Interview with Rima (genic) - female builder, creator, story teller

Blacklug is more than a LEGO community—it is a driving force for meaningful change, dedicated to centering the voices of creators long overlooked or excluded from the brick-building space. Rooted in our Inclusively Exclusive principle, we reject tokenism, gatekeeping, and performative inclusion, focusing instead on long-term community building, collective amplification, and narrative ownership.

We believe LEGO is a cultural language capable of articulating heritage, joy, and possibility, and we leverage it to lift up Black, global majority, and all marginalized creators. For us, representation is the bedrock of our mission—not an afterthought or trend. This conviction fuels our partnership with the Women’s Brick Initiative, united by the belief that the LEGO community thrives only when it actively uplifts marginalized groups. We join forces to challenge the imbalances that have sidelined women and non-binary builders, a mission made all the more urgent by global data revealing pervasive gender disparities across creative industries. Our collaboration is structural, not symbolic: we build equitable platforms, foster mentorship, and redefine leadership—all to ensure women builders claim the visibility they deserve.

Today, we sit down with an exceptionally talented young female builder—Rima (genic), a renowned young female LEGO builder in Asia’s LEGO community, and dive into her LEGO creative journey.

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🎤 Personal LEGO Journey

Q: What’s your very first memory of playing or building with LEGO?

A: I have a memory that I built a plane with Duplo. It’s the oldest one in my LEGO memories. 

Q: Do you remember the first set you ever built?

A: My first set is Elephant bucket (7614) which was released in 2009. And I was born in the same year! When I was in the infant class at daycare, my homeroom teacher told my mother, “I think Rima likes constructive play.” That’s how I discovered LEGO.

Q: What made you fall in love with LEGO and stick with it as a hobby?

A: I have played with wooden blocks, but I didn’t like it so much because it breaks easily. I think I fell in love with LEGO because it’s hard to break and I can build it how I like.

Q: Has LEGO changed the way you feel art in life?

A: Yes. I have gotten to feel art closer to me thanks to LEGO.

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🧱 Building Style & Inspiration

Q: Where do you find inspiration for your MOCs — movies, real life, other builders?

A: I like to build a creation with nature motifs, so I often get inspiration from beautiful nature.

Q: How would you define your personal style?

A: When I build my creations, I always imagine it in my head. Therefore, my creations are stories in my world. I think nobody can build my world. So, I want to continue to build a world that people can enjoy as only one person who can build my world.

Q: When creating a build, do you obsess over every detail, or only focus on the overall effect?

A: I always be careful on both aspects!

Q: What aspect of your builds do you focus on most, technique, structure, color, story expression, or?

A: I always value both design and strength of structure the most.

Q: Do you have a recurring theme in your works? If so, what is it?

A: The recurring theme is Happiness. It’s very simple, but I always try to build a creation that brings happiness to people who see my creations. I want people to smile.

Q: What is the build you’re most proud of so far, and what makes it special?

A: I am most proud of the work “Flower Ship”. Because I achieved both design and structural strength and I love its story.

Flower Ship by Rima, 2024.

Q: Do you ever sketch or plan first, or do you just start stacking bricks and see where it goes?

A: I usually don’t sketch or plan first. I think about my creation while building. Sometimes, when I get lost in the creative process, I draw a picture to imagine more specifically.

Q: What keeps you building?

A: What keeps me building is simply a pure love for LEGO.

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🚀 Community & Connections

Q: What’s the best part about being involved in a LEGO community for you?

A: I could get many LEGO friends thanks to be involved in the community! When I hadn’t joined the community, I couldn’t talk about LEGO with someone. But I can connect with others through conversations about LEGO now.

Q: What is the most attractive part of LEGO events and shows for you?

A: Being able to see various creations is the best part, and we can fully concentrate on LEGO.

Q: What’s the best reaction you’ve ever seen when someone looked at one of your creations?

A: I have two wonderful memories: A little boy said, "I love it the most!" Those words made me incredibly happy.

I heard girls talking about my work. They said, "I love it!" or "I want to go there!" Hearing these words made me very happy.

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🎯 Fun Quickfire Round

Q: Favorite LEGO series?

A: I especially like Friends, IDEAS and ELVES!

Q: If you could only build with one type of parts, what would it be?

A: When I build curved shapes, I usually build approximate shape with 2x4 plate parts. So, I will choose them for the reason that I am used to them.

Q: Besides LEGO, talk about your other hobbies?

A: My other hobbies are to draw pictures and to listen to music.

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From drawing inspiration from nature to centering her creations on the core theme of "happiness," Rima has crafted a unique healing world with LEGO bricks. Whose builds embody the creativity and resilience of this inclusive movement, her works balance aesthetic design with structural stability while carrying vivid, heartwarming narratives. Her journey of turning bricks into stories offers a powerful testament to what it means to build not just models, but pathways—for herself, and for the next generation of female builders ready to claim their rightful place in the LEGO world. This pure love for LEGO will continue to guide her in creating more wonderful, heartfelt stories in the days ahead.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/0505genic

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🌟 More Builds

The shellfish Balloon-Bridging sea and sky by Rima, 2025.

Future Restaurant built by Rima when she was 8 years old. “It was a part of collaborative project whose theme was Future City, and they were exhibited at JBF in 2018. It was difficult to express myself in the determined theme, but I expressed myself by building characteristic roof.”—Rima.

Pencil Village Of Elves built by Rima when she was 13 years old. “I want you to look the people's gestures. I think this work is a turning point that my work's style has changed little. It seems that theme for each work became more wider from this work whithout even realizing it.”—Rima.