on genuine LEGO parts.

Today, her business combines creativity with technology. While LEGO primarily uses pad printing for its products, Canvin uses ultraviolet (UV) printing to apply coloured images to LEGO pieces. The process involves printing with UV-curable resin, producing durable designs while requiring considerable technical precision. She also uses 3D printers to manufacture the jigs needed for her work, placing her firmly within the wider maker community.

Behind this carefully organised business, however, is a personal journey that has reshaped how Canvin understands herself. Her son was identified as having attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) at a young age. She later discovered that she, too, was autistic and had ADHD. The realisation helped explain why certain tasks felt natural to her while others were unexpectedly difficult.

For Canvin, the two conditions can sometimes pull her in opposite directions. One part of her enjoys order, routine and repetitive tasks, such as organising LEGO components. Another seeks novelty, excitement and fresh challenges. Finding a balance between these competing needs has required her to understand her working style and make room for both.

That understanding has also changed how she approaches business. When she relaunched her website, she focused on accommodating the areas in which she struggled while building on the skills that came naturally to her. Instead of treating her differences as shortcomings, she began recognising them as strengths she could use to her advantage.

Her diagnosis, which came only in recent years, also brought a sense of relief. Canvin said she had spent considerable time criticising herself for not meeting standards that did not account for how her brain worked. Understanding her neurodivergence helped her let go of some of that self-blame and became an important part of her personal healing.

Her sense of belonging grew through the LEGO fan community. Canvin once operated the largest BrickLink store in Canada for several years, supplying enthusiasts who wanted individual pieces for their projects. Eventually, routine began to feel limiting, prompting her to travel to LEGO events and see what customers were creating with the parts she sold.

At her first Brickworld event in Chicago, she felt an immediate connection with the people around her. Only later did she begin to understand why the community felt so familiar. She believes many adult LEGO enthusiasts share neurodivergent experiences, although her observation is not a formal estimate of the community’s makeup.

For Canvin, this connection reinforces a simple message: being different is not something to be ashamed of. As conversations around Neurodiversity Celebration Week encourage schools, employers and communities to recognise different ways of thinking, her experience offers a personal example of inclusion in practice.

Her journey suggests that success does not always come from correcting every perceived weakness. Sometimes, it begins with understanding oneself, creating an environment that supports individual needs and finding a space where unusual interests and abilities are valued. For Canvin, LEGO became that space—and neurodiversity became a superpower she could finally recognise.