Latest news with #MilwaukeeArtMuseum
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Lego Milwaukee Art Museum won't become an official set, but here's how you can still build it
Another attempt to bring a Lego Milwaukee Art Museum set to the masses has been halted. Former Milwaukee resident Todd Elliott's art museum design wasn't selected as one of the five finalists in BrickLink's Designer Program Series 7 competition. That means Elliott's creation won't be considered for production as a limited-edition Lego set in early 2026. However, the Philadelphia father and Army veteran doesn't plan on giving up. Elliott said he may enter BrickLink's next competition this spring and, in the meantime, has made his original art museum instructions available online for a low cost. BrickLink is a Lego Group-owned online community, marketplace and design software popular with adult fans of the toy brand. In January, Elliott's museum design was accepted to BrickLink's Designer Program competition. Through the Designer Program, anyone with a free BrickLink account can vote for their favorite fan-made designs. Elliott said he will likely re-enter the museum into BrickLink's Series 8 competition in April. "I'll decide based on the feedback from BrickLink and if I can possibly make contact with Vida Andras," the Hungarian artist whose much-celebrated 2019 Milwaukee Art Museum Lego set design greatly inspired Elliott's. If Elliott's design is selected for Series 8, BrickLink users will be able to vote for it between May 5 and May 16. The five Series 8 winners will be announced June 14. After Elliott's design didn't move forward in Series 7, he posted the instructions for the 1,184-piece museum to Rebrickable ― a website that lets Lego enthusiasts share their designs and connects users with resellers, allowing them to smoothly obtain the necessary bricks to re-create designs that aren't official Lego sets. Anyone can purchase the art museum instructions for $1. Elliott began workshopping a Lego model of the Milwaukee Art Museum's Quadracci Pavilion and Calatrava-designed "wings" a few years ago. He was inspired by fellow designer Andras' model, which received local media attention and nearly became an official Lego set. Andras posted his creation to Lego Ideas, a Lego-run online community where users can share their ideas and potentially have them turned into official sets. It's similar to BrickLink's Designer Program, but the sets aren't sold on a limited-edition basis. If a design receives 10,000 votes from Lego Ideas users, Lego reviews it for consideration as an official product. Andras' art museum hit 10,000 votes, but, in 2021, Lego announced it wouldn't produce the set. "I was really bummed because I wanted to buy one," Elliott told the Journal Sentinel in December. "So, a couple of years ago, I sat down and tried to figure out how he built it based on the pictures he had submitted. I kind of reverse-engineered it" using Studio by BrickLink ― a software that allows LEGO fans to virtually design almost anything using unlimited brick styles and colors. Andras' design was about two feet long and 1½ feet wide, Elliott said. He's unsure if Andras built that model in real life or only rendered it virtually, but, when Elliott attempted to build it, the wings were "so heavy that they drooped and sagged, so it didn't look good," he said. Elliott said he attempted to reach out to Andras on social media but received no response, so he went "back to the drawing board" and developed another version of the museum that's about half the size of Andras' model. In November, Elliott posted the step-by-step instructions for that 775-piece museum to Rebrickable. Elliott said he posted the instructions for free because the design was "heavily influenced" by Andras', and he felt it wouldn't be fair to profit from it. Elliott continued tweaking his design before submitting it to BrickLink's Designer Program Series 7 and told the Journal Sentinel in February that he now feels it's sufficiently different from Andras'. With his latest model, Elliott said he focused on ensuring that both the wings and the base of the structure were more stable. In addition to rendering the model online, he tested out the wings in the real world. "I built it with actual Legos to see that the wings would be supported and were still movable," he said. "You can put the wings up or down, like what happens with the actual museum." Overall, Elliott said his new museum is "just a much better-looking design." "The other thing I changed ... internally there's a much stronger support, so you can pick up the model without worrying about it falling apart. Lastly, on the back of the museum where the window panes are, there is this slight curve to the building that kind of melts into the foundation. That's really tricky to do with Legos, but I found a way." In addition to his museum, Elliott is known for his viral Brewers Famous Racing Sausages Lego set idea, which is currently up for vote on Lego Ideas. Over the summer, Elliott designed Lego replicas of the five iconic Famous Racing Sausages, as well as mascot Bernie Brewer. Each figurine is comprised of about 500 Lego bricks and is about nine inches high and four inches wide. Elliott also designed miniature, square versions of each of the sausages. They're about half the size of his original figurines and fit into Lego's BrickHeadz line. The sausages ― which Elliott posted on Lego Ideas in August ― have 3,436 votes as of Thursday. They have just over 400 days to get 10,000 votes. If they hit that milestone, Lego will consider them for production. Elliott said it would be up to the toy brand whether the sausages are sold as a set or separately. With MLB Opening Day on the horizon, Elliott is working toward the necessary vote total by publicizing the sausages in the media. He said he also plans to come to Milwaukee this summer, catch a few Brewers games and encourage fans to vote. "I'm thinking of doing is maybe ― myself and my son come back to Milwaukee this summer and attend some Brewers games and walk around the parking lot as people tailgate with a big sign saying, 'Please vote,'" Elliott said. "I'll bring the actual models with so people can see and touch them, and that'll hopefully get people interested." More: Lego set of Racing Sausage built by reporter in time-lapse video More: Building Bratwurst: Brewers racing sausages Lego set enters its next phase of development This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Lego Milwaukee Art Museum won't be official set, but you can build it
Forbes
21-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
A Guide to Milwaukee's Best Restaurants And Bars
Led by Kyle Knall and rooted in sustainability and local ingredients, Birch is one of Milwaukee's best restaurants. Though my job takes me to many far-flung and enviable destinations, I'm open to travel tips. But one sent by a close girlfriend via text last year stumped me: 'Have you ever been to Milwaukee? It's cute, and everyone's so nice. We should do a girls' trip here!' My love of domestic travel rekindled during the pandemic, but I had never given Wisconsin's biggest city much thought. I knew the television show 'Laverne & Shirley' took place there; because of that I also knew there was beer—lots of beer. When in Milwaukee, a Wisconsin Old Fashioned at Bryant's Cocktail Lounge is a must. But during a visit a couple of months ago, I found there's far more to Milwaukee than these clichés. I was mesmerized by the city's architecture, from Pabst Brewery Complex's cream city bricks to the stunning Milwaukee Art Museum designed jointly by Santiago Calatrava, Eero Saarinen, and David Kahler. Its scenic perch along Lake Michigan—which offers loads of of recreational opportunities, like the world's largest music festival Summerfest—further added to the city's unexpected appeal. What opened my eyes the most, however, was the food scene. I already knew about Milwaukee staples like cheese curds and frozen custard; what I wasn't expecting to find was such an appealing mix of old and new, and locals who are up for eating everything. Kyle Knall is the chef and co-owner of Birch in Milwaukee. That's what Kyle Knall, a 2025 James Beard Award semifinalist and the chef-owner of Birch, discovered after relocated his family from New York City to Milwaukee in 2020: 'I love the community of Milwaukee, and how people here embrace food and eating out in such an amazing way.' Even better? You can get a solid grasp of the city's culinary landscape in a weekend. Ahead, a handy guide on where to eat, drink, and stay when visiting Milwaukee. One Birch's most popular (and pretty) dishes is the Contramar-inspired fish. Consider Birch, the New American restaurant former New York chef Kyle Knall (Gramercy Tavern, Electric Lemon) and his wife Megan opened in 2021, the quintessential neighborhood spot. It's as lovely for a chill bar hang of burgers and wine as it for a celebratory tasting menu at the counter. The entire staff, from the general manager Jeff Cleveland who pulls double-duty as the sommelier, to the dishwasher—whom I caught flashing a soft smile during a busy service—seems happy and proud to be on Birch's team. As for the food? It's ingredient-driven, quietly confident, and shaped by Knall's favorite restaurants—his Contramar-Inspired Fish gets its signature red and green from Jimmy Nardello and poblano peppers—and Wisconsin's rich natural bounty. 'The local agriculture, especially the fresh produce is incredible,' he says. 'We have to wait longer for the seasons to change, but what they bring is truly unmatched.' Speaking of seasons: the Knalls are opening Cassis, their highly anticipated French bistro, in Historic Third Ward this summer. Bryant's Cocktail Lounge Bryant's Cocktail Lounge isn't just a bar; it's a Milwaukee institution. Opened in 1938 in a historic residence that once was a Miller Brewing tied house (a bar obligated to buy alcohol from a specific brewery), Bryant's Cocktail Lounge has maintained its cool for over 85 years. It's dimly lit. There's plenty of seats to sink into. A mix of jazz, soul, and classical music plays from the old-school Mcintosh sound system. Drinkwise, you can choose from 600 (not a typo) or so cocktails. There are no menus; instead, chat with the bartender about your preferences. If you're a first-timer, try a signature Pink Squirrel (ice cream, crème de cacao, crème de noyaux) or Wisconsin Old Fashioned. Allie Boy's Bagelry & Luncheonette If you're short on time, seeking a quality bite that won't break the bank, or need to shake off last night's excess, Allie Boy's Bagelry & Luncheonette by the husband-and-wife-duo of Ben Nerenhausen and Staci Lopez has you covered. The bagel dough is made with local water and flour, then hand-rolled, boiled, and baked to glossy, chewy perfection. While you'll find traditional bagel flavors and schmears here, don't pass up on the original sandwiches, like the furikake-dusted egg salad and pizza bagel tartine. Ca'Lucchenzo Tucked away in Wauwatosa, a charming suburb just west of Milwaukee, is Ca'Lucchenzo by Zak and Sarah Baker. Since 2019, it's established itself as the local go-to for seasonal Italian cuisine—the handmade pastas are exceptional—and warm, familial service. As the menu changes frequently, order whatever sounds good. 'Chances are it won't be on the menu the next time you come over for dinner,' says Sarah. What does stay the same is the rolling cart of amaros, presented after your meal for a memorable finish. Milwaukee's Three Brothers specializes in homey Serbian food. Three Brothers Restaurant was established in 1956 by Serbian immigrant Milun Radicevic to keep his family together under one roof following World War I. To this day, the kitchen is run by the Radicevic family, with many recipes handed down from Milun's mother. Your best bet? Come hungry, and come with friends. The food is unfussy, hearty, and loaded with meat and cheese; crowd favorites include the Serbian salad, goulash, and burek (phyllo dough typically stuffed with ground beef). Milwaukee Public Market Since opening in the historic Third Ward in 2005, Milwaukee Public Market has gained national recognition by being more than a striking space with 19 diverse and independently-owned food vendors such as West Allis Cheese & Sausage Shoppe, St. Paul Fish Company, and Aladdin. It champions the local community by supporting charitable causes like Milwaukee Public Schools' School-to-Work Transition Program. It's also an event space, where you can book a wedding or a cooking class at Madame Kuony's Kitchen. A one-bedroom suite at Kimpton Journeyman Hotel One of Milwaukee's hippest hotels, Kimpton Journeyman Hotel has everything you need to feel you're best while you're away from home. The 158 guest rooms and suites are kitted out with cozy, nostalgic touches—the handsome hand-hewn desks are crafted with wood and cold-rolled steel—while the Mediterranean restaurant Tre Rivali and lively rooftop bar The Outsider make staying put a no-brainer after a long day out. During the daily Kimpton Social Hour (another perk to staying here), you'll be treated to complimentary wine, beer, and pizza. Plus: the hotel's plum location in Historic Third Ward makes it easy to walk to the waterfront and other attractions.
Chicago Tribune
14-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Couple who found love later in life had different journeys before their paths converged on the dance floor
Sanna Longden and Clint Seely were in their 70s when they met in 2016 at a dance at the annual Door County Folk Festival. She had traveled from Evanston, and he was local to the area. The two got to talking and hit it off. 'The next day, he came to a class that I was teaching, and I was very impressed that he could actually dance,' Sanna said. Sanna was a longtime folk dance teacher and world dance educator traveling across the country and the globe attending conferences and teaching varying styles of dance, she said. Clint said he had been 'dancing off and on for a while' and would participate in folk dancing events at the University of Chicago, where he was a faculty member for 35 years. 'We talked some more,' Sanna said of that weekend. 'I came back to Evanston after the weekend was over thinking, 'Gee, that was a nice guy.'' So she sent him a text. He gave her a call. They talked for the rest of the summer, and by Labor Day weekend, Sanna took a bus trip to the Milwaukee Art Museum. 'It was not a trip I needed to take, but I got on the bus with a suitcase, and there was that same guy in the art museum,' Sanna said. 'He met me there, and we drove back to Door County, and I spent the weekend with him and the rest is history.' Ever since, Sanna, 87, and Clint, 83, have been later-in-life partners. The two are a quintessential example of people who found love in their golden years after having lived full lives separately before meeting each other. Sanna now lives at The Mather, a senior living community in Evanston, and Clint joins her there six months out of the year from November to May when he closes up his Door County home for the winter. During Clint's six months in Door County, Sanna will work out ways she can make the trip up north and spend some time with him there. 'It's not my favorite time when he goes,' she said. 'I gave up my car when I moved to The Mather, so I've been known to get on the train and meet him in Milwaukee, hitch rides with friends, it's always arrangements.' Clint said he wants to keep his Door County home as long as he can keep driving. 'I tell people with somewhat of a smile, when I can't drive, we won't be doing all of this,' he said. 'But if by that time they have self-driving cars that are reliable, then maybe I stay even longer.' 'We're going to be awfully old by that point,' Sanna said in response. In Sanna's perfect world, Clint would sell his house and move to The Mather full time immediately. 'I don't want to be alone again,' Sanna said. 'I hate it when I see that car leaving with all his stuff in the car in May.' Clint and Sanna had different journeys before their paths converged. Sanna grew up in the Milwaukee area before heading to the University of Michigan, where she graduated in 1959 with an English degree and also became 'hypnotized' by music and dance, she said. She moved around with her first husband, living in Madison, Rhode Island and Indianapolis before settling in the Evanston area in the late 1960s. They had two children along the way. Ultimately, Sanna and her first husband divorced. She married her second husband, who she also met through a dance group, in 1976, and they were together until his death in 2014. She started a recreational folk dance group in Evanston with her second husband, which she said they ran for 40 years and is still active thanks to some friends who took over. She also worked as a freelance editor in academics, helping students and staff at Northwestern University edit papers, dissertations and books. By the early 2000s, Sanna said she had given up editing and focused more on dance. Clint was also married before. He met his late wife, who died in 2011, after he started teaching at the University of Chicago. Originally from the Bay Area, he graduated from Stanford University in 1963 with a biology degree and then joined the Peace Corps. He ended up in Bangladesh for two years, which at that time was East Pakistan. After having taken a liking to the languages of the area, specifically Bengali, Clint returned to the U.S. and attended the University of Chicago to get his graduate degree in South Asian languages and civilizations. He started teaching at the university in 1971 and met his wife while also working towards his doctorate. After some 19 years together, the couple decided to get married in the early '90s and were together for another two decades until her death. The couple had moved to Door County after Clint retired in 2006. Sanna moved to The Mather in spring 2016. She was still picking up the pieces after her second husband's death, she said, and she was 'just pulling her life back together and beginning to see a future.' It had been a couple of years since she had been to the Door County Folk Festival, which Sanna said gathers people from around the Midwest every July for a weekend of performances, workshops and parties. A friend persuaded her to attend that summer. 'I was definitely not looking for anybody,' Sanna said. 'I hadn't gotten to that point yet, but I knew that pretty soon I would have felt like I needed someone in my life had I not met Clint.' Clint said he was indeed looking for somebody. 'Loneliness is a horrible state to be in, and I can confirm this,' Clint said. 'I was very interested in finding someone. I went to this dance thinking maybe … and it worked out! But I had been other places thinking maybe, and it hadn't worked out. But I was definitely looking for somebody to share my life.' A couple of years after they met, Clint decided to spend half of each year in Evanston with Sanna, and they've 'created a very strong community that we're very much a part of,' Sanna said. They both enjoy participating in the various activities and events at The Mather and in the surrounding neighborhood, from Lunar New Year concerts to card games, movies with friends and monthly dance classes that Sanna teaches. With their shared appreciation for the arts, they also attend plays and go to the opera every now again. Chrissy Fernandez, the spa and fitness manager at The Mather, helps facilitate Sanna's dance classes and said she remembered when Sanna moved into the community with a 'vibrant' energy. When she met Clint a couple of years later, Fernandez said she approved. 'It was just this really nice feeling I got of the relationship between the two of them, and he seemed like such a good fit for her,' Fernandez said. Clint almost always attends Sanna's dance class when he is around, Fernandez said. He helps her set up the music and even demonstrates a lot of the moves, she said. 'It's really sweet to see him always support her,' Fernandez said. 'He's also so willing to be part of this activity that she's so passionate about.' Sanna's children are also fond of Clint, and she was proud when they met him, she said. 'They're very grateful he's in my life,' Sanna said. Having met Clint in her late 70s, Sanna said her perspective on love and relationships had certainly shifted from earlier on in her life. She realized time was too precious to waste. 'When you're in your 20s, you have your whole life in front of you,' Sanna said. 'You have marriage and children and you have to make decisions that last a long time. In your 40s, you may have come undone from a relationship, and you know what life holds — and what you're looking for might be a little different. When you're in your 80s, who knows how long we have?' Clint said both he and Sanna understand 'it's very hard to lose somebody.' He said that Sanna will say 'sometimes humorously and not so humorously, 'I don't want to experience losing someone like a husband again, I am going to predecease you,' and I can feel the same way.' As for marriage, Sanna said it's not a 'necessary game' for them at this stage. 'We've had our families, our careers, our houses and our gardens,' she said. 'Now, we hope for health, affection and companionship.' Clint said his relationship with Sanna 'keeps me going.' For anyone in a situation similar to what he and Sanna faced almost a decade ago, Clint said, 'Do what feels comfortable and natural.' 'Don't give a damn about what people say,' Clint said of finding love later in life. 'There are a lot of people that stay single, but if you're not so inclined that way, do what you want to do. Be with who you want to be with.'
Yahoo
07-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Your vote could make the long-anticipated Milwaukee Art Museum LEGO set a reality
Next summer, you may finally be able to buy a Milwaukee Art Museum LEGO set, complete with working "wings" that open and close. Former Milwaukee resident Todd Elliott ― the designer behind last year's viral Brewers Famous Racing Sausages LEGO set idea ― recently refined his art museum model, which he's been perfecting for the past few years. Soon, you can vote for it online to be considered for production as a limited-edition LEGO set. Last month, Elliott's new museum design was accepted to BrickLink's Designer Program competition. BrickLink is a LEGO Group-owned online community, marketplace and design software popular with adult fans of the toy brand. Through the Designer Program, anyone with a free BrickLink account can vote for their favorite designs. Then, BrickLink selects five winning creations based on "their own internal review of the design, how good it looks, how fun or easy it would be to build, and how much fan support there was," Elliott said Tuesday. Winning sets with over 3,000 pre-orders will be produced, but only 30,000 of each limited-edition set will be available for purchase. Voting for BrickLink's Designer Program Series 7 ― in which Elliott's art museum is participating ― opens at 2 p.m. Monday and runs through Feb. 21. BrickLink will announce the five winners March 17. If Elliott's design is selected, fans can pre-order it in February 2026 and will receive it around July 2026. Elliott began workshopping a LEGO model of the Milwaukee Art Museum's Quadracci Pavilion and Calatrava-designed "wings" a few years ago. The Army veteran and Philadelphia father of two was inspired by a much-celebrated Milwaukee Art Museum LEGO model by a 3D artist from Budapest in 2019, which received local media attention and nearly became an official LEGO set. The designer of that model, Vida Andras, posted his creation to LEGO Ideas, a LEGO-run online community where users can share their ideas and potentially have them turned into official sets. It's similar to BrickLink's Designer Program, but the sets aren't sold on a limited-edition basis. If a design receives 10,000 votes from LEGO Ideas users, LEGO reviews it for consideration as an official product. Andras' art museum hit 10,000 votes, but, in 2021, LEGO announced it wouldn't produce the set. "I was really bummed because I wanted to buy one," Elliott told the Journal Sentinel in December. "So, a couple of years ago, I sat down and tried to figure out how he built it based on the pictures he had submitted. I kind of reverse-engineered it" using Studio by BrickLink ― a software that allows LEGO fans to virtually design almost anything using unlimited brick styles and colors. Andras' design was about two feet long and 1½ feet wide, Elliott said. He's unsure if Andras built that art museum model in real life or only rendered it virtually, but, when Elliott attempted to build it, the wings were "so heavy that they drooped and sagged, so it didn't look good," he said. Elliott said he attempted to reach out to Andras on social media but received no response, so he went "back to the drawing board" and developed another version of the museum that's about half the size of Andras' model. In November, after the popularity of his Racing Sausages design, Elliott posted the step-by-step instructions for that 775-piece museum design to Rebrickable ― a website that lets LEGO enthusiasts share their designs and connects users with resellers, allowing them to smoothly obtain the necessary bricks to re-create designs that aren't official LEGO sets. Elliott said he posted the instructions for free because the design was "heavily influenced" by Andras', and he felt it wouldn't be fair to profit from it. As of late December, Elliott said the instructions have been downloaded over 1,000 times after he shared them on the r/Milwaukee subreddit and the design was posted on the museum's official social media accounts. Elliott continued tweaking his design before submitting it to BrickLink's Designer Program and now feels it's sufficiently different from Andras'. "When I submitted it, I said that there have been a couple of similar ideas in the past, and I definitely took inspiration from them," he said. "But, I felt like when they accepted it, they also determined it was distinct enough to be its own design." With his latest model, Elliott said he focused on ensuring that both the wings and the base of the structure were more stable. In addition to rendering the model online, he tested out the wings in the real world. "I built it with actual LEGOs to see that the wings would be supported and were still movable," he said. "You can put the wings up or down, like what happens with the actual museum." Overall, Elliott said his new museum is "just a much better-looking design." "The other thing I changed ... internally there's a much stronger support, so you can pick up the model without worrying about it falling apart. Lastly, on the back of the museum where the window panes are, there is this slight curve to the building that kind of melts into the foundation. That's really tricky to do with LEGOs, but I found a way." More: This Brewers fan designed Racing Sausages figurines. You can help make them an official LEGO set. More: Meet the mom behind the hilarious Facebook page recreating I-43 construction with Playmobil This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: How to vote for Todd Elliott's Milwaukee Art Museum LEGO set
