Puzzle Musings

I've been all over the world, but I've never been to Hawaii. Imagine that. Native Californian. I was in the Peace Corps in Botswana for heaven's sake, but I've never set foot on the islands. I'm not sure how many Vintage Hawaii jigsaws will sell to people who've never been there, but my guess is they will be very popular with puzzlers who want to relive the dream. The image is a brighter, more "politically correct" version of a delightful 1950s poster.

We've been doing the Vintage Space Travelers puzzle this week. It's challenging, bright, and really fun. Another Lois Sutton collage of images from a time when space travel was still science fiction. I challenge anyone to do this puzzle without  a smile on their face.

In the short time we have been in business we have learned there is one thing we can depend on. We can never predict which of our puzzles will be wild successes, and which will be relative duds. Will the Mid Century Chrismas be as popular as the other Mid Century puzzles? Will they really cool Retro Space Travelers go viral? Can the Retro Comic Book Covers collage do as well as other collage puzzles? The Vintage Hawaii seems like a slam dunk, but who knows?  We can't even figure out why one will be popular for a while, take...

We often hear the term "it's only business", often from someone trying to excuse doing something selfish, rude, or just plain mean. Bad behavior seems to be more common when both parties are anonymous. As online sales become the norm rather than the exception, we rarely get to know the people we do business with. I think business is personal. I don't assume we are friends just because you bought a jigsaw puzzle from me, but I think you deserve at least as much respect and courtesy as someone I meet in a store. IT'S BUSINESS. IT'S PERSONAL.

Even the Math Geeks are finding this one challenging.