Today we welcome a newcomer to both LEGO Ideas and the 10K Club: Mary, a.k.a. FrillyBadger084, and her LOVER HOUSE. Taylor Swift fans will need no explanation for this product idea created by our superfan. Let Mary know how much you love this idea too!
ABOUT YOURSELF
- Who are you?
Mary.
- Where are you from?
I am from New York but have lived in California for the past 3 years.
- How old are you?
32.
- What do you study or do for a living?
I am a stay-at-home mother to a 3-year-old and 4-year-old. In the coming months, I will be returning to work in the land conservation field.
- What hobbies do you have?
I love to hike, travel, and craft.
- 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 Lover House is by far my most ambitious undertaking and the creation I am the most proud of. In building the house, I used Studio 2.0 software for the first time. I learned as I went, and went back to the drawing board a few times as I became more skilful. In my professional life, I use GIS software to create maps. My joy of mapmaking certainly transferred to the use of the building software.
- How and when did your interest in LEGO products come about?
I have always been a casual fan of LEGO bricks. They have been a constant presence throughout my life. Until recently, I had not explored the hobby deeply but I have always enjoyed creating MOCs at friends’ houses and in recent years have started to enjoy building beginner sets with my children.
- 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.
The LEGO hobby to me is a chance to problem solve and explore my creativity. I love building, following instructions, and expressing myself through arts and crafts. LEGO building combines all of those interests into one joyful hobby. Nostalgia is also a factor as I watch my children enjoy building their own sets, and laughing along while watching the shows and movies.
I am new to the LEGO Ideas community but I have connected with such kind, supportive people in the last few months. I am so grateful for the outpouring of love and support from LEGO builders whose skills far exceed mine.
- What is your favourite LEGO theme (current or past)? Why? And has any theme inspired your building style or preference in any particular way?
I adore the Architecture and Creator Expert sets. I have always had a deep appreciation for architecture and love miniature buildings (as anyone who knows me can tell you). I am forever thankful for the Friends line. When I was a kid LEGO bricks were considered a “boy” toy and I was too young to think too much about it. Encouraging girls’ interests in science, engineering, and the arts is a vital undertaking and I commend the LEGO Group for its efforts.
- What is your favourite official LEGO set ever? Why?
The one that comes immediately to mind is the Treehouse (21318). I love the outdoors so that one really captured my imagination and the changing leaves are brilliant. The use of plant-based plastics was a huge win in my book. This was when I first heard of the LEGO Group's green initiative and I deeply appreciate their commitment to becoming more environmentally friendly.
- What is your favourite LEGO element? Why?
I really like the 2x2 corner brick (2357). I am sure there is a more clever answer I could have come up with but… here we are. I like the way this piece feels in my hand and it certainly came in handy making the Lover House more structurally sound.
- Is there a LEGO designer (official LEGO designer or fan designer) who you are inspired by and look up to? Who and why?
As I am new to the community, I am not familiar with names yet. However, the more I dive into the LEGO world the more blown away I am. Whenever I think I’ve seen the most impressive piece, there is an even more incredible one just around the corner. The LEGO Ideas community is full of creative geniuses. I am floored by their talent.
ABOUT YOUR PROJECT
- Where did your interest in this particular model come from?
I have been a Taylor Swift fan for many years now. Her songwriting drew me in and keeps me coming back album after album. Besides her musicality, Taylor Swift’s use of “easter eggs” makes it so fun to be a fan and keeps us “Swifties” on our toes. The Lover House is one giant “easter egg” representing her body of work. It is THE physical representation of Taylor’s discography.Taylor is currently celebrating her past music through the re-recording of her early album and her upcoming Eras tour (see you in Vegas!). Now is the perfect time to celebrate along with her!
I saw online that the LEGO Social Media channel had responded to someone’s post on Twitter saying that someone should design a LEGO Lover House. I simply thought “well, that sounds fun!” and went for it. I had no idea that there were already a number of people working on the same project and it was already beginning to take on a life of its own.
On a personal note, the song Lover came out just after I had my first child and bought my first home. The song reminded me of the beautiful chapter of my life just previous to that one. Just a few short years before, my husband and I moved into our first place, decorated for our first Christmas, and constantly had our friends crash in our living room. All things touched on in Lover. When I first saw the music video for the song, I cried while holding my infant daughter as it was revealed that it was Taylor’s character’s daughter holding the snowglobe in which the entire video takes place.
- 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?
I built the first prototype in 2 full days but continued to work on it for weeks after. I had never used Brinklink’s Studio before so I had to teach myself how to use the software as I went. I watched countless YouTube videos to learn building techniques and watched and rewatched the Lover music video, pausing each scene to study the details. I ended up building 3 versions of the house before I got it right.
- What special challenges did you face creating the model? What was the most difficult part to recreate?
It took me a while to figure out the best way to create the upside-down ceiling in the yellow (Fearless) room. I ended up connecting studs to 4081b modified plates. It took a lot of trial and error.
I also worked hard to find a balance between brick count and detail. I want my build to be accessible to people who may not often invest in LEGO sets, while still doing justice to the source material. The video is vibrant and full of beautiful details that I wanted to include, but I also didn’t want to get carried away with the size of the piece.
- 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 would tell myself to do all the editing before submitting! That seems obvious now, but at the time I didn’t think that hard before hitting submit. I thought I would have more time to edit my design before a large audience saw it.
- 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?
Completing the model took a lot of my bandwidth for two or three weeks. There was definitely a learning curve that slowed me down a bit. It took me quite a bit of time to build compared to how quickly it gained support.
- How did it feel when you reached the magic 10,000 votes and how long did it take?
It took 2 days for my design to reach 10k. It was a wild ride! It left my hands and took on a viral life of its own. The 2 days the design was up for support happened to coincide with Thanksgiving here in the States. Most people in the US were home with family that day, eating turkey and giving thanks. I was trying to be present with my children but to be honest, I was a bit distracted by the vote count rising by the second. When I finally forced myself to sleep that night, I had reached 9,000 supporters. The next morning I woke up to excited messages from my loved ones congratulating me on hitting 10k.I think a lot about the people who supported my design. I imagine them, around the world, seeing my design (perhaps even making a LEGO account just to vote) and hitting “support”. Knowing there are real people behind that magic 10k number that are just as excited by this idea as I am is a pretty special thing.
- Approximately how many LEGO bricks did you use to create your model?
There are 1,193 parts in my piece.
- What is your favourite building technique or part/section that you’ve incorporated into your Product Idea?
I had a lot of fun adding easter eggs to the design. Each room has an element that calls back to a lyric or theme from the album represented by the room. I even included a “lavender haze” coming out of the chimney to represent Taylor’s latest album Midnights.
- If you built your model digitally, what software did you use to build and render your model?
I used Bricklink Studio.
- If you used custom stickers or prints for your design, how did you create them or where did you get them?
I created stickers for a few of the easter eggs using the Bricklink PartDesigner.
ABOUT LEGO IDEAS
- Do you have any useful advice about creating a successful LEGO Ideas project?
I think a successful Idea is all about passion; conveying your own, and appealing to other people's. As far as bringing it to the finish line, I do believe a good method is to find people outside the LEGO community who may be interested in the design and gain their support. If you don’t have an online presence (like me) find people who do and partner with them.
- What (if any) methods did you use to advertise and attract support for your Product Idea?
I posted my Idea in a Facebook group and it took off from there. People shared it on Twitter, Instagram, Reddit, Tiktok… all over the place really. I got very lucky. The Swiftie community rallied behind the Idea and showed just how excited they would be to have a LEGO Lover House.
- What is your favourite LEGO Ideas Product Idea (besides your own of course)? Are there any Product Ideas you think have been overlooked?
I really love the LED LAMP by Castor-Troy. It’s a beautiful piece and would be a great addition to the home of any LEGO lover.
- What is it about the platform that attracts you? What tips would you give to anyone who is thinking about uploading an idea?
The Ideas out there show the beauty of humanity. The diversity of the ideas and the users’ support for one another creates a special community and snapshot of the human experience. To anyone thinking about submitting an idea, I say go for it! You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take! Even if it doesn’t gain the needed support, it’s a fun way to connect with like-minded people.
- 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?
I do! Hopefully, I can get the idea out there swiftly.
