Chris Larson of Artist's Block
For many of us, LEGO brings back fond memories of spending hours hunched on the floor making vast brick worlds. Now you can proclaim your proud LEGO heritage to everyone you meet with unique fashion accessories created by local artist Chris "CRD" Larson, who pieces together neckties, bow-ties, and jewelry from the iconic blocks. The results are one-of-a-kind, handmade pieces of wearable LEGO art.
“I've loved LEGO since I was a kid,” Chris says. “The purpose behind Artist's Block is to give adults who are still fans of the blocks (like me) a way to celebrate their love of the bricks in a new and sophisticated way.”
Chris began experimenting with LEGO apparel three years ago after retrieving his childhood LEGO box from his parent's house. Having saved a few pairs of broken sunglasses (he's a little obsessed with recycling, so we'll forgive him for being from California), Chris started playing around with the idea of rebuilding the frames from LEGO pieces. From that he developed his first sunglasses prototype. Then, after seeing ties made from reclaimed redwood pieces, Chris was inspired to create LEGO ties. The neckties and jewelry soon followed.
While others have created LEGO jewelry such as earrings before, Chris says what sets his designs apart is his limited use of glue and non-LEGO materials, saying that he wants to keep his work as "pure LEGO" as possible.
This has led to some challenges in making his more complicated designs - such as the sunglasses - functional. He is currently working on increasing the overall strength and wearability, but admits they are more of novelty piece (pun intended) for now. Even just as art pieces, the sunglasses are the most unique and dramatic work in the Artists Block collection.
The Artist's Block "Shogun" Sunglasses - photo courtesy of Chris Larson.
His ties and neckties, on the other hand, are durable enough for everyday wear. Chris also hopes to begin making watches – as soon as he can figure out how to build a watch face from LEGO pieces, that is.
Chris loves a challenge and would be happy to work with customers to create one-of-a-kind pieces and color schemes – so if you happen to be planning a summer wedding, you now have the option to deck your bridal party in customized LEGO apparel!
You can check out Chris' website for his entire Artist Block Collection as well as his other artistic pursuits.