Page 32 - ARUBA TODAY

A32 FEATURE
Friday 14 February 2020
Snapping into place: Jigsaw puzzles have ardent following

By TRACEE M. HERBAUGH Steve Richardson.
Associated Press “We are now seeing or-
There are jigsaw puzzle ders from the children and
nights at coffee shops and grandchildren of some of
libraries. Puzzle groups and our original customers, so it
puzzle games online. Hand- is definitely a generational
cut wooden puzzles that activity.”
cost thousands of dollars. In addition to getting nic-
And puzzle designs that er, jigsaw puzzles have
range from edgy, original become specialized too.
artwork to your own, cus- There are 3-D and two-sid-
tom-ordered family photos. ed puzzles. Stave’s “trick
Jigsaw puzzles for grown- puzzle” can be solved in
ups are in vogue. multiple ways, rated on a
“I was not as passionate scale of 1 (easy) to 5 (dif-
about jigsaw puzzles at first, ficult).
but once I started doing Customers cannot buy a
them, I saw the loveliness of 5-trick puzzle without suc-
these puzzles,” said A.J. Ja- cessfully completing a level
cobs, a writer working on a 4 first.
book about puzzles, includ- Other people prefer a
ing jigsaws and crosswords. simple jigsaw that reminds
“Puzzles are a very soothing them of childhood — but
and joyous way to spend a This undated photo provided by Stave Puzzles shows one of the company's traditional jigsaw one that’s worthy of social
couple of hours. puzzles titled "Ocean Sunset." Jigsaw puzzles are in vogue. Associated Press media, of course.
They’re physical, tactile Walking home after work
pieces and you get an en- one day, Kaylin Marcotte,
dorphin rush when pieces 29, stopped at a toy store
snap into place.” in New York City to buy a
Fans say jigsaws provided puzzle for the evening. “I
respite from daily stress, a ended up purchasing one
chance to step away from of puppies jumping out of
the screens and be in the a basket,” she said. See-
moment. ing a gap in the market for
Abby Matson, 37, found sophisticated puzzles, she
them therapeutic after the founded Jiggy Puzzles in
unexpected death of her 2018.
dog three years ago. Jiggy’s puzzles are pack-
“The puzzle was the only aged in an elegant glass
thing I could do to keep container and feature orig-
from crying,” she said. inal drawings by female
Matson’s friend, Abby Mc- In this undated photo, provid- artists.
Daniel, 38, joined her. “We ed by Shelby Comstock Brit- They come in two sizes, 450
stayed up so late drinking This photo taken on Sept. 28, 2019 and provided by A.J. Jacobs ten, a group of people work and 800 pieces, and many
shows Jacobs, left, his sons Jasper, 15, Zane, 13, and his wife
on a "Jiggy" jigsaw puzzle at
wine and doing this puz- Julie Jacobs at the 2019 World Jigsaw Puzzle Championship in the trendy SoHo House hotel in sell for about $40. The art
zle,” Matson said. Spain New York. ranges from New York City
They started a puzzle group Associated Press Associated Press scenes to whimsical, feel-
that now has six members. finish all four puzzles in less good drawings. One puzzle
It’s informal. Members send than four hours. shows women’s breasts in
photos of a completed “Russia is a force to be varying shapes, including
puzzle before mailing it to reckoned with,” Jacobs some with mastectomy
the next person. said with a laugh. scars.
“It brings out an inner com- While many puzzlers are To launch Jiggy, Marcotte
petition,” McDaniel said. happy with cardboard puz- hosted a puzzle night at
Jacobs, author of books in- zles, there’s also a market the Soho House in New York
cluding ``The Know It-All’’ for wooden and artisanal City.
and ``The Year of Living Bib- ones. About 50 young profession-
lically,’’ enjoys immersing Inspired artwork has re- als arrived dressed for an
himself in an activity and placed campy photos. evening of drinks and jig-
then writing about it. Part Some enthusiasts buy spe- saws.
of his research into puzzles cial frames, glue and other Shelby Comstock Britten,
took him to the World Jig- tools for preserving finished 29, attended the launch. A
saw Puzzle Championship jigsaw puzzles. grown-up puzzle night with
in Spain, a timed competi- Vermont-based Stave Puz- drinks sounded perfect, she
tion with teams represent- zles makes a wide range said.
ing 40 countries. of wooden puzzles, from “I’ve always loved puzzles
He, his wife and two chil- ``Tidbits’’ to ``Tormentors’’; and will occasionally get
dren finished second to they sell for hundreds, even a CVS puzzle, but it’s kind
last. thousands of dollars. of a bummer because it’s
A team of four Siberian “Our sales are up 25 per- This undated photo provided by Stave Puzzles shows one of their made for an 8-year-old,’’
women won first place cent in the last decade,” jigsaw puzzles titled "The Mane Event," which sells for $1,695. she said. “I can’t Instagram
when they managed to said company founder Associated Press that.”q