For the Love of Brick: Interviews with LEGO Enthusiasts

Greg gets to wear his cultural hat this episode as he chats with US Brick Artist, Kate Hunter, known for her striking mosaics, ranging from recreations of 1960s Pop Art to her own original creations.  Kate shares how creating mosaics was initially a way for her family to cope with COVID lockdown, and how her mosaic sets spread beyond her home, bringing joy and comfort to other members of the local community...

Greg chats with British AFOL Chris Smith from FC Brickstand, a brick football club from the Buildersliga. Chris explains his transition from recreating football stadiums with LEGO to the creation of a fully-fledged brick football club, complete with fierce competition with other teams, an enthusiastic fan base and a star striker...

Greg is introduced to the wonderful world of GBC (great ball contraptions) after chatting with an Aussie GBC expert, Rohan Beckett. Greg learns how GBCs blend fun, engineering and problem-solving together, including some of the ingenious ways GBCs transport balls from point A to B. Rohan shares the joys but also the unique challenges of engaging in this niche LEGO area...

Welcome to For the Love of Brick’s first episode for 2021! To launch Season 2, we are releasing a special episode in celebration of this week’s Brickvention, Australia’s LEGO fan convention hosted in Melbourne. Greg hears from a collection of AFOLs who share their fondest experiences of Brickvention. Common themes of community, creativity and sharing their love of LEGO with their peers and the wider community are throughout this little episode...

In this final episode for 2020, our first ever Christmas Special, we finally learn more about our host, Greg McDonald, and why he thought we needed yet another podcast in this world! We hear from previous guests on how LEGO helped them through 2020, including Greg’s own tale of how LEGO helped him survive self-isolation due to a COVID scare...

Greg chats with Loretta Sanford from UNLEASH (United Network of LEGO Enthusiasts in Senior Housing) – a program that brings the joy of LEGO into the lives of older citizens residing in senior housing. Greg learns about how this innovative program challenges many of the unhelpful assumptions made about older adults’ capabilities and their interests. Loretta also shares the many benefits citizens gain from participating, and how LEGO can be used as a tool to combat bullying in this group...

Greg meets up with fellow Melburnian, Richard Jones, the editor and curator of ‘The Rambling Brick’. Richard shares how his unique take on LEGO eventually resulted in the creation of his long form LEGO blog. Richard introduces us to Bill and Mary- two minifigures first featured in the 6000 Ideas book, and shares his extensively researched speculation about their appearances throughout the years! Richard and Greg discuss their shared enthusiasm for the return of in-person AFOL events...

Greg chats with Shelly Corbett, a fine arts photographer who has made a name for herself in toy photography circles, mostly for her stunning LEGO minifig photographs. Shelly shares with Greg some of the ins and outs of toy photography and why people should consider going on a toy photography adventure themselves! She also enlightens Greg with some very useful tips in transitioning from simply taking photos of plastic toys to capturing photos that make your toys feel alive...

Greg meets with Henry Pinto, whose official title is LEGO Masters Australia 2019 Champion- one half of the winning team with LEGO partner, Cade Franklin. Henry shares behind-the-scenes stories from the set including how Henry’s building style was initially unsuited for the competition, and how Cade and Henry's building styles luckily complimented each other. Greg and Henry have a serious geek out over mechs, and we learn more about Henry’s techniques for building his popular robots...

In today’s episode, Greg sits down with Kevin Hinkle, a talented freelance artist who took a twelve-year detour away from his artistic career to work for LEGO Group. He reflects over the early beginnings of his career, earning slightly above the minimum wage in a LEGO store, to eventually working in LEGO community management covering the North, Central and South America. Kevin also discusses his LEGO comic about LEGO fans, ‘Bricks in the Middle’...