Blockwarts turns 5…

Another year – and another birthday. All true Harry Potter fans know that 31 July is Harry Potter’s birthday, a day he shares with his creator JK Rowling. But it is also the date I started Blockwarts, which means a day of celebration for me as well. Not that there’s that much activity lately to celebrate, but the love for Harry Potter and LEGO is still there…

Today it is five years ago, I posted the very first post on Blockwarts. It has been a great experience and really rewarding. I normally use the birthday to reflect on the past year and think about what is up for the coming year.

How did the year go?

The past year has been one of two halves. One of business as usual – with regular posts and reviews of the sets. My daily reviews of the advent calendar was once again a highlight for me, with much more interaction that normal.

I knew from early on though, that my time as Recognised LEGO Fan Media (RLFM) was coming to and end by the end of 2022. Being an RLFM had allowed me access to news and review sets and was a great experience. Sites supported through the program comes in many sizes. But being among the absolute smallest, it was not surprising that support could be directed to others, that might drive more activity. And that is fair.

I initially thought I would just consider as normal, but it didn’t last that long. Other interests that I had put aside started to get more of my attention, and it has been hard to find the time to spend the hours to research, prepare and write decent posts. So, when it comes to activity on Blockwarts, I haven’t really done much in the last six months. I have done a lot of other things things though, still LEGO related, including building a larger display of Radiator Springs from the Pixar Cars movie, several vehicles from the Mad Max Fury Road movie and helping building a 1:1 scale truck using 800,000 bricks!

What’s coming up?

So, what about the coming year? To be honest I don’t know.

But yesterday, I was out displaying Harry Potter again. The local Harry Potter merchandise shop, The Store of Requirement, was turning six today and had once against invited me to come and display for the big “Magical Market” they had arranged to celebrate. This time I brought the big Hogwarts castle and it was a big hit. It was wonderful being back discussing Harry Potter again with such dedicated fans. So who knows, it might inspire me to do more.

There is a Harry Potter themed MOC in particular that is making its way towards the top of my “to-do” list, so hopefully I can showcase that in the coming months.

Thank you!

Finally, I will say a big thank to you all for (still) following this blog. I’m curious what I’ll be writing this time next year, but with the positive vibe from displaying yesterday still in my blood, I think it will be something better than this year. Time will tell…

Till then, Build the Magic!