Subject:
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Re: LEGO Dreams
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.general
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Date:
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Wed, 31 Aug 2005 17:03:41 GMT
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Viewed:
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821 times
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In lugnet.general, Ben Fleskes wrote:
Comments inline...
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It was nearly 10 years ago that Dan Parker, Steve Barile and I sat around a
table dreaming of things that may be. Wouldn’t it be cool if we could talk
directly to LEGO? Influence product designs? Have LEGO clubs all over the
country doing the same thing we were just starting to do? And here we are, 10
years later and so it is. At the time, these things sounded like pie in the
sky.
Now I find myself dreaming again. I look at all the AFOL talent that is out
there – in terms of building talent, organizational ability and
entrepreneurship. I take this moment in time to share some of the dreams in
my head for the next ten years.
Ten years from now:
- When people design or remodel their homes, they will make having a LEGO room a requirement much like many people now have media rooms.
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I would term it more of a play room, but that’s me :-)
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- will be able to sign up for LEGO building classes in their community, much like they would take a pottery or drawing class.
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This is an idea that I had considered for a college curriculum - I graduated
from a design school, and using LEGO elements as a 3-D prototyping medium is
something that is happening already in some firms. I was thinking of 3-D design
sketching, much like marker rendering is used for fast visualization.
The idea of making a community college class of LEGO building is a really neat
thought, and easier to implement. With Allan Bedford’s book coming out, there is
a textbook available too:-)
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- will be a monthly print based AFOL magazine.
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Hey...:-)
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- will be regional, all LEGO shows much like Antique or Train shows that travel the country.
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That is almost possible now.
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I suspect others have dreamed of these or similar things.
Elaborating further:
Perhaps one of the Architects or similarly talented people in the AFOL
community will design the ultimate LEGO room for an AFOL. Everything from a
building tables to the storage system and lighting. Browsing the web I’ve
seen some very impressive LEGO rooms
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I would like to see this happen. I have seen the proverbial LEGO Basement for
more than a few AFOLs, and it would be a logical step to see a LEGO studio
space.
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With all the sessions given at regional LEGO conferences, much of the
material for LEGO building class has been broached, pulling all that
information together into a class format, convincing schools to offer the
class, finding people to teach the classes are all challenges that lie ahead.
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And those challenges are not quite as bad as they seem...one thing to remember
is that the AFOL community is mostly college-educated (or working on it) and
willing to share their knowledge.
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BrickJournal is off to a phenomenal start. I was so impressed I ordered the
print version from lulu.com. Congratulations to Joe and everyone else that
are working hard to make this happen. I suspect, however, the AFOL community
may need to double or triple in size before a offset print magazine can be
sustainable.
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Thanks! I can easily say that this is a labor of love. And yes, a monthly
edition is a goal that I would like to reach. And it is reachable. But it will
take more than the AFOL community to do this.
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Enough talent is growing in the AFOL community where all LEGO regional shows
can start working. Specifically, I’m talking about a shows where LEGO is the
headline and people pay a fee to get in. Vendors give a cut to the show
organizers. Some of this is already happening, but most of it is hinging on
volunteer effort. To make is sustainable, a revenue generating model needs
to become more established.
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Very true...all the models for events and activities will have to be changed to
a business model, and that is happening. We’re starting to do it, and BrickFest
is going that direction from what I am seeing.
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All of these dreams are fully within the reach and control of the AFOL
community. LEGO will continue to do what it does – make the best
construction toy in the world. These dreams could certainly be facilitated by
LEGO and it is certainly in their interests to see these things happen and be
successful. But these dreams do not require LEGO to participate. Those with
the right mix of Passion, Stick-to-it-iveness, Acumen can make these happen –
or perhaps their own dreams.
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And I have seen these people. I work with them on the magazine, at events, and
write to them on e-mail...and I encourage them to explore and, as someone told
me, “find their niche.”
This is a very exciting time for the community. While many are seeing the
negatives, there’s also a lot of opportunities opening up as the community
begins going “mainstream.”
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Admittedly, my contributions have been limited in the last few years. 2.5
years ago I married a beautiful woman I’m grateful to call my wife. We have
a beautiful baby boy and another on the way. For the near future, my LEGO
time will be limited as I prioritize my family.
Right now, my biggest dream is to raise a healthy family and I leave these
dreams to others. Perhaps you will find some inspiration in what I’ve
written here.
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And that is a very good dream to have.
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And that gets me to my final point. I’ve been involved in the LEGO community
long enough to see so may dreams realized. But sometimes, those dreams took
so much work that the fun left LEGO for them. I do not wish that on anyone.
So my first dream for everyone is to keep the fun.
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For me, the fun is just beginning....
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Play well.
Ben Fleskes
Part of the AFOL community since 1995
co founder of PNLTC
Member of GPLR
Owner, Big Ben Bricks LLC
And a pretty good LEGO builder
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Joe Meno
Editor/Publisher, BrickJournal
Part of the AFOL community since 2000
Administrator, NCLUG
Member, NCLUG and WAMALUG
and a not bad builder!
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Message is in Reply To:
 | | LEGO Dreams
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| LEGO Dreams It was nearly 10 years ago that Dan Parker, Steve Barile and I sat around a table dreaming of things that may be. Wouldn't it be cool if we could talk directly to LEGO? Influence product designs? Have LEGO clubs all over the country (...) (19 years ago, 31-Aug-05, to lugnet.general, FTX) !!
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