I am writing on behalf of my daughter Jess, total aficionado and mega pro on LEGOs®. She has been working on many pieces by herself but when she moved back home recently, things went to the next level. It became our thing. Now, mind you, she is the one building but she delegated responsibilities to me such as opening bags and organizing pieces, as well as being the snack person. Lol. Absolutely loved it as it connected me back with my daughter and I recovered so much time lost while she was a kid and I was too busy working :(. LEGOs® brought us closer and build a connection that we were trying to establish back for so long.
That is our happy story of a mom who reconnected with her daughter through LEGOs®.
Unfortunately, shortly after we had a good thing going, she had several pieces that we acquired over months and mommy even financed some, Hurricane Helene came and literally washed it all away. We could not salvage even 10% of her pieces. We had done masterpieces such as the lighthouse, milky way, Concorde, museum, many cars and all the flowers, Japanese garden and the pyramid, oh my, so many. Millennium Falcon!
We lost everything on the storm and could only salvage very little personal items such as clothes. It was very sad to see her whole collection, pride and joy, all gone with the surge. And it had been emotionally drowning.
Although this was an extremely happy story in the beginning, it turned out to be really sad because of a disaster outside of our control. We’re trying to rebuild our lives but LEGOs® were such a big part of such a happy part of our lives, that I wanted to share with everyone. I don’t know when we will build LEGOs® again, but I sure do hope it happens soon!
A rising star in the LEGO®-sphere is about to Super Nova! Her name is Mati Stack. Her LEGO® journey began at the age of seven when her “papi”(Spanish for father) gifted her first LEGO® set.
She hails from the Bronx, in New York City and is of Puerto Rican descent, just like “JLO from the block,” and is affectionately our LEGO® JLO from the “Brick” (pun intended). Even more intriguing about Mati is she attended the prestigious Aviation High School in New York City, where she learned technical skills, including the building of aircraft out of wood and metal structures.
Photo submitted by: Mati Stack
She learned to work with her hands, and building is now simply an intuitive skill for her. Mati is a lifelong Star Wars fan. And in 2015 she was inducted back into the LEGO®-sphere through the Star Wars micro sets. She became infatuated with the ability to build using LEGO® bricks. Then, in 2016, she attended her first LEGO® convention, where she was introduced to artists and artwork using LEGO® as the creative canvas.
Photo submitted by: Mati Stack
Photo submitted by: Mati Stack
Photo submitted by: Mati Stack
Photo submitted by: Mati Stack
Photo submitted by: Mati Stack
Photo submitted by: Mati Stack
Photo submitted by: Mati Stack
Photo submitted by: Mati Stack
Photo submitted by: Mati Stack
Photo submitted by: Mati Stack
Photo submitted by: Mati Stack
Photo submitted by: Mati Stack
Influenced by these artists, she repeatedly attended moreconventions as a novice artist herself. At the premiere of LEGO® Masters she connected with a few contestants, and her passion blossomed.
Photo submitted by: Mati Stack
Photo submitted by: Mati Stack
Photo submitted by: Mati Stack
Photo submitted by: Mati Stack
Photo submitted by: Mati Stack
Photo submitted by: Mati Stack
She became an exhibitor at conventions and immersed herself into making LEGO® art and tryout for the LEGO® master show as well. Her LEGO® building team is affectionately named the “Puerto Brickans,” paying homage to her own cultural heritage. Mati and her daughter are the creative power house of this team. They made it as far as alternates and strive to appear in the LEGO® show. She received commissions to build LEGO® art pieces for wealthy clients in the past two years and was encouraged to display her works in a studio. Her LEGO® passion filled every part of her life.
Photo submitted by: Mati Stack
While spending weekends creating LEGO® art with her granddaughter, she saw that something more was happening: They created art and icons of the time they spent together and served as a memory of the smiles and laughter they shared together. That’s when her concept of building friendships and memories with LEGO® bricks was born. She then launched the “Brick Cre8” concept and business model.
Mati Stack – Florida, USA
Find out more about Mati’s new venture, Brick Create:
Why am I the luckiest girl in the world? In 2017, I met Paul Hetherington and a few months later we began dating. He’s an incredibly talented artist who uses LEGO® as his medium.
Paul setting up at LEGO® House Masterpiece Gallery in 2019
When we met, I knew Paul was well immersed in the LEGO® world, but I didn’t really know what that meant. I was naive to the idea that the LEGO® world was this huge culture of AFOLs, conventions, LEGO® clubs, LEGO® Artists, and much more. I have never encountered a company so down to earth and eager to listen to what their fans/consumers want as The LEGO® Group is. LEGO® is a lifestyle, I quickly learned.
Fast forward to today. In the just three years, I have been to 21 LEGO® conventions and 4 virtual ones; LEGOLAND® in Billund, Denmark; LEGO® House during the Masterpiece Gallery setup day (because Paul was invited to display a model in there) and AFOL Day.
Our LEGO® House Experience in Billund: A Memorable Journey with Paul Hetherington in 2019
I’ve stayed at the Knight’s Castle LEGOLAND® Hotel in Billund, Denmark; I’ve added many stamps to my LEGO® Passport from all over, and I have made some amazing memories with some incredible people. Being a big kid at heart, I am having the time of my life. Thank you, Paul!
The Lego Conventions I’ve attended in person include BrickCon, Seattle; BrickCan, Vancouver; BricksCascade, Portland; Brickworld Chicago; BrickNation (display at Emerald City Comic Con), Seattle; Skaerbæk Fan Weekend, Denmark; and many Brick Universe shows throughout America… I have been to all of these conventions more than once, with the exception of Skaerbæk. In the past year, I have also experienced 4 Virtual LEGO Conventions: BrickCan Virtual, BrickCon Virtual, BricksLA Virtual, and Brickvention Australia.
Each convention is jam-packed with games, MOCs, friends, sightseeing, and great new memories. It’s always a rush to do everything and see everyone, even when the con happens at home. That’s part of the fun.
In 2019, I became a member of the VLC, the Vancouver LEGO® Club. I love to follow directions, so building sets is what I am most comfortable with. This year, I finally got up the nerve to attempt my first MOC (my-own-creation).
Creating a MOC for the first time a daunting process, but it’s even more daunting when I’m dating an artist of Paul’s caliber. With lots of advice from friends and Paul to help answer questions during the process, I did it! It sure felt good when my MOC was completed, the 6 months it took me to build it felt like a lifetime. I chose to create a mosaic instead of a 3D MOC because I thought it would be easier. Silly me! The biggest lesson learned was that mosaics are NOT easy. For my first MOC, I chose something that is a big part of my life, Garbage Pail Kids.
I created the Garbage Pail Kids logo because they’re one of my all-time favorite fandoms
I have been a GPK collector since the 80’s. I decided to do a mosaic of the classic Original Series 1 card, 8a – Adam Bomb. I put my own spin on it, and added my favorite color, Pink, into the background. It is now on display in our house.
My first MOC
Each Convention is unique. From the AFOLs who attend, to the location, to the talks, to the games, to the swag, to the vendors, and to the MOCs. At Brick Universe I volunteer as part of the team, my biggest job there in the past has been dismantling the LEGO® when the kids are done playing with it in the Build Zones, but I do many other things as well. I may or may not have the nickname Godzilla when I am dismantling brick. Haha!
Volunteering for Brick Universe has been the experience of a lifetime. The Brick Universe team is (like) a big family, and it is geared towards families to attend instead of classic Conventions which are geared toward AFOLs. Brick Universe also has LEGO® Clubs and AFOLs display models, and a lot of AFOLs and couples attend the show as well. There is something for everyone. I highly recommend it.
Volunteering at a LEGO Convention!
One of the unique (and amusing) things about dating an Artist who uses LEGO® as his medium, is the look on people’s face when they ask you what my spouse does for work. Or what I do for fun. People have openly gasped, laughed, and become super awkward once I answered. I secretly enjoy these responses, because people have no idea what they are missing on. It’s fun to keep some mystery to the AFOL world and LEGO® lifestyle. It’s like a not-so-secret club of super fun and talented people who can make little plastic bricks look cool. I love it!
They say Nothing Lasts forever, but I hope this lasts a lifetime. My motto has always been, Never Grow Up, and I think I have achieved that.
The excitement is building! Time to go do just that.
Melissa Rekve (Aka Lil’ Bricks!), North Vancouver – Canada
One of my friends I’ve known for 6 years, Ted Wahler Jr, checked in on me yesterday to make sure I wasn’t too stressed at work. I mentioned how I’ve been building LEGO® here to help reduce stress. I’ve been collecting and building LEGO® for just over a year, and I haven’t really spoken about it to other people until recently when I really started getting into the groups, forums, and conventions to meet other LEGO® enthusiasts.
Ted had no idea that I was into LEGO® and he asked me if I knew his connection to LEGO®, which I didn’t, so I asked him about it. It turns out, his dad ran the Samsonite Toy division in the 1960s when LEGO® came to America. Wait, what?!
This is what Ted shared with me:
“As you know, LEGO® originated in Denmark, a gentleman named Christiansen licensed the rights to Samsonite for manufacture and sales in the US. Samsonite hired my Father, also named Ted Wahler, to run that division. He ran the LEGO® division until Samsonite gave it up in the early seventies. I was the first model in the first set brochure, I think in 1963. My brother, Eric Wahler, was the second. My father took it from the 2 brick, 4, 6, and 8 block. He invented baseplates, longer blocks, the motor and gears, the roof blocks, windows, and some that I am not thinking about right now. We were the guinea pigs. We always had prototype toys costing thousands of dollars each but never the regular toys the other kids had. I built a model Monticello for a school project once from hand made pieces that were being invented as I built. They were then approved and went into production.”
I looked up some of the 1960s brochures and we found the ones with him and his brother. This is my friend Ted in the picture:
Source: Brickfetish.com
Ted also told me that he felt that his father never seemed to have received the accolades he deserved for all of the innovations he brought to LEGO®. It was easy for him to see his dad’s contributions because he “sat at the kitchen table with him as my dad welded with acetone, glued with epoxy, and cut and pasted bits and pieces together. Then he tested it on us – his kids. Some of those eventually made it to production.” His dad was “dedicated to learning pathways, personal creativity, and using play to build critical thinking skills”.
“Frankly, my poor Father would hate all of the single purpose kits that seem to be the core of the product line now. We had a one foot by six foot box of “floor sweepings”, which were the blocks that fell on the factory floor, that us brothers would sit around and build stuff from. That was his vision. Not a lot of kids had a Dad with a clipboard watching them play I’m guessing.”
I explained to Ted how kids these days usually take the sets apart after they build them to build their own creations, so that’s something that Ted’s dad would have been happy about. I shared with him how the world of MOC’s (my own creations/custom builds) is huge, and shared some MOC LEGO® groups with him.
About my story with LEGO®: I met Ted at a Float Conference 6 years ago. We both run massage therapy/float therapy centers, which are great for helping people reduce stress, among other great benefits such as helping with anxiety, pain, and other mental health disorders. But running a float center can be very stressful.
I bought a few of the UCS Star Wars LEGO® sets during a trip to the Mall of America about 6 years ago. I had no intention of buying LEGO® during that trip to Minneapolis, but I stopped by the Mall of America because I wanted to see the large sculptures that I had seen in pictures. I’ve always been a huge Star Wars fan and after seeing some of the UCS sets they had at the store I thought to myself, “wow, LEGO® has come a long way since I was a kid. These would look amazing on display at home”.
Photo by author
So I bought 6 sets that day, had fun building them, and had them on display for years. When LEGO® released the newer UCS Millennium I bought it, and shortly after that I REALLY got back into LEGO® building and collecting.
And I am probably never going to stop. And although my friend’s dad, Ted Wahler Sr., might have not received the accolades he deserved when he was alive, it seems that he played a major role in bringing Old Kirk Christensen’s vision to America to help shape how we all know and play with LEGO® today, and I’ll never forget that. And I am probably never going to stop. And although my friend’s dad, Ted Wahler Sr. might have not received the accolades he deserved when he was alive, it seems that he played a major role in bringing Old Kirk Christensen’s vision to America to help shape how we all know and play with LEGO® today, and I’ll never forget that.
My LEGO® story is a relatively short one. It began a year ago when I met the love of my life.
Having never really been interested in LEGO® except from a few of those big green bricks when I was a child, I remember walking into his tiny apartment and seeing the giant Star Wars Millennium Falcon taking pride of place in the living room as clear as day. I immediately walked over to it, reaching out. ‘Don’t touch it’ he said.
I’ll be honest, at the time I didn’t understand the fuss over LEGO®. It’s just a toy, right?
Although I never got a knack for doing LEGO® myself, it makes me happy watching him get excited over a new release or building the newly-arrived set.
I’ve been on my hands and knees countless times looking for a missing piece, lifting furniture up, checking the hoover. LEGO® has been scattered over every possible surface in the house with dishes, trays, plates, and bowls being used to sort each bag.
I smile when he gets a new set and opens the box for the first time proudly showing me the shiny manual. I too feel calm when he’s doing LEGO® to distract his mind, knowing he is safe and looking after himself.
Photo credit: Renay
Over time I’ve evolved to see LEGO® for what it truly is.
Something that brings calmness and joy when everything is turbulent around you. A moment of peace and structure in uncertainty.
I’m looking forward to continuing my LEGO® story, albeit through someone else.
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