{"id":8541,"date":"2024-04-30T11:43:41","date_gmt":"2024-04-30T10:43:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.recruitireland.com\/advice-centre\/?p=8541"},"modified":"2024-05-03T11:46:06","modified_gmt":"2024-05-03T10:46:06","slug":"i-get-to-feel-like-a-magician-at-work-every-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.recruitireland.com\/advice-centre\/i-get-to-feel-like-a-magician-at-work-every-day\/","title":{"rendered":"“I get to feel like a magician at work every day!”"},"content":{"rendered":"

This month, we chat to Michael O’Brien, who helps make magic happen every day while working in Europe’s only toy soldier factory.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The notion that if you find a job you love doing, then you\u2019ll never have to work a day in your life is an ideal worth aspiring to many of us; an end goal somewhere far off in the distance.<\/p>\n

It becomes a downright necessity, however, when your job is one that happens to take up six days of the week!<\/p>\n

Such is the case for the dedicated team at Prince August Toy Soldier Factory, which is open for business Monday to Saturday year-round, with the exception of Christmas holidays and St Patrick\u2019s Day.<\/p>\n

Since 1976, the Cork-based factory has been making a name for itself amongst \u2018hobby casters\u2019 and toymaking enthusiasts of all ages nationwide. Not only do Prince August manufacture and sell their own beautiful signature range of miniature figures, but they also offer customers the chance to create their own entirely unique toys from scratch, either at home by using one of the company\u2019s custom moulds, or under expert guidance at one of the toy factory\u2019s workshops.<\/p>\n

Media manager Michael O\u2019Brien is one of the small team of eight people that keeps the Toy Soldier Factory up and running. He\u2019s been working there for over two decades, and says one of his favourite parts of the job is how much joy their work can bring to people.<\/p>\n

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Michael O’Brien pictured in full toy soldier uniform ready to welcome eager visitors to the factory.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWhen we do the workshops here at the factory, you can just see the happiness on people\u2019s faces and the delight that they get from creating their own miniatures from scratch, or from painting and decorating miniatures after they\u2019ve watched us making them.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve previously attended showcases such as Toys 4 Big Boys in Dublin, and people\u2019s eyes would just light up when they\u2019d watch what we were doing. I suppose people love it because it is just such a different experience from anything else you might see \u2013 we prepare the metal to create the toys right there in front of them, and the way the metal bar melts down before their eyes is like something out of the Terminator films! Then we pour it all into a mould and a few minutes later it\u2019s set and you have your own beautiful miniature figure, like magic. I feel like I\u2019m David Copperfield in a way!<\/p>\n