Christchurch mums take on world LEGO masters
The duo, Emily Fryer and Sarah Mosley, came in second place in 2022, when they competed in the first season of LEGO Masters NZ.
They are now representing Aotearoa among the six international teams facing off against the four Australian teams in LEGO Masters Australia: Grandmasters of the Galaxy , which premieres on Three next Monday.
(Spoiler alert: the show has already aired in Australia so avoid searching it up if you want to watch.)
Fryer and Mosley, who even 'kit out' in LEGO accessories, became best buds over their obsession which started a long time ago.
Mosley told Afternoons she grew up as a 'sickly wee child', so playing LEGO was her only creative outlet.
'Being able to play with my brother, build things, create things, create your own world, that was just such a dream for me.'
The mother of two, who now works as a marketing and event coordinator, yoga and fitness instructor, and a dance teacher for preschoolers, says it was her children who got her back into the habit.
'I did go off it for a while, but then with my firstborn, he got a set of LEGO when he was probably about three or four… and then from hence on, it's been like, 'yes, this is your LEGO set. I'll just finish it for you'.'
Fryer, originally from the UK, doesn't even remember a time before LEGO.
'I think I've always been actually obsessed with LEGO.
'When I was a child, every Christmas, it's 'where's my LEGO?' And, you know, looking through the catalogues, do you remember the catalogues? And you go through and you look at every page and like, 'oh, I need everything'.'
The mother of three, who works as a conservator at the Canterbury Museum, set up a LEGO club with her brother-in-law at her eldest child's school.
Mosley, whose son was in the same school, caught wind of the news and wanted to sign up her son but missed the deadline.
'I may have forgiven her, a little bit,' Mosley jokes.
'But now she's running the club and so she knows exactly what it's like,' Fryer laughs.
Their relationship blossomed over their love for LEGO. When Fryer sought out someone to join her on her 'dream' show, it was only Mosley who agreed.
'I asked Simon, my brother-in-law, first. He was like, 'no way, who can take time off from work to do that?'
'Then other people read the contract, it's quite a severe contract. So they were like, 'no'… so my mum was like, 'you know what? The only person I think would be crazy enough to go on with you is Sarah'.'
Mosley says they had a great time on the New Zealand show which proved to be a 'learning curve' for all involved.
'It was just such a fun experience. At the end of the day, we're two mums that didn't have to pick up LEGO but could play with LEGO as much as we wanted.'
Fryer says 'it looked like an explosion of LEGO' on the studio's floors.
'They were like, guys, you can't have any more LEGO from the brick pit until we've put some back or sent some back and we're like, 'but we need every piece',' Mosley says.
Now, this Australian series 'takes it to a whole new level', Fryer says.
'I've been watching the Australian one since the beginning and I think this is their best one yet.'
Mosley says the contestants and environment on set is 'wholesome'.
'We want to win ourselves, but, of course, we're all gunning for each other. It's just this cool group of [people who are] so different, but everyone is into LEGO. So that's our commonality and it's amazing.
'It's such a crazy experience. We fangirled literally [over] everyone that walked through the door.'
'We do a lot of screaming,' Fryer admits. 'Warning.'
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