On June 19th, BrickLink.com, the largest online LEGO marketplace celebrated its 20th anniversary. The site, created by Dan Jezek, became the place where LEGO fans could find the parts they needed to finish projects, sell parts they no longer needed, and interact with members of the growing Adult LEGO Fan community. Dan Jezek’s mother and former CEO of BrickLink has written a thoughtful message addressing the community, which you can read below. In addition, to commemorate this milestone, the current BrickLink team is running an event called 20 Days of BrickLink. You can read about this event as well.
MESSAGE FROM DAN JEZEK’S MOM
This month we mark the 20th Anniversary of the founding of BrickLink. Larry Hawthorne and I want to join all of you in virtually celebrating this wonderful milestone. As it were, we find ourselves in Honolulu, Hawaii, where we have remained since the COVID-19 pandemic expanded in early March. How appropriate it is that we are here in the same location where Dan launched BrickLink (then BrickBay) on June 19, 2000. I have provided a brief video message inviting you to share with me some personal remembrances from the time Dan spent putting BrickLink together, building it from scratch.
I can only stress that if Dan were alive today, I know he would be so proud and grateful to you for making his dream, BrickLink, come true. Without you, none of this would be possible. Please think of Dan on the 20th anniversary of BrickLink on June 19th, and on what would have been his 43rd birthday, June 25th. Thank you all from the bottom of our hearts for an absolutely awesome 20 years of BrickLink!
Eliska and Larry
danjezek.com
MESSAGE FROM THE BRICKLINK TEAM
So much has happened between then and now that has allowed us to grow and evolve. With this milestone, let us celebrate together and not only look back on how far we have all come, but also look forward to what the future holds.
The 20 Days of BrickLink event will focus on BrickLink’s history and future and how the community played a part in its success. It will also be a space where we can share original stories, content, etc. with each other. The first week of the event is dedicated to the first 10 years of BrickLink, the second week dedicated to years 11-15, the third week focuses on events leading up to the present, and the last week focuses on the future. The 20 Days of BrickLink event will begin on Monday, June 22nd, and it will run until Friday, July 17th (excluding weekends). Every week, we will cover a topic for each weekday:
- About – On Mondays, we will share a general post about the week’s theme. There are four themes altogether: how it all started, what made a difference, where things are today, and what’s next.
- Spotlight – On Tuesdays, we will be putting the spotlight on members of the community for contributing to or having an impact on BrickLink in some way.
- Your Stories – On Wednesdays, members who shared their BrickLink moment story with us will be posted here. If you’d like to submit your own story, please go to the submissions page. If you have a MOC that represents the 20th anniversary, add the tag 20 Days of BrickLink to your MOC details so that other members can easily find it in the Studio Gallery.
- From the Team – On Thursdays, members from our team will share a story related to the week’s theme.
- BrickLink Challenge – On Fridays, we thought we’d make things a little more interesting with some challenges! Questions will be multiple-choice or open-ended, and depending on the challenge, you will be timed. Some answers may even be in previous posts.
Join us on Monday, June 22nd for Day 1 of 20 Days of BrickLink! We hope that you all will enjoy this special event.
Thank you,
The BrickLink Team
If you are planning to participate in the event, use the above-mentioned links, and you are also welcome to share how BrickLink affected you in the comment section below. No mother should have to suffer through the death of their child, so make Dan’s mom happy with your stories and special builds.
And you might also like to check out the following related posts:
I feel so bad for Dan’s mom. I can feel the pain in her voice. And when she choked up, I choked up too. What Dan did was revolutionary. Especially 20 years ago.
Happy Birthday Bricklink! Without them, none of the big mocs would have ever happened. Remember that they were around long before pab and bap was available, and they still have a much larger selection. I hope Lego won’t ruin it. It’s nice to see Dan’s mom still involved.
Thank you, Dan for your wonderful contribution, and your Mom for continuing to carry your legacy. May Bricklink live forever, serving afols around the world!
Bricklink is the best thing that happened to me. I was trying to find pieces for my projects on ebay in random lots. It was horribly time consuming, expensive, and inefficient. Then I ran accross bricklink, and the rest is history.
It’s been 20 years now? Wow! And I can’t believe it’s been 10 years since Dan’s passing. Time flies! I don’t use Bricklink often, as mostly buy sets from the Lego store, but I used it several times to restore some of my childhood sets. And for that I’m very grateful.
Man, Dan’s mom must be in so much pain. I feel really bad for her. She is holding on to her son’s memory in every little way she can. I wish her peace.
I haven’t been to bricklink for a while, but I will check out the events. I had trouble adjusting to how they changed the wanted list and haven’t bought anything for a long time. Anyway, maybe this is a good time to take another look.
Hmmm, I’ve only used BrickLink once or twice, although I have an account, partly because I was caught up in a big move to a new apartment and was occupied with that. My new apartment is still rather messy, and I don’t know what I should focus on building yet, so I haven’t gotten around to order something else, yet. Maybe I’ll get around to it later this summer.
It’s cool it’s been going on for so long, though…