Welcome to another 10K Club Interview. Today, we welcome a new member, Flavio (a.k.a. Feace) and his fantastic HEARTSTOPPER CHARLIE'S ROOM. Flavio wanted to create a set which expresses the values of the hit show, and we think he has done a fantastic job. Let Flavio know if you love it, too!
ABOUT YOURSELF
- Who are you?
My name is Flavio, aka Feacebricks!
- Where are you from?
I live in Treviso, a small medieval city, near Venice, in Italy, Europe.
- How old are you?
I’m 44.
- What do you study or do for a living?
I work as the director of a nursing home and kindergarten.
- What hobbies do you have?
I think I don’t have a specific hobby… I spend my free time watching tv series, visiting friends, running, going to the gym, and walking. I love visiting archaeological sites and reading self-growth books. And for almost three years I have loved building with LEGO bricks, obviously!
- Do you have a personal LEGO portfolio website that you can share with us?
Unfortunately, I don’t have one at the moment, I have just designed a couple of original models so far. Moreover, I build official sets in order to discover new elements, learn new techniques and increase the number of bricks! But I have an Instagram profile specifically for my LEGO passion.
- Have you created any LEGO MOCs (my own creations) that you’re particularly proud of? What is it, why are you proud of it and do you have a photo of it?
The MOC I am most proud of, except 'Heartstopper Charlie’s Room', is a modular building I am currently building, set in an imaginary world - but it’s not completed yet, so I cannot show it!
- How and when did your interest in LEGO products come about?
In my first childhood memories, my dearest toys always have been LEGO bricks; I used to build labyrinths for marbles, spaceships and numerous fantasy houses! I would have loved to have more LEGO bricks, but my parents were frugal. Then, between the age of 16 to 40 years old, I got away from it, I studied, and I worked (too much) to then get back to LEGO building with great joy!
- What is the LEGO hobby to you? What does it mean to you? How does it fit in your life? E.g. build, display, meetups, play the games or 'just' watch the cartoons.
To me, LEGO bricks have been key to giving me the chance to be creative and to express myself artistically, in a space of serenity, full of colours and endless creative opportunities. Now, I collect and build official sets, I build my own creations, I read blogs and magazines dedicated to the LEGO world and I go to LEGO-themed exhibitions.
- What is your favourite LEGO theme (current or past)? Why? And has any theme inspired your building style or preference in any particular way?
My favourite LEGO theme, as a child, was Town. I never had enough bricks for my city projects. Maybe that’s why now I particularly love the Modular Building collections and the Winter Village, and I also like and buy Creator Experts, Creator 3 in 1 and Ideas collection sets - above all, when the world is recreated on minifigure scale! Considering that, those themes influence what I build now.
- What is your favourite official LEGO set ever? Why?
I am happy to reply to this question because there are two sets that I adore. I chose them thinking about those I am most sentimentally connected to. The first one is 'Weekend Home (6370, dated 1985) because it was the first and the biggest set I ever had as a child. I built it in 1000 different ways! The other one is the Pet Shop set (10218, dated 2011) because when I saw it, in February 2019, I was speechless after seeing what LEGO sets had become during the 24 years I hadn’t followed it, so I decided to buy and that’s how my 'dark age' ended. Fortunately!
- What is your favourite LEGO element? Why?
It might sound trivial, but I think it is the 1x2 brick. I choose it on behalf of 1-stud width bricks. During my childhood, I needed them for my great projects, but I had never enough of them! Now I like having of all of the colours and it relaxes me even building simple stuff using them as an anti-stress…
- Is there a LEGO designer (official LEGO designer or fan designer) who you are inspired by and look up to? Who and why?
I don’t know many designers, but among the fans, Brickester (his Minifigure scale models are original, aesthetically beautiful, complex in techniques, but harmonious and super interesting in the final result). Norton74, who’s Italian like me - I admire his works and the dedication to his passion, and I can’t wait to buy his A-Frame LEGO Ideas set! Among the professionals, Jamie Berard, for his contribution to the modular buildings line, and Marcos Bessa, very talented, who also made a comment I appreciated.
- Is there one or more particular LEGO-related websites (not official LEGO websites) that you visit often and/or are inspired by?
I often visit The Brick Fan and The Brick Blogger to read the latest news, The Brothers Brick to see original creations, and then I check out Tips&Bricks regularly, for new techniques and ideas.
ABOUT YOUR PROJECT
- Where did your interest in this particular model come from?
It was April 2022. I watched the 'Heartstopper' series on Netflix, based on Alice Oseman’s comics. It moved me to tears, and… I don’t get easily moved. There is something big and powerful about the process of discovering themselves and the affectivity of those young, in their desire to be who they are and the pride to affirm their own identity. I felt the urge to realize a LEGO project that fixed in my mind their world, that made me part of the construction of that world. So in a few weeks 'Heartstopper Charlie’s Room' was born. My partner and some friends of mine told me that the set was brilliant and, as a fan of the 'Ideas' theme, I thought this would make a great submission.
- How long was the process of making the project, and what did you have to research as well? What kind of prep, research and design phases did you go through to produce your creation?
The set-up, research and study process took 3-4 days. Characters and design are not random, but they respond to my objective: spreading the most important values of the series.
Well, first of all, I saw the entire series 3 times (and that’s because I loved it), and then I thought about the characters, the atmosphere, and the values shown to decide the subject and how to create it. Reading some reviews of the series has been helpful. I then read the comics, I collected photos of the sets and their details, read the main character’s interviews and those in charge. So, I started building what I decided to make. Nothing was changed during the development, but some small details were.
- What special challenges did you face creating the model? What was the most difficult part to recreate?
The most challenging part was respecting the scale and Charlie’s room's look as much as possible, in the meanwhile making everything LEGO-like ('LEGOloso, as I say in Italian) using proportions, forms and colour characteristics of official minifigures and LEGO sets. I am quite satisfied.
The most difficult part was the bookcase… it could seem strange but reproducing the original one accurately and respecting the proportions turned out to be impossible, so I needed to use various strategies, but they came in handy for the rest of the project.
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If you could talk to yourself before you started on this project, what would you tell them? What do you know now that you wish you knew then?
I’d say it’s good to build what I feel like building: it’s always the best thing. If by chance I want to share it and it pleases others, or even represents something valuable for others, like in this case, that’s even better! Building with LEGO bricks is not my job, and it is good I build for my very own pleasure. That’s how it has been… then, my creation reaching 10K is a bonus! - How long did it take to complete the model? Did you finish it fairly quickly, or did it take a long time? And how did the build time compare to the time you spent promoting your Product Idea to reach 10,000 supporters?
Building the model took 4-5 weeks. I’d say roughly 100 hours in total. I wanted to respect the details.Unfortunately, publicising the project, as I don’t use socials much, needed a lot of effort and commitment. I definitely like building with bricks much more, but I wanted to give my creation a chance to be developed because I think that could make me extremely happy and also help many people around the world to feel peaceful and optimistic.
- How did it feel when you reached the magic 10,000 votes and how long did it take?
My goal at the beginning was to reach 100 supporters within 60 days, as requested by the platform to stay in the competition! I was afraid I couldn’t make it, but things went differently. The feedback was incredible, in 66 days the project reached 10.000 supporters.When I found out my heart exploded with joy, and I was overwhelmed… I am not accustomed to the peak of happiness, so that was really great! I can never thank enough all the people that helped me, for their support and for often telling me their fears and hopes: I hope Charlie's room will make it, for all of them. And also for young people who would be happy simply knowing that such a project existed despite not being able to buy it, as I have been told, in many countries they would put themselves at risk by doing so - that’s the sad situation for a lot of LGBT+ people across the world.
- Approximately how many LEGO bricks did you use to create your model?
The total count is around 950 pieces.
- What is your favourite building technique or part/section that you’ve incorporated into your Product Idea?
My favourite part is Charlie’s bed. I made it many times! And also the choice of colours in general, and the details as well.
- If you built your model digitally, what software did you use to build and render your model?
I used Stud.io. I didn’t build it physically for two reasons. I don’t have that many pieces, and to reflect the series and the comic I had to have a certain amount of bricks in some colours that are not produced yet. The software made that possible.
- If you used custom stickers or prints for your design, how did you create them or where did you get them?
My partner Sebastiano is a graphic designer. He realised the necessary images using Adobe Photoshop; then he encouraged and supported me. I thank him very much! Thanks to my friend Enrico. too.
ABOUT LEGO IDEAS
- Do you have any useful advice about creating a successful LEGO Ideas project?
Yes, but it depends on the meaning you give to the word “success”. If that’s the mere reaching 10,000 supporters, projects based on something mainstream are advantaged, the more known, the better…But for me, success is feeling happiness, joy and deep satisfaction for what I do, and sharing it with those who share this feeling (and that’s what I intend for success), so look at point 4 of 'About Your Project'.
- What (if any) methods did you use to advertise and attract support for your Product Idea?
I created small updates and videos of stories, trying to show the playability of my set, which I shared on the LEGO Ideas platform as well as on Facebook.
- What is your favourite LEGO Ideas Product Idea (besides your own of course)? Are there any Product Ideas you think have been overlooked?
My favourite LEGO Ideas product is the Treehouse (21318 of 2019) by fan designer Kevin Feeser and LEGO designer César Soares. It’s original, heartwarming, colourful and still realistic, all of us dreamed about a tree house, and… it’s on a minifigure scale!I’d have loved to see produced 'The Meeting Point' by Brickester, 'Seasons in Time Calendar' by Brent Waller and The Little Venice by Bricky_Brick.
- What is it about the platform that attracts you? What tips would you give to anyone who is thinking about uploading an idea?
Of course, the possibility for fans to see their ideas spread around the world if chosen by LEGO Ideas is an incredible and once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a LEGO enthusiast/fan! My advice is once again in point 4 of 'About Your Project': having a passion for what you build, furthermore, if you then produce value for other people, it will only be a greater satisfaction.
- Do you have plans to submit any other Product Ideas in the future? If yes, can you give us a hint of what that might be?
Maybe yes. I have dreamt of accomplishing a certain thing using LEGO bricks since I was a child, and no one has done it in the world yet, at least I have never heard of it (despite looking for it with commitment and effort). It does not have an educational, social and emotional value like "Heartstopper Charlie's room" has, however aesthetically I like it a lot. It is a great challenge, perhaps this is the reason it doesn’t yet exist and I hope to be able to make it happen! Who knows if I'll upload it to LEGO Ideas, maybe yes, but for sure without spending too much time on promotion because it's not something I like to do...Thanks to LEGO Ideas staff for this chance to share my thoughts with other LEGO fans like me! Good wishes to everybody!
Flavio.
