*The very first image of my garden. The concept was to make the flowers grow.*

After four years of building and evolving, my LEGO creation, Blossom Babies of the Enchanted Garden, is finally on display at the Walden Galleria LEGO Store! It’s an exciting milestone, and I’m thrilled to share the story behind this journey.

I visited the LEGO store for the first time in January of 2021, a few months after the grand opening. At the time, I was coming out of my so-called Dark Ages—a period when your passion for LEGO lies dormant. It usually begins after high school or early college, when you’re exploring life for the first time and feel “too cool” for toys.

My awakening happened on Christmas Day 2020 when my mom got me a small LEGO set. I initially planned to give it away, but instead, I decided to build it. The moment I opened the box and heard the familiar crunch of the plastic bags, something clicked. The feeling of flipping through the instruction booklet, the sound of the bricks hitting the table—it all came rushing back. And I was officially an AFOL(Adult Fan of LEGO).

Not long after, I became a regular at the LEGO store. And in February 2021, I started a Facebook group, tracking down every LEGO fan in WNY I could find to join.

I started building MOCs (My Own Creations) right away. That was the driving force behind the group—I wanted to connect with other custom builders. One of my early ambitions was to have something I built displayed at the store. So I asked. I was told that the group couldn’t display or work with the store in any official capacity unless we were part of the LEGO Ambassador Network (LAN).

In December of last year, BuffaLUG was accepted into the LAN and officially became a recognized LUG (LEGO User Group). With this newfound status, we went back to the store, and the general manager, Julie, gave us the green light. I asked the group if I could be first, and they graciously said yes.

This build has been a work in progress since March 2021. What started on a small 16x16 stud baseplate has grown into a 48x48 stud footprint—nine times its original size. Unlike other artistic mediums, LEGO allows for continuous evolution without starting over. A painting or sculpture has a defined endpoint, but LEGO is different. New elements are released, old ones are recolored, and suddenly, new possibilities and inspirations emerge.

The build was inspired by the LEGO Botanicals Collection and the magenta Flower Costume Girl from Series 18 of the Collectible Minifigures theme, along with her recolors—bright light blue and dark purple. The idea was to give the minifigures evolutions, similar to Pokémon, showcasing their stages of growth from tiny baby bud to full figure.

Originally, I was working with just bright light blue and magenta, each following a single growth pattern: a traditional flower structure with three blossoms per plant. Then, just as I was preparing for a major expansion of the build, LEGO serendipitously released the dark purple recolor.

Immediately, I had a new vision—each color would now have its own unique style of growth. Giving me new opportunities for new evolutions. Bright light blue would stick to the original flower form, magenta would grow like stalks, and purple would twist into vines.

I spent about six months ordering parts and fine-tuning ideas. When I finally sat down to build, it took me a little over a month to complete the expansion. I debuted the new version at Brickworld Chicago 2023.

Since then, Blossom Babies has been displayed at various shows—Bricks in the Six, Nickel City Comic Con, Brick Erie, BuffaLUGs meet & greet at Buffalo AKG Art Museum—and even landed on the cover of Buffalo Magazine. Now, the journey has come full circle. The Blossom Babies have found a temporary home at the LEGO store.

First and foremost, I want to thank Julie for giving our group this incredible opportunity. I also want to thank Jonah, a LEGO store employee, for inspiring me to dive deep into the hobby all the way back in February 2021.

*Julie & Jonah celebrating the debut of the Buffalo Magazine cover with Eric.*

I hope people enjoy the build as much as I loved creating it. You can follow my building journey on Instagram @ValentinoBricks. Please share pictures on social media and tag @BuffaLUG or @ValentinoBricks on Instagram.

I’m honored to be the first, but this is just the beginning of an exciting partnership between BuffaLUG and the team at the Buffalo LEGO store.

Eric Santiago

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