FORMER CHARLOTTESVILLE FAMILY ON LEGO MASTERS
Charlottesville’s LEGO-loving families probably already know all about LEGO Masters, the LEGO-building competition show FOX. But they might not realize that the show’s first ever mother-son team were long-time Charlottesville residents before they were reality show stars.
In LEGO Masters Season 3, 18-year-old Liam Norris and his mom Emily Mohajeri Norris competed against twelve other pairs of LEGO builders. Liam and Emily were one of five final teams left standing before being eliminated in episode 10.
Charlottesville’s LEGO Family
The Norris family has a strong connection to the Charlottesville area. Emily is a 1994 graduate of UVA, and her husband worked for UVA for 15+ years. They raised their three sons in Charlottesville, and it is here where their love for LEGO began.
“I first really got into LEGO when I was 6 years old. I received my first Power Miners set and it captured my imagination. Years later, I learned about the LEGO IDEAS site and the online community, and it’s just been growing from there,” Liam said.
Building and enjoying LEGO is something the Charlottesville duo has been doing together for years. Emily, a long-time “LEGO mom,” coached Liam’s first LEGO League team in Charlottesville. The mother-son duo also co-taught LEGO classes at a local homeschool co-op for many years. Liam even went on to run LEGO workshops at the Cherry Avenue Boys and Girls Club.
“LEGO bricks became the perfect vehicle for [Liam’s] storytelling and imagination, a way that he could channel his creativity and find flow,” Emily shared.
What Is LEGO Masters?
LEGO Masters is a reality tv competition show airing on FOX that has four available seasons, with a fifth in the works. In it, 24 contestants compete in pairs to create ambitious LEGO builds around themed challenges.
The winning team each season earns a $100,000 cash prize, the ultimate LEGO trophy, and the grand title of LEGO MASTER. LEGO Masters is hosted by actor and executive producer Will Arnett and judged by LEGO employees and expert Brickmasters Jamie Berard and Amy Corbett.
LEGO Masters teams have been made up of fathers and their kids, sibling pairs, best friends, grandparents and grandkids, and more. But the show had never featured a mother and son until Liam and Emily entered the competition.
If you have LEGO-loving kids in your family, Virginia has many LEGO-themed adventures and experiences to explore!
Charlottesville Mother-Son Appearance on LEGO Masters Season 3
Liam and Emily’s television debut was several years in the making. “I was first approached…in 2019, for Season 1 of the show,” said Liam. “I was working on a large Spirit Lion sculpture, and LEGO Masters casting saw photos on Instagram.”
Liam was able to meet the show’s casting agent at BrickFair VA in 2019. “My mom and I applied and went through some interviews, but I was 16 at the time and in the end, they decided to not take any minors on the show,” he said.
After Liam turned 18, he was finally told enough to compete on the FOX show. And he knew he had to pick someone special to be his partner.
“Liam invited me to be his teammate, as I’ve been by his side throughout his LEGO career,” said Emily. The mother-son duo shared a love of everything creative, and Emily also brought her own design background to the partnership. “My husband and I created original designs for a family lifestyle brand and small Charlottesville-based business, Tender Sapling, that we ran when Liam and his two brothers were little,” Emily added.
When Season 3 premiered, Emily and Liam were the first ever mother-son team to compete on the show, and they were introduced to viewers in a heartwarming segment. The season was full of ambitious challenges, including a NASA-themed episode, a treehouse challenge, a LEGO dog show, and more. (Parents and kids can find all the episodes available to stream on Disney+, Hulu, and Fox.com.)
For Emily and Liam, competing on LEGO Masters together was an incredible experience. “We’re a mom-son team that’s based on a relationship of love and respect. We consult on every challenge and listen to each other’s ideas and questions,” said Emily. “That allows for our creativity and storytelling to come through in a very unified way. I’m so grateful Liam asked me to join him on this journey and share with him every minute of this once-in-a-lifetime experience!”
Other Charlottesville LEGO Masters Appearances
Emily and Liam haven’t been the only Charlottesville residents to appear on LEGO Masters. In Season 4, Ben Edlavitch, an architecture student at UVA, appeared with his grandfather, David “Poppy” Levine. They competed in six episodes before withdrawing from the competition after Poppy became ill during shooting.
But leaving LEGO Masters didn’t dim Ben’s enthusiasm for building: he has continued to share his love of LEGO through volunteer opportunities such as partnering with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Richmond. He also takes private commissions for specialized LEGO builds and runs LEGO-building workshops through the Virginia Museum of History & Culture. You can follow Ben through his Instagram profile @bisibricks.
How to Follow Liam & Emily
LEGO-loving kids and parents can find Liam still building LEGO creations on his Brixter Builds YouTube channel, as well as sharing ideas and builds on Instagram under the account @brixter.productions. Emily shares her own creations on Instagram as @legomomemily.
The Mohajeri Norris family now lives in Tucson, where Liam is attending the University of Arizona, but they say Charlottesville still feels like home. The family hopes that their time on LEGO Masters will inspire other families in the Charlottesville community to expand their creativity.
is our Associate Editor. She is a mom of two, including a six-year-old boy, so she is well aware of the LEGO obsession.