A market artisan is using his unique tribute to local law enforcement as a means to aid the families affected by a recent tragedy.
Daniel Design normally has a booth camped out at the Evans Market, selling custom, 3-D printed figures, many of beloved pop culture characters of the likes of Marvel and Star Wars.
Co-founder Chris Daniel, who counts several law enforcement officers among his friends, began making LEGO-style police figures not long after fashioning one for his stepfather, an officer himself, as a Christmas gift.
“He was like, ‘Oh, dude, I totally need to get these for my whole crew!’ ” recalled Daniel. “I was like, ‘Okay, yeah, no problem… I gave him his, and he thought it was the best thing in this world, and his wife loved it, and so I did his whole shift.”
When Daniel learned about the April 26 shooting incident in which Columbia County Sheriff’s Deputy Brandon Sikes was killed and Deputy Gavin White injured, he worriedly tried to contact his friends in the department to make sure they were safe. While he was relieved to find out his friends were okay, he felt compelled to respond in a way to honor the gravity of the loss.
“I found out that Brandon died, and that White was injured, and that [Deputy Andrew] Brown risked everything he could to get White out of there. So that’s where I jumped forward,” Daniel said. “I said, ‘You know, I need to do something. We need to do something. Why don’t we make LEGO figures and sell them and all proceeds go to their families to help out.’”
The figures are about nine and a half inches tall, designed in a Columbia County Sheriff’s Deputy uniform, complete with a badge and a black stripe across the torso — an optional feature. The mini-officer’s cap has the word “Sheriff” printed across it. For Sikes’ wife, Daniel said, he customized the figure of her husband with the word “Dad” printed across the cap instead.
He crafted Deputy Sikes’ figure for Mrs. Sikes at no charge.
Daniel, who is legally blind, launched his business in 2019, originally crafting wooden American flags. Between word of mouth and media attention, his wood-carved flags proved successful.
The business model shifted largely to 3D printing after his wife took up the practice during COVID, and the couple began selling mostly the customized printed figures at the market. Since offering to sell the police LEGO figures in honor of Sikes, White and Brown, he’s received more orders than expected, he said.
Completing one figure can take up to two days, and he accepts no money up front. All of the proceeds from the law enforcement LEGO figures are to go to the deputies’ families.
Daniel Designs is also partnering with fellow Evans Market vendor JB Pen Turning, who is selling special editions of its customized ink pens in honor of the deputies as well.
For Daniel, the sale of little deputies is not only about remembering Sikes, recognizing White and Brown, or aiding their families in their grief — though it is certainly about those things, too — but about honoring law enforcement and military service members.
“That’s a big thing for me,” Daniel said. “Law enforcement military, the things they go through every day, the things they deal with to make sure our community’s safe, our country is safe. We are safe. You know, the freedoms we have because of them? Yeah, hands down… I will support my military and my law enforcement any chance I get.”
Skyler Andrews is a reporter covering business for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
