Frequently Asked Questions
Standing answers to the questions people ask most about BEPCO: what the studio and the archive are, how the Shop works, building from a booklet, orders and refunds, commissions, experiences, how BEPCO was made, and how to reach us.
About BEPCO
What is BEPCO?
BEPCO Studio is a creative practice in Richmond, Virginia that designs LEGO models of real electrical infrastructure: substations, transformers, transmission towers, and the equipment that keeps the lights on. The models are documented as the archive of Brickworks Electric & Power Co., a fictional utility whose history begins in 1897.
Is Brickworks Electric & Power Co. a real utility?
No. The utility, its towns, and its history are fiction. BEPCO Studio, the practice behind it, is real. Every reference code in the Archive marks the difference: R for the real studio, F for the fictional utility.
Who is behind BEPCO Studio?
Kevin D. Jones, Ph.D., a power systems engineer based in Richmond, Virginia. BEPCO Studio is a trade name of Grid Widget Laboratories, LLC. There is more on the About page.
Is BEPCO affiliated with the LEGO Group?
No. LEGO® is a trademark of the LEGO Group, which does not sponsor, authorize, or endorse BEPCO Studio or its products. Our models are original designs, and our kits are built from genuine LEGO elements that we repackage.
What is a MOC?
A MOC, short for My Own Creation, is a model designed by a builder rather than by the LEGO Group. Every BEPCO model is a MOC.
Is BEPCO connected to a real utility or employer?
No. BEPCO Studio is independent and is not affiliated with any real electric utility or employer.
The Shop
What can I buy?
Each model available in The Shop comes in up to two forms: a printed instruction booklet, or a complete kit. Each form has its own page and price.
What is the difference between the booklet and the kit?
The booklet is the build guide only. You supply the bricks, and we email you the model's complete parts list so you can buy them. The kit includes every genuine LEGO element, sorted and bagged, along with the printed booklet and custom BEPCO packaging.
Is there a digital or PDF version of the instructions?
No. Booklets are printed and shipped. There is no download.
What does "Coming Soon" mean?
The model is documented in the Archive but isn't for sale yet. Registering interest tells us which models to prioritize. Instruction booklets come first, and a full kit is produced once enough interest is on file to make a production run economical. Registering interest is not a purchase or a commitment.
What does "Historical" mean?
The run has been retired and is no longer for sale. The model stays in the Archive as a permanent record.
Where do you ship?
Within the United States only, for now.
How much is shipping? Is tax included?
Prices are listed in U.S. dollars. Sales tax and shipping are calculated and added at checkout.
How do I pay?
Checkout is handled by Stripe. We never receive or store your full card number.
When will my order ship?
Lead times vary. BEPCO Studio is a small boutique studio run alongside a full-time profession, so every order is prepared by hand as time allows. Kits are packed by hand in small runs, and booklets are printed in small batches. We'll do our best to keep you informed at each step, from the day you order to the day it ships.
Who are the kits for?
Adult collectors and builders, ages 14 and up. Kits contain small parts and are not intended for children 12 and under. To place an order you must be at least 18, or have a parent or guardian's consent.
What does "Sold Out" mean?
The current run has sold out, and another will follow as interest builds. Register Interest on the item's Shop page to bring it sooner, and we'll tell you the moment it's back. Registering interest is not a purchase or a commitment. Sold Out is temporary. An item that is gone for good is marked Historical.
Building from a Booklet
Where do I get the bricks?
Most builders use BrickLink, the LEGO Group's marketplace of independent sellers. When you buy a booklet, we email you the parts list in a format BrickLink can read. The Field Note Sourcing Bricks on BrickLink walks through turning it into an order.
Can I use bricks I already own?
Yes. Remove anything you already have from the list before you buy. The BrickLink guide shows where.
Can I share or resell the instructions?
No. Booklets are for your own use. Please don't copy, share, resell, redistribute, or post them publicly.
Orders, Returns & Refunds
Can I cancel my order?
Yes, for a full refund, at any time before it ships.
Can I return an order?
Once an order has shipped, we can't accept returns or change-of-mind refunds, even if the item is unopened.
My order arrived damaged or wrong. What now?
Email support@bepco.studio within 14 days of delivery. We'll send the correct item, and return shipping is on us.
How are refunds paid?
To your original payment method, through Stripe. A refund may take several business days to appear. The full policy is on the Legal page.
Commissions
What is a commission?
A custom model of real electrical infrastructure, designed for you or your organization. Commissions range from wall art and desk-scale equipment to commemorative gifts, dioramas, and event swag. Every commission is filed in the Archive as its own record.
Can you make many copies of one design?
Yes. A commission can be a single bespoke piece or a custom run, designed once and replicated to order.
How much does a commission cost, and how long does it take?
Each commission is quoted individually. After a first conversation, you receive a design direction and a fixed price by piece or by run. Timing, deposits, and revisions are set out in a written agreement before work begins.
How do I start?
Use Start a Conversation on the Commissions page and tell us about the occasion and your timeline.
Experiences
What is an Experience?
A facilitated build that puts the electric grid in the room. It opens with a short talk about the grid, then the group assembles a working slice of it by hand, and it gets energized at the end.
Who are Experiences for?
Most often recruitment and team events: university talent pipelines, high-school engagement, career fairs, team offsites, onboarding cohorts, and conference floors.
How do I book one?
Use Start a Conversation on the Experiences page with the kind of event, an approximate group size, and your timing. Each engagement is arranged by individual agreement.
The Archive & Field Notes
What is the Archive?
The Archive indexes every BEPCO record (kits, commissions, field notes, and reference documents), each filed under its own reference code.
How do I read a reference code?
A code like BEPCO-R-KT-0009·A reads left to right: the institution, the layer (R for real, F for fictional), the record type (KT for kit), and the serial number. Kits can carry a dotted endcap that names which face of the kit you are looking at, such as ·A for its Archive record or ·S for its Shop listing. The Archival Coding Standard sets out the full rules.
What are Field Notes?
Field Notes are written in two registers. Kevin writes about the real practice, and the Curator files dispatches from inside the fictional universe.
How BEPCO Was Made
What role did AI play in making BEPCO?
BEPCO started with Kevin, and the parts that make it BEPCO are his: the idea, the story of the utility, and the design of every model. Software renders those models, and AI helps in a few specific places. In the table, "Software" means the image was drawn by the modeling program from the actual model, with no AI involved. Each part of BEPCO is listed with who or what made it.
| What | Made by | How |
|---|---|---|
| The idea for and name of BEPCO | Human | Kevin's original idea. |
| The BEPCO story and its lore | Human | Written by Kevin: the utility, its eras and its history. |
| The models (MOCs) | Human | Designed by Kevin in BrickLink Studio, with no AI. |
| Instruction steps | Software | Every step is designed and rendered from the model in BrickLink Studio. |
| Archive images of the models | Software | Rendered from the digital models. Not AI. |
| Booklet layout | Human | Laid out by Kevin in Affinity Publisher. |
| Scenes in the booklets | AI, from real renderings | Generated from real renderings of the model, the same way as the homepage scenes. |
| Box sleeves | Human | Laid out by Kevin in Affinity Publisher. |
| The BEPCO logo | Human | Designed by another awesome human. |
| Homepage scenes and universe images on the website | AI, from real renderings | Generated with AI from real renderings of BEPCO models, then refined over many rounds to remove AI artifacts, until each scene shows something that could be legitimately built in LEGO. |
| Shop product photos | Human + AI | Photographed by Kevin on an iPhone, with light editing using AI. |
| Website code | AI | Written with AI, directed and reviewed by Kevin. |
| Words on the site | Human + AI | Written by Kevin and edited with large language models. |
Privacy & Contact
Does the site use cookies?
Browsing the site sets no cookies. Visitor counts come from Cloudflare Web Analytics, which is cookieless. Stripe may set cookies on its own checkout pages.
What do you do with my email address?
We use it to reply to you and, if you registered interest in an item, to tell you when that item becomes available. If you check Keep me posted on one of our forms, we may also send occasional news about new releases and the studio. You can ask us to stop at any time, and we never sell your address. The full policy is on the Legal page.
How do I contact you?
For orders, refunds, privacy, or accessibility, email support@bepco.studio. For commissions, experiences, and everything else, use Start a Conversation on any page, or email curator@bepco.studio. A person reads every message and replies directly.
Where can I follow BEPCO?
Instagram and X at @bepco_studio, Bluesky and YouTube at @bepco.studio, and LinkedIn at /company/bepco-studio.
Is the site accessible?
An accessibility review is in progress. If anything on the site gets in your way, email support@bepco.studio and we'll help.