BRICKA is The Atlantic meets Dwell for Adult Fans of LEGO® — an independent, design-forward magazine exploring the culture, creativity, and business of brick building. We treat brick building as a significant cultural movement, one that blends design, art, storytelling, and community. Across the world, Adult Fans of LEGO — AFOLs — are investing their time, money, and passion into creating extraordinary works that rival architecture, sculpture, and fine art. They are building worlds, pushing design boundaries, and forming vibrant communities. And yet, despite this movement, there isn’t a premium, design-forward publication dedicated to telling their stories with the depth and beauty they deserve. BRICKA is here to change that.
The timing could not be better. The AFOL community is thriving — from the popularity of LEGO Masters on television to conventions that draw thousands, to YouTube channels with millions of followers. What was once considered a hobby has evolved into an expansive creative culture. But until now, there has been no magazine that treats brick building with the same editorial seriousness and visual elegance that design and architecture publications bring to their fields.
BRICKA will bring long-form editorial features, immersive photography, and thoughtful commentary to the world of brick building. It is not just about showcasing incredible builds, but also about exploring the ideas, processes, and people behind them. Builders and artists, parents and educators, designers and cultural explorers will all find a home in its pages. One issue might highlight an architect reimagining a cityscape in bricks; another might explore LEGO’s strategic moves in the marketplace; another might tell the story of a sculptor who transforms bricks into something poetic and new.
For me, this work is deeply personal. My first LEGO set was the Forestmen’s River Fortress, built on a blue rug in the basement of my childhood home, where I cut out green poster-board “islands” so my forest minifigs could sail to distant castles. That spirit of creativity and storytelling never left me. It carried me into a career as an industrial designer and, later, as the founder of Design Museum Boston — a nomadic museum dedicated to bringing design into everyday life. Through the museum, I also created and edited Design Museum Magazine, a quarterly publication that celebrated the impact of design on the world.
Now I bring that same love for design, community, and stories to BRICKA. This magazine will capture the heart of brick building as both a creative practice and a cultural phenomenon. I believe that reading can be as transportive as building — Carl Sagan once wrote, “To read is to voyage through time.” With BRICKA, we aim to give AFOLs that same sense of immersion: to open the magazine, enter a flow state, and feel part of something bigger.
The first issue of BRICKA is underway — launching in December 2025 — and I’d love for you to join me on this adventure. You can sign up now to receive the digital edition free when it launches later this year. Or become a founding subscriber and receive BRICKA in print, in digital, or both — and be recognized in the first and every issue, for helping bring this vision to life.
Brick builders around the world deserve a thoughtful, beautiful magazine that reflects the creativity, community, and joy of this culture. That’s BRICKA.
