LEGO® History - Friends

01 March 2023

It's been a while but here we are again with a piece of LEGO® history. And this time it's about LEGO® Friends. For a start, LEGO® Friends is not the first theme aimed at girls. In fact, LEGO® previously made LEGO® Scala and LEGO® Belville. We will definitely come back to those but for now we will look at the LEGO® Friends theme.

LEGO® Friends is a line of building sets first introduced by Danish company LEGO® in 2011. The theme was created specifically for girls and features characters, buildings and accessories aimed at young girls' interests and passions. The theme has been popular, with many sets and characters released over the years.

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The history of LEGO® Friends dates back to the early 2000s, when the LEGO® Group noticed a decline in the number of girls playing with their building sets. In an attempt to address this problem, the company conducted research and discovered that girls wanted building sets that more closely reflected their interests and passions. In response, LEGO® began developing a new theme specifically for girls.

The first sets in the LEGO® Friends theme came out in 2011. The sets featured characters named Andrea, Mia, Olivia, Emma and Stephanie, who were all girlfriends and lived in the fictional town of Heartlake City. The sets included buildings and accessories designed to appeal to girls, such as a beauty salon, a veterinary clinic and a café.

One of the unique aspects of the theme was that it focused on five female characters, each with their own personalities and interests, such as Andrea who loves animals and is an animal carer, Stephanie who loves music and is a singer, Emma who loves fashion and is a fashion designer, Olivia who is a scientist and Mia who is a cook. This approach allowed the girls to identify and connect with the characters in the sets and encouraged them to create their own stories and scenarios.

Over the years, the theme has expanded to include many new sets and characters. New buildings and locations were introduced, such as a concert stage, a horse stable and a tree house. New characters have also been added, such as Mia's little brother, Liam, and the girls' pets. The theme has also been expanded with sets based on real-life locations, such as an amusement park and a beach house.

LEGO® Friends has also become a media franchise, with an animated television series, a web series and a feature film. The show follows the adventures of the five friends during their teenage years and exploring their passions in Heartlake City. The TV series and web series aimed to expand on the characters and world of Heartlake City, and it has become a popular show for young girls.

The popularity of LEGO® Friends has not waned over the years. The theme remains a bestseller for the LEGO® Group and has inspired many girls to explore their creativity and imagination through building. It is also said that the theme has encouraged more girls to take an interest in STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths), as many of the sets and characters in the theme are about these subjects.

In short, LEGO® Friends is a building theme created specifically for girls and has been popular since its introduction in 2011. The theme has evolved over the years with many new sets, characters and locations, and has become a media franchise with an animated television series, web series and feature film. The theme has encouraged girls to explore their creativity and imagination through building, and is credited with encouraging more girls to take an interest in STEM subjects. The popularity of LEGO® Friends shows no signs of waning, and it will continue to inspire and entertain young girls for years to come.

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Since January 2023, there has been a relaunch of the LEGO® Friends theme. The new sets and series include characters with limb difference, Down syndrome, anxiety, vitiligo, and a dog with a wheelchair. The new friends also explore and work to overcome modern challenges they face, passions, obstacles and differences, all while trying to make friendships. In this Series, we meet Olly, Leo, Aliya, Zac, Liann, Autumn, Nova and Paisley. If you want to know more about the new characters read the article on LEGO® Friends ‘Friendship re-imagined: The LEGO Group reveals a new generation of LEGO® Friends’ once more.

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Let kids have adventures with LEGO® Friends

LEGO® Friends is the theme for young children to build and play together. LEGO® Friends Stephanie, Mia, Olivia, Emma and Andrea each have unique personalities. They live in the bustling city of Heartlake City where they go to the fair, cafe, amusement park and cinema. You will also find houses, boats, campers, horses, hospitals, tree houses and hotels in the LEGO® Friends town. All of this LEGO® has released in cheerful, imaginative building sets.

LEGO® aims to stimulate children's creativity and imagination with the Friends theme. The LEGO® Friends are curious, passionate, independent, creative, industrious and caring. Stephanie, Mia, Olivia, Emma and Andrea love music, science, sports, nature and art. With this cheerful theme, many new colours have also been added to LEGO®'s colour palette, such as some shades of purple and a teal colour, azure. In the sets you will also find lots of typical LEGO® Friends accessories, such as bows, bags and pans. Also discover LEGO® Friends animals, such as horses, dolphins and dogs.

Buy LEGO® Friends sets

Want to order a LEGO® Friends set? ToyPro has an extensive collection with both new sets and sets that are out of stock. Are you still looking for just that one set? Check out our assortment now! We offer free shipping from € 75 and fast delivery. If something does not go right during your order, our customer service will solve it for you in no time.

Centre>View LEGO® Friends sets

Ordering LEGO® Friends dolls and parts

Don't want to buy a whole set, but individual LEGO® Friends minifigures? That's possible at ToyPro! We are the number one webshop for loose LEGO® figures and parts. Check out our collection of LEGO® Friends dolls. You'll also find all versions of Olivia, Mia, Andrea, Emma and Stephanie in a handy overview in our webshop. Did you know that Friends dolls are 5 millimetres larger than 'regular' LEGO® minifigures. However, they do consist of at least 4 parts, which you can also buy separately from ToyPro on the LEGO® minifigure parts page.

In addition, you can also order individual parts from LEGO® Friends sets in our webshop. Flowers, bags, glasses, hearts and brushes. You'll find them all on the LEGO® Friends parts page.

All minifigures and parts in the webshop are new and 100% original LEGO®. With every order of individual minifigures and parts, you will receive ToyPro credits. Use these to save for a great discount on your next purchase.

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