Berkshire County viewers of Fox’s “LEGO Masters” reality competition show might recognize one of their own among the contestants. Erin Laundry of Pittsfield, Massachusetts is drawing on her lifelong love of LEGO to compete with other fans of the iconic Danish toy line for the title of LEGO Master and a $100,000 prize. The show, now in its third season, is hosted by actor Will Arnett and airs on Wednesday nights. WAMC spoke with Laundry about her relationship with LEGO, the Massachusetts attitude she’s bringing to show, and more.
LAUNDRY: My journey with LEGO probably began about 17 or 18 years ago when my oldest, my stepson, got his first LEGO set for his fifth birthday. And I started going out to garage sales every Saturday morning and trying to find more LEGO for him. Eventually, I had my youngest, who's now currently 14, who got into it at the age of three, and then my husband developed a love of sorting LEGO and I just sort of fell into it through them, eventually coming up with an idea to use our massive amount of LEGO to throw brick-themed birthday parties locally. And which then led to me opening up a storefront in Adams back in October 2019. And I was creating displays for my store, and trying to come up with monthly builds, and that's when I really started building my own stuff. And that ended up getting the attention of a casting agent for season two, surprisingly.
WAMC: So, tell us about that. You're of course on a team on LEGO Masters- Tell us about your team, your teammate, and what's the energy or the attitude that you're bringing to the competition?
Well, my teammate’s name is Liz Puleo. She is also a Massachusetts resident. She lives in Hudson, Mass. And we met through an online Facebook group called the Ladies LEGO Lounge, which is an international online group of LEGO builders, from professionals who work for the company to novices who just built their first set and are completely in love. It's the most supportive online group, and she saw me posting some of my builds on there, and we kind of connected over a build, which was a vase for a flower bouquet set. And we kind of connected that way. We found out we lived in the same state, and when they opened up casting, we started hanging out together and we started practicing building together. And it's been quite an awesome journey to take together. I'm really proud of everything that we've done. We represent not only Massachusetts, but female builders. It’s a really big motivator for us, because a lot of women have gotten into LEGO later in life but didn't necessarily play with it as kids. What we bring to the table on the show, I think, is a lot of our own joy and fun with LEGO, along with a little bit of the Massachusetts edge.
Now, how did you prepare to compete on prime time in this medium that you so enjoy? Were there any notes or means of study or preparation you took before taking it to the airwaves?
Absolutely. Once I- I kind of decided on my own that I really wanted to be on the show after not getting on season two. So, I spent last year actually watching a lot of YouTube tutorials in certain LEGO skills that I felt I wasn't very strong in, and then I would practice those on my own. And when Liz and I teamed up together, she had her own notes she would forward to me on different build techniques, and I would forward her the tutorials I was watching. And we both trained at our own houses and then we'd get together on weekends and try to build together.
What's it like working with the great Will Arnett? I'm sure I'm not the only person interested to hear what it's like to hang out the former ‘Arrested Development’ star himself in the flesh.
Will Arnett is so funny. Like, he is like that on the show all the time. He's really funny. But he's also really great at putting us all at ease. I mean, you only see a fraction of our conversations with him, but he's super welcoming and funny and just an absolute blast to have a conversation with, and it was delightful every time he stopped by our table.
What are some of the highlights you've experienced from the show?
Two things stand out in my mind. The crazy things that we were able to do with LEGO, such as blowing stuff up, or, just on episode three, we had to have our build survive riding a mechanical bull. That was absolutely mind blowing, insane, but so much fun. And then the other thing that really stands out in my mind is the bonds that everyone on the cast formed. We really, really love each other's company. We love spending time together, and we're still very close even though the show stopped filming in April.
Looking back over the rich legacy of LEGO, is there a set in particular that you are a fan of, or an era of LEGO design that is among the Erin Laundry top LEGO?
I happen to be a really big Disney World fan, so I'm a huge fan of the Disney Castle and all, and they also came out with a Disney train station. That kind of stuff just melts my heart.
Erin, anything about this experience I've not thought to ask you about that you want to make sure people understand about your time on LEGO Masters?
I'm really thankful I was able to have this opportunity. I'm really grateful for my husband for kind of filling in for me while I was away all that time and then I'm so thankful I have a whole new LEGO Masters family that I'm going to have for the rest of my life.
