Talking LEGO with Natalie & Michelle From LEGO MASTERS
In the semi-finals round of LEGO Masters season 2, Natalie & Michelle were the eliminated team. The team always had crazy fun ideas and excellent chemistry with host Will Arnett. After their elimination, I was able to ask them a few questions and I learned that as of yet FOX has not reached out to them about being co-hosts, there was a lot of stress on the set that wasn’t related to the show, and more.
Tommy: First, I want to say that you were my favorite team. I loved so many of your builds and was sad when you were eliminated. Your chemistry not only with each other, but also with Will was really something that fans loved. Has FOX reached out to either or both of you to either join or replace Will?
Natalie: Aw thanks for rooting us on! We always looked forward to a check in with Will. I liked that we could poke fun at each other. I knew he was funny but I didn't realize how much off the cuff stuff he'd say or do was just him. haha. There was tons of content that didn't make the edit we thought was hilarious. And ya never know, I’ll keep my ringer on incase Fox wants to give me a call. ;)
Michelle: Aww, Thank you ❤️ Haha, no phone calls from FOX, but that be amazing!
Tommy: A lot of your builds seemed to tap into the imagination a lot, sometimes feeling like something that a child might dream up. How did you tap into that mindset of imagination and wonder? Is it just how you are or is there something you do to help get into that headspace?
Natalie: With both of us being moms it seemed easy to think “What would our kids like?”. We also liked trying to find a different angle for all of the challenges. Sometimes that didn’t work like the time there were 2 4’ cake towers in the Make and Shake Challenge or 2 jellyfish in the Land And Sea Challenge but we would pivot to try and make our builds different.
Michelle: I absolutely love fanciful worlds. Some of my favorite decorating projects have been kids spaces. I love the brightness and joy that they bring just by looking at them. I am a huge fan of LEGO, Disney, Harry Potter.
Tommy: I can only imagine how tough it must have been to build those incredible builds on LEGO Masters in those time constraints, but there's got to be so much more going on. What was the biggest challenge for both of you on the show outside of just building X in Y time?
Natalie: Juggling my personal life and work life while filming was pretty tough to be honest. I was very thankful to be on the show but my husband got covid shortly after I left and is a high risk diabetic. It was very nervewracking to not be able to check in with him. I’m super thankful he recovered and for our friends the Tibbles for helping my hubby and kiddos while I wasn’t there. It takes a village right?! A lot of nights after long film days I’d be catching up with work emails and editing projects. So basically I was on the newborn sleep plan… plenty of nights where I only had 4 hours of sleep. Thankfully there was plenty of caffeine and water on set.
Michelle: There were several challenges that we had to work to overcome, but the challenge that we faced right away was that we had never actually build LEGO together. We had worked on a bunch of other building projects together but this was another first for us.
Tommy: What was your favorite part about being on LEGO Masters?
Natalie: I loved seeing how differently everyone’s mind worked. We all had the same challenge but had different takes on it, different LEGO MVP parts, different styles. It was super cool that even though we’re all competing against each other we really rooted each other on. I like to think it’s because we all were doing our own thing in our own lanes and it made it easier to stand back and appreciate every teams unique style. I love that we all became friends and message in a group chat almost every day.
Michelle: My absolute favorite part of being on the show was “finding my people”. Getting to meet these amazingly talented group of individuals who share my love of creating and LEGO. I was always excited at the prospect of meeting other adults, who get excited about LEGO but I never expected to grow so close, so fast. We all still talk, through a group chat, every day.
Tommy: What is a LEGO building tip that you would give to a new builder?
Natalie: Any LEGO brick or part you have can be anything. It doesn’t have to be used the way you’ve seen it used in the instructions. It can be used for something totally new! Also, you can do a deep on YouTube and find out about anything you want to learn. I think I watched a gazillion hours of tutorials and techniques before filming.
Michelle: There is something for everyone with LEGO. If you enjoy a more instruction led experience, there are so many themes to choose from. If you like to free build, the possibilities are endless. Try a bit of everything. Find someone who shares love for the brick, that always makes it more fun. If you do plan to build MOCs, buy in bulk and sort; there are so many neat LEGO parts out there and that’s a great way to introduce yourself to them.