Ever wonder how the folks who make all those
cool Lego creations get all those pieces? It's not because they buy multiple sets to get thirty or so
cheese slopes. They go to
Bricklink, where hundreds of sellers offer up individual parts you can get in pretty much any quantity. Bricklink was started by Daniel Jezek in 2000 (it was originally called "BrickBay" but
someone pressured him to change that) and is at the top of every Lego enthusiast's list of bookmarks. Jezek passed away suddenly on September 24th at the age of 33. His
memorial page on Bricklink reveals that his was not an ordinary life, as this Americanized entrepreneur was born in Communist Czechoslovakia. The Lego Community would simply not be what it is without Dan Jezek.
posted by Legomancer
on Oct 28, 2010 -
20 comments
Nate Neilson is a name that is not only unfamiliar to most people, it's unfamiliar to many of his biggest fans. That's because he went by the
nom-de-brick of "
nnenn". Neilson was a huge presence in the online Lego community, regularly putting out
amazing and
unique Lego creations on a regular basis, including entire
building genres.
He was also the driving force behind
Novvember, a month-long celebration of the "Vic Viper" (from the videogame "Gradius") in which he and others "riffed" on a basic central design to see how many interesting variations on it
they could make.
Sadly, Neilson passed away recently following an automobile accident. Many of his online fans only learned this way of his real name, his job as a stay-at-home-Dad with two sons, and his
other artistic outlet. He was a huge presence in the online Lego community, and he will be greatly missed.
There is a fine eulogy for him (along with an overview of his work and influence) over at the premiere Lego site,
The Brothers Brick.
(And yes, his icon was a Lego
rubber band holder.)
posted by Legomancer
on Apr 14, 2010 -
24 comments
