LEGO may have started as a toy – one that fostered creativity and problem solving – but today LEGO fills so many roles in people’s lives. It’s a medium of artistic expression, a forum for collaboration, a key to peace and self-confidence during trying times, and of course, it’s to collect and display. But for many, one of LEGO’s greatest gifts is providing a foundation for community. When Andrew founded The Brothers Brick 20 years ago, it was an extension of the brickshelf community in an era when MySpace was the dominant social platform and LEGO news for adults was rare. These days, it’s much easier to connect with other AFOLs on Instagram, Discord, TikTok (even good old Flickr), but as the number of LEGO creators grows, it can be hard, if not impossible, to follow all the amazing ways people are using LEGO to create and share, especially if your biases and algorithms are trained to serve up space ships and dark fantasy.

I first discovered Barbara, better known as @sleepswithlego or just “Sleeps,” after seeing minifigs wearing crocheted coats across a range of accounts. Following the trail back to Sleeps, I fell into a rabbit hole of creativity and friendship as elaborate and joyful as any massive convention constructions and had to know more. Thankfully, Sleeps awoke long enough to talk with us about her unique LEGO community.

Our interview with Sleeps With LEGO follows