CUTLER BAY, FLA. (WSVN) - A 12-year-old boy with autism is creating his own business: designing jewelry out of LEGOs.
“It’s showed him a lot of what he can do and his potential, and it’s opened doors for him. That’s what I love to see,” said Milagros Mercado, the mother of Carlos Andrade.
Carlos is making a name for himself by creating jewelry out of the colorful plastic bricks. “I actually made this for my mom’s anniversary. Actually, it was Mother’s Day,” Carlos said.
Carlos, who is on the autism spectrum, has been making LEGO jewelry for about three years. His mother introduced him to the idea in hopes that it would be a good outlet for him.
“He was having a rough time in school,” the elder Andrade said. “It was very difficult for him at the time, so I was trying to find something that would motivate him again and raise his self-esteem.”
“Well, she showed me LEGO jewelry and she inspired me to actually do LEGO jewelry,” Carlos said.
Carlos does more than just make the jewelry, he sells it as well. He has been making more pieces since his family moved back to South Florida, recently selling 20 necklaces through Facebook.
“We take the order, make it first and sometimes, we actually have to mail them out or meet them at a specific place,” Carlos said.
“He loves the fact that he gets to connect with people, he gets to go and deliver them himself, he gets to see how happy his clients are with his pieces, so he really enjoys that,” Andrade said.
Carlos said that once he makes a design, he never repeats it.
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