Joe Trupia fell back into the seat of an old wooden school desk.
He looked weary, tired or nervous. It was hard to tell which. Probably all three. He’d had a hectic, anxious past few weeks. For one thing, he still didn’t know how to respond to the heartbreaking emails he’s been getting from Ukrainian customers. His company, Citizen Brick, founded a dozen years ago, makes largely underground, nearly clandestine, often satiric, very limited edition quasi-Lego minifigures and playsets. Many are bawdy, hilarious, the sort of stuff Lego would never touch. Such as a Lego-ish “Breaking Bad”-like meth lab. Or a strip club featuring “realistic spinning action,” titled “Center for the Performing Arts.”
He once made a Harry Caray minifigure titled “Cubs Enthusiast.”
And a Girl Scout minifigure named “Cookie Pusher.”
Earlier this month, as a change of pace, he got serious for a moment. He created a limited-edition Lego-like minifigure of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He sold his Zelenskyys for $100 a pop. Plus, Lego-ish Molotov cocktails for $20 each. He did it to raise money for medical aid to Ukraine, and from his Naperville warehouse, he raised $145,388.
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